What Is Magnesium Aspartate?

Magnesium occurs naturally in dark, leafy greens.
Image Credit: Johner Images/Johner Images Royalty-Free/GettyImages

Even a diet filled with colorful fruits and vegetables could still fall short of the necessary intake of minerals. One mineral supplement that can help you reach your proper nutrition consumption, magnesium aspartate, helps with blood pressure, muscle and nerve function and constructing protein.

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Magnesium aspartate is a supplement used to help and prevent low amounts of magnesium in the bloodstream. You can also find the supplement labeled as copper aspartate, iron aspartate or monomagnesium-di-l-aspartate.

Read more: How to Determine if a Vitamin or Supplement is Actually Right for You

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Magnesium Aspartate Supplements

According to the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinic Authority, magnesium helps muscles, nerves, heart and blood pressure to properly function. Typically, you consume the mineral through magnesium-rich sources and foods that lower cholesterol fast, which include the following:

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  • Leafy vegetables such as spinach and chard
  • Fish
  • Fruits
  • Dairy products such as yogurt and low-fat milk
  • Brown rice
  • Bran flakes and bran cereal
  • Seeds and nuts

The National Institute of Health (NIH) reports that most Americans fail to consume adequate quantities of magnesium, especially in men over 70 and teenage females — the recommended amount for men is 400 to 420 milligrams per day and 310 to 320 milligrams for women. If you can't meet this intake, magnesium is available as a dietary supplement or multi-vitamin mineral supplement.

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Magnesium supplements are sold in a number of preparations. Of these, magnesium aspartate is among the most bioavailable, meaning, readily absorbed by the body, the NIH reports. However, magnesium aspartate does interact with a number of drugs, including the HIV medication dolutegravir. Whether or not you are on other medications, you should talk to your physician before ingesting such a supplement.

If you fail to consume the proper amount of magnesium, the NIH says you could experience symptoms such as appetite loss, vomiting, weakness and nausea. Extreme deficiency can lead to seizures, personality changes and an abnormal heart rhythm.

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Read more: The 5 Best Preworkout Supplements and 4 to Avoid

Health Benefits of Magnesium Aspartate

You can boost your health with the proper intake of magnesium through magnesium aspartate supplements. Such health benefits include the following:

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Lowering your risk of type 2 diabetes. The NIH states that people with a greater amount of magnesium in their diet often develop a lower risk of acquiring type 2 diabetes. This is due to the magnesium aiding your body's ability to break down sugars, which reduces your risk of insulin resistance.

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Reducing migraine headaches. According to the NIH, people who experience migraines can sometimes have low levels of magnesium in their bloodstream. The NIH does suggest that if you want to take magnesium supplements for the purpose of lowering your frequency of migraines, you should consult a medical professional first.

Improving asthma. In a September 2017 study published in Scientifica on the importance of magnesium in clinical healthcare, researchers found that evidence supports magnesium benefiting symptoms of breathlessness in severe acute asthma.

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Helping depression. In a June 2017 study published in PLOS ONE, researchers studied the effects of magnesium supplementation in the treatment of depression using a randomized clinical trial. In a blocked, cross-over trial on 126 adults experiencing mile-to-moderate depression, researchers conducted six weeks of treatment. They gave one group 248 milligrams of magnesium per day and a control group no treatment.

They found that the magnesium group had a clinically significant improvement in as few as two weeks. The magnesium was also well tolerated and worked quickly and was safe enough that researchers didn't need to closely monitor anyone from toxicity.

Read more: 6 Surprising Symptoms of Vitamin Deficiencies

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