Aug 29, 2022
00:00
Hello, you are listening to Katy Bradbury, a registered nurse and nutritional therapist. today's podcast episode is called Micronutrients Series, Macro Minerals, Part 1.
00:27
So hello, and welcome to the show today, I'm really happy to be talking to you again. It's been a couple of weeks. So, if you're a keen and regular listener, you might have noticed that episodes over this time have been a touch sporadic. And that is, by no means a reflection on my desire to come and speak to you. It is just a reflection of how busy this summer has been in being away. And quite frankly, me just not being organised enough to pre-record episodes too, you know, so that I'm releasing them while, while I'm away. So accept my apologies for that. I'm actually going to be getting back on to the micronutrient series, this week. I took a little break from it with the last episode and shared a few strategies in the last episode I recorded a couple of weeks ago on how, how to navigate some of the trickier times some of the trickier points in the road when you are on this fertility journey. So, it just came at a time for me when quite a lot of the people that I was talking to were at a bit of a crossroads with regard to their fertility journey. And I just thought, Look, if I'm talking to a lot of people for whom this is relevant for right now, I'm sure it's going to be helpful for a lot of you. So if you did listen, I hope that you found it helpful. It involved a practical exercise. So please let me know how you got on with that I love hearing from you can always contact me on Instagram @katybradburyhealth or by email on support@katybradbury.com.
02:36
But anyway, without further ado, I'm going to continue talking about micronutrients this week, which for me as a nutritional therapist it is a super exciting topic. And I hope that I've been able to keep your interest in talking. As I have so far I've covered the range of different vitamins. So I've covered the fat soluble and the water soluble vitamins as they pertain to fertility and getting and staying pregnant. So hopefully, what I've shared so far has been interesting and informative. And I'm going to move on now from the vitamins to cover some of the minerals and what I've decided to do is divide it into what we call the macro minerals. And, and then some of that some of the smaller minerals, the trace minerals, so when we're talking about macro minerals, we're talking about the larger minerals, so minerals that we might typically measure in milligrammes rather than microgrammes. And there are four main macro minerals, and they are calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium. So, I'm going to talk to you today, just about magnesium, because if you ask any nutritional therapist, and this may not be a question that you ask people very often, but in my world, it's a fairly common question. If you ask any nutritional therapist, what's your favourite mineral? I can guarantee that 90% of nutritional therapists would say that magnesium is their favourite mineral. And the reason for that is because magnesium is responsible for so, so much in the body.
04:46
At, we're learning more and more about magnesium and indeed all nutrients but I think at last count it was it was, you know, over hundreds of processes in the body that magnesium is associated with. And that's because there are things that directly require magnesium. And there are also things that require magnesium as a co-factor. So a part of the process in, you know, some kind of conversion within the body that requires magnesium to be there. So, and that includes things like hormone production. So, I wanted to talk to you just about magnesium today, I may group some of the other minerals together in future episodes, but magnesium, there is quite a bit to say about it. Now, I'm not going to go into detail about the hundreds of processes that magnesium is responsible for, but I am going to give an overview.
05:44
So one of the first things that we think about when we think about magnesium is its role in energy production. So the unit of energy in the body, so that the currency, if you like, for energy is called ATP. So every cell in your body, every process that happens in your body at any given time, requires units of ATP to be able to work. And so it's, it is just like, as I say, it's the currency for energy in your body. And magnesium is directly involved in the production of ATP. So there's something called the Krebs cycle and the electron transport chain. And they are parts of the energy production process. And they require magnesium. So really, really important. So often, you know, people who are like super tired, super low energy, we might be thinking about magnesium for, for those people. Now, I know that that doesn't pertain to fertility, in the most direct sense, but you know, if we're thinking, as I say about every process in the body, requiring energy requiring ATP, then it's pretty fundamental. One of the things that actually links into that, I'm just going to jump slightly from my intended order of play, if you like. And one of the things that that links to in terms of the energy and ATP is sperm, because what needs to move pretty quickly and in the right direction, its sperm, so ATP, so magnesium has a role to play in the motility of sperm. So if you're, if you or your partner has had their sperm tested, then you'll know that one of the measures of sperm is motility. And that is how efficiently the sperm actually moves because it needs to get to the right place. So magnesium is involved in that process, because those those little guys need ATP, they need magnesium in order to actually get to where they need to go. So that's, that's one consideration.
08:11
Now, the next thing that magnesium relates to, when it comes to processes in the body, involving fertility or things, fertility is a pretty important one. And that is that it is required for a number of steps during the synthesis of DNA, and RNA. So when we're thinking about, again, making a baby, so once we've got a fertilised egg, the thing that needs to happen next is that, yeah, that needs to be the DNA needs to be synthesised, right. So really important for there to be adequate magnesium, amongst other things to actually help that DNA do what it needs to do to actually make that baby. So really important in DNA synthesis its also involved in glutathione synthesis. So glutathione for anyone who is not familiar, is is kind of known as the master antioxidant. So there are lots and lots of different antioxidants. A number of the vitamins that I've spoken about already within this mini series are antioxidants of their own accord. There are other antioxidants as well and I often talk about having a diet rich in antioxidants. And one of the best ways to do that is by eating a whole range of different colours in your fruit and veg because all of the different coloured pigments contain a different type of antioxidant. But glutathione is yeah it's seen as the master antioxidant. And we know that these antioxidants, what they're important for when it comes to fertility is we're really thinking about the health of the egg, and the health of the sperm. Because it's oxidative stress, which can be higher as we age, it can be higher as we are exposed to different stressors, whether they are chemical, whether they're things that we're breathing, you know, air pollution, whether they are like exposure to plastics, whether they are pesticides in our foods. Lots, you know, stress even, you know, actual emotional stress, all of those things can cause oxidative stress and reactions in the body. So, the antioxidants, what the antioxidants do is help to mop up that oxidative stress. And of course, this directly impacts, so the oxidative stress, the level of oxidative stress in the body does have an impact on the health of your sperm and the health of your egg. So if you, you know, if you've got issues with sperm, if you are worried about the health of your eggs, then really important thing to consider.
11:51
Some of the other things that magnesium plays an important role in is, one is methylation. So methylation is something that I talk with my clients a lot about. It is a process that happens constantly in your body in most cells all of the time. And methylation is actually involved in again, DNA synthesis and repair. And it's also involved in the way that we metabolise hormones, particularly oestrogen, but also thyroid hormones and other things. So really, magnesium acts as there are lots of co-factors within the various methylation cycles that have to occur. And magnesium is one of the co-factors along with all of the B vitamins, zinc and a number of other compounds. So really important to consider in the context of methylation as well. And hormone production. So we're already building up a picture, that magnesium is pretty essential across the board, for many of the different things that we might be considering with regards to fertility. Some of the other things that magnesium is involved in so is involved in our, it has a role to play within our kind of absorption process, for vitamin D and calcium. And then some of the other, I guess, less direct things that magnesium has a role to play in. And this is a really interesting one is that magnesium has been linked in the research to systemic inflammation. So I talk about inflammation a lot. It is something that we really want to try and reduce or avoid when it comes to fertility for a number of reasons. If you don't know why, then do go and check out my one of my earliest podcast episodes that I refer back to all the time, which is called the Fire thats stopping you from getting pregnant. It's a really, it's an essential listen if you're trying to get pregnant. So please do go back and listen to that episode, if you haven't already. So systemic inflammation, so there was a study, this is interesting, there was a cross sectional study of over 11 and a half thousand women. And what that looked at was women who had the highest quintile, so the highest fifth of magnesium intakes had the lowest prevalence of metabolic syndrome. So metabolic syndrome is linked. It's linked to inflammation. So metabolic syndrome is it's a bit of a, an umbrella term that covers things such as it's things like insulin resistance, obesity, hypertension, so high blood pressure, dyslipidemia, and those are, people with metabolic syndrome are people who are at higher risk of developing things like type two diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some types of cancer. So when we're thinking about cardiovascular health and diabetes, they link to inflammation because inflammation is bad news for the body. And inflammation is also bad news for fertility. And so this inflammatory condition metabolic syndrome was in lowest prevalence in women who had the highest fifth of magnesium intakes. So it's associated with inflammation in that respect. And there are also a number of randomised controlled trials that report a reduction in C reactive protein CRP, which is a direct blood marker of inflammation, following magnesium supplementation, so lower inflammation has been found in people who supplement with magnesium. So that's, that's really interesting. Now I realised that this is talking, you might be wondering why cardiovascular disease and diabetes and those kinds of things are linked to fertility, they may not be directly but as I say, they are linked to inflammation. And inflammation is one of the things that we really, really want to try and reduce when we're thinking about trying to get pregnant.
17:09
So, as I say, links to high blood pressure. So when we're thinking about a bit later down the line, so you know, still part of the fertility journey, but once you're actually pregnant, you know, a fertility journey doesn't end there, Right? The end goal is having a child and having a safe pregnancy. So hypertension, high blood pressure, is of course, a risk factor in pregnancy, so women who are pregnant will get their blood pressures checked regularly. And that's because of the risk of developing pre-eclampsia, which, which can be quite dangerous in pregnancy and put both mom and baby at risk. So really, when we're thinking again about moving on to have a healthy pregnancy, then having a good magnesium status can be linked to you having a healthy blood pressure. And also studies have linked it specifically to to pre-eclampsia as well. So that's really interesting as well, I thought and just generally speaking, magnesium is helpful for ensuring good blood flow to and through the placenta and into the uterine environment, which is important not just for getting pregnant, but for during pregnancy as well. So lots, lots and lots of different links to magnesium and fertility. And one of the other ones which I kind of touched on there with regards to diabetes is the role that magnesium has to play in terms of insulin resistance and blood sugars. So magnesium again, really, really important nutrient for maintaining a healthy blood sugar. Again, if you have ever done my blood, done my sugar reset challenge, then you will know just how important a healthy blood sugar balance is. For fertility, for hormones, for getting and staying pregnant. So that's really important too. And if you haven't done my sugar reset challenge in the past, then you can go back and listen I do have a couple of previous podcast episodes around, around the the impact of sugar on fertility as well. So do go back and listen to those and I can't remember the episode numbers off the top of my head but I will link to those in the show notes for sure. So do go back and listen to those again, If you haven't already.
20:02
So as I say, there are lots of other things like things around bone health, which you know, perhaps less linked to fertility. I'm just trying to look through my notes here to see if there's anything, Oh, the other, the other one that I wanted to mention actually is around with the other two, in fact, are around mood. So, magnesium is a nutrient that is involved in the production of serotonin. And what we find, or what we often associate, magnesium with is, is mood. So mood disorders. So people who have got a current or history of mild to moderate depression, and or mild to moderate anxiety, magnesium will often play around in the therapeutics there from a nutritional therapy point of view. So magnesium, you know, it's so, so important for our emotional health and well being as well. So lots of people again, who, who I work with do have problems with mood, whether that's a history of anxiety, or whether that is as a result of the fertility journey. And I know I certainly did, I struggled massively with anxiety when I was trying to get pregnant and to the point where I really started having panic attacks and you know, and all sorts, so magnesium is is strongly implicated or indicated there as well.
21:42
Now, one of the other things I said, there were two more things that I wanted to mention. Another thing that I wanted to talk about is bowel movements. So magnesium, another reason that I will often prescribe magnesium for my clients. And these are this is a particular type of magnesium is helpful here is if they struggle to open their bowels regularly. So magnesium is really helpful for people struggling with constipation because it helps to relax muscles across the board. So it helps. It helps with it's a muscle relaxant. So people who have any kind of like tight muscles, muscle spasms, things like twitchy eye any of those kinds of things, I'm often wondering what their magnesium status is. And similarly that that kind of bowel motility, the magnesium can help with that. So it can help to, it can help people to have regular bowel movements. So that's a really important factor as well, because again, anyone who has listened to me for a while will know that having regular bowel movements is really important, not just for having a healthy microbiome, but also for having, clearing out your sex hormone metabolites. So, to have really, you know, great healthy oestrogen function, we want to make sure that the bowels are moving really regularly and not getting stagnant, not getting stuck. So magnesium can be a really helpful mineral there as well.
23:31
So lots of things, guys, lots and lots of really helpful things in the context of fertility. Now let's talk about food sources. Because actually, magnesium is really really widely found in the food world. And if you are having a diet as I advocate that is mostly centred around all foods, then you will be eating magnesium. So things like dark green leafy veg, so chlorophyll that's you know, the pigmentation in the green colour that that is magnesium is a part of that so magnesium is a lovely sorry dark green leafy is a lovely source of magnesium. So are nuts and seeds, so are like beans and legumes and avocados and whole grains. So lots and lots of really great sources of magnesium in the plant world. So you might wonder like, well hang on a minute, why are we surely we must be getting enough if we're eating you know, a diet that does contain lots of plant foods as I do indeed advocate. And yes, absolutely. You should be getting a decent amount of magnesium from your diet. If you do eat a diet rich in plant foods. However one of the things about these minerals is that because of our modern farming practices like mass farming, what we're finding in the modern world is that magnesium, well, once it might have been abundantly available in a lot of those plant foods, it's actually getting less and less. And that is because of the farming practices we use today. And it's really because, you know, we're using because magnesium is found in the soil. And that's why it's available in these plant foods, because it comes from the soil. Because we're using, you know, fields over and over again, and crops, you know, we're kind of just doing crops and crops and crops and crops, we're not really giving the soil that time for the magnesium to naturally replenish. So it, it can become depleted in the soil and therefore depleted in the foods we eat. So magnesium insufficiency is becoming quite a widespread problem. And also what, you know, if we're thinking about magnesium being used up you know, more quickly, so, you know, for example, in, in ejaculation, then, you know, that is that requires energy, right? So it's going to use magnesium, and lots of these other factors, like, you know, if we, if magnesium is involved in antioxidant production, and we need our body is finding that it needs to produce more and more antioxidants to counter the impact of our modern lifestyles, which are naturally higher in things that cause oxidative stress. Then again, we're gonna be using more and more magnesium. So perhaps, and this is my hypothesis, rather than any specific research that I found, but you know, that perhaps we're using magnesium in our bodies at higher rate as well. And, you know, what we know as well is that we live more and more stressful lives, right? So stress is at an all time high in the modern world, and if our magnesium is involved in the stress response and serotonin production, and again, it may be that we are using, burning through that magnesium at a faster rate. So it's, you know, it's two pronged, it's that we are, magnesium is depleted in the soil. So magnesium rich foods are perhaps not as rich. And also we are likely using more magnesium than we might have done once upon a time. So lots of people do you know require a bit of extra supplementation with magnesium. Now, it is not my job to start prescribing magnesium supplements to you on the show, because I hope that I've made this very clear by now. But I really am a strong advocate for, things being individualised in terms of prescribing because magnesium comes in lots of different forms, I use different forms for different people, depending on their clinical presentation. It also there are drug nutrient interactions with magnesium. So I really don't recommend, you know, just taking magnesium off the cuff unless you are doing that with under the, you know, under the guidance of a professional like myself. So, if you do want some one to one advice, and you want to know, you know, whether you need magnesium, whether you need any of the nutrients that I speak about on the show and getting really personalised recommendations, you know, looking through test results during investigations. These are all things that I do on a daily basis with my clients in terms of trying to get to the underlying causes of fertility issues. And then, you know, prescribing really individualised protocols, dietary recommendations and supplement protocols to help plug any of the gaps that we find which are going to be really unique to you. Then please do go ahead and book in a call with me to talk through your needs. And talk about what it would look like to work together, one to one. So the link is in. It's in the show notes. And it's also if you go into the show description, you will find a link there to booking a discovery call with me. I do have a couple of slots opening up in September. So if you want to take one of those slots, then please do book in a call and we can we can talk through working together. All right, all the best to you and I will be back next time talking about one or perhaps two of the other mackerel, mackerel. It's nearly dinnertime, I've got fish on the brain, not mackerel, minerals, macro minerals.
30:13
Alright, nice talking to you today. Have a lovely, lovely week and I'll speak to you again soon take care.
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