Magnesium for Sobriety
Are you in early sobriety? I’m wondering how you’re feeling. Excited? Free? Blissed out? Or not so much? When I first got sober some of the vitamin & mineral deficiencies I was suffering from kept all the shiny happy sober vibes from coming in. That’s why we are talking about Magnesium today! IF I were feeling kooky & had the desire to pick a favorite mineral deficiency THIS would be the one. Why? The solutions are all of my favorite things! Before we get into that though.. lets look at the tell-tale signs that your body is crying out for magnesium.. Are you still feeling anxious despite having cut out the booze? Do you ever get that wholly uncomfortable (& truly annoying) eye twitch? Do you get leg cramps? Does your heart flutter or randomly pick up the pace out of no where? Do your feet go numb or tingle? Do you regularly feel exhausted AND have a hard time sleeping? If so - you might have a magnesium deficiency.
Why is magnesium important? Well, it is part of the electrolyte family. It regulates calcium, potassium & sodium in the body (this is where the leg cramping & eye twitching come in). It also helps the body absorb & utilize other minerals & enzymes. And we NEED help getting our bodies back into absorption mode since alcohol really stifles that process. Magnesium is also necessary for over 300 biochemical functions & our bodies do not make this stuff - but Mother Nature has our back. Unfortunately over 80% of Americans suffer from this mineral deficiency. So.. that’s a lot of eye twitchy humans walking around. Try to keep this in mind & be patient with yourself & others. I don’t know how this statistic of 80% correlates to alcohol consumption here in America but I feel certain that they are in some ways linked. This deficiency is also brought on by food choices - obvs - but beyond diet & alcohol consumption we can look to soil depletion, digestive issues & some medications as a root cause.
What can be done?
I’m glad you asked!
We want to regularly be eating our greens. Spinach & Chard have the highest amounts of magnesium. Luckily they are both cheap & easy to prepare. When I was the chef at a recovery center we had rainbow card growing in the garden & it showed up in nearly every meal. Some clients got a little sick & tired of eating it but knowing that they showed up at rehab being totally sick & tired of their own shit I felt it was ok to continue serving it to them. So what else.. Pumpkin seeds! Snack on them! Double down & put them on your spinach salads, add them to your granola mix, make a seed cheese. They are delicious. Almonds, walnuts & cashews, are solid choices too. I fully endorse almond butter - great for snacking, smoothies & even some sauces. Avocados! Go ahead & lean into your avocado toast desires. Bonus point for putting it on sourdough - your body digs that fermentation. Speaking of.. Yogurt & Kefir are great sources of magnesium. Now we have arrived at my top two favorite magnesium sources… DARK chocolate & baths.. No, I’m not saying you should bathe in dark chocolate. That would be messy & a waste of good chocolate. Although.. given the opportunity I believe I would try it. What I am saying is - treat yourself with a good quality dark chocolate bar (or make your own) & take regular baths with magnesium flakes. Doesn’t that sound like an amazing way to wrap up the day? I do this a few times a week - lounge in the tub with a book & soak up the magnesium.. I sleep so well those nights & my body feels amazing in the morning. You could also forego your morning coffee & make yourself a cup of Hot Cocoa.. just a thought.
So I am curious - do you feel like you might have a magnesium deficiency? If so which of these delightful solutions is most enticing to you?
Oh & please share this information with anyone you know who is struggling in early sobriety. Since so many of us self medicate for our anxiety this can really help keep us feel calmer & potentially avoid relapse.
xo