Australian sources of magnesium chloride flakes are industrial grade and may contain a number of contaminants from agricultural runoff, mining operations, PFOS (fluoride) contamination from firefighting, or other sewage pollution where contaminants can seep into the body of water used to extract the salts. Only about 15% of global production of magnesium chloride is food grade, which is mostly purchased by tofu manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies (who further refine it to make pharmaceutical grade).
Barriers to regular magnesium soaking
As many people had been familiar with bathing with Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate), all we had to do initially was convince them about the greater benefits of magnesium chloride. Basically, the differences are: 1) magnesium chloride has a higher amount of elemental magnesium, and 2) the sulphate component makes skin feel dry and itchy after frequent bathing in magnesium sulphate, as sulphates deplete the protective oils in the skin barrier (which is not so with magnesium chloride).
Another downside of magnesium sulphate is that the body has to absorb the whole dissolved compound of magnesium sulphate rather than select the individual elements. As it doesn’t need too much sulphate, the absorption stops when the body has had enough sulphate, but it then loses the opportunity to take up the rest of the magnesium attached to the sulphate not being absorbed.
The body can, in contrast, absorb a lot of magnesium chloride because chloride, being the most abundant negative ion widely used in the body, is taken up readily (with the magnesium). The majority of people tended to enjoy magnesium chloride soaks and found them very effective to satisfy deficiency issues.
After a while however, many people tended to get a bit lazy with magnesium soaking after their aches, pains and cramps had dissipated and the enthusiasm had waned. Some got too busy after their energy levels improved. Invariably, the cycle of magnesium deficiency symptoms would return because of excessive stress, combined with lower magnesium supply via poor diet or digestion and absorption issues, and their need for increased magnesium soaking would thus return. The body needs magnesium every day. It’s as important as regular intake of water for cellular function.
I realized that we needed to find a way to incorporate magnesium supplementation into easy lifestyle practices. To counteract this ‘yo yo’ bathing system we created a range of transdermal magnesium products for skin and muscle care, all made with natural and organic ingredients, infused with food grade magnesium chloride. The range caters for all skin types and age groups so that people can select products that they like to use every day, that increase their magnesium uptake and that provide anti-ageing skin care at the same time.
This was a very important pathway in that it offered psychological benefits for the user, as they did not experience any sticky, itchy or irritating residue on the skin, as is often experienced with pure magnesium oil. This strategy made it much easier to incorporate transdermal magnesium into daily lifestyle habits.
By about 2012 we started to see some competitors emerging in the marketplace, supplying magnesium oil, which is a solution of magnesium chloride and water. Their promotional message was relief of cramps and pain. So, people purchased those products and duly alleviated cramps and pain. But what did they do next? They left the bottle in the cupboard, along with their aspirins, and waited for the next case of cramps and pain to emerge. They treated magnesium oil like a medication.
Why magnesium chloride?
We treat magnesium chloride in solution as food that the body can absorb either via the intestinal lining or via skin. It’s mineral water that we can both drink and bathe in. The research has consistently shown that magnesium chloride salt is the most bioavailable form of magnesium. Inside cells the most common electrolytes are potassium, magnesium and chloride. Magnesium chloride, once dissolved, is already in the right form for cellular uptake without further digestion.
The difference in uptake relies on; 1) the concentration of magnesium chloride, and 2) the membrane surface sensitivity where it is absorbed (colon or skin). Let’s look at how magnesium is absorbed via the colon. When you drink magnesium mineral water, a common magnesium food, it has a light concentration of magnesium salt which easily passes across the gut wall.
If you had about 80mg of magnesium per litre of drinking water and drank 3 litres over 24 hours, you would get the majority of the magnesium accessing the interior of the body. However, if you consumed all of the 240mg of magnesium in one bolus, most would be lost in the toilet due to the sensitivity of the gut mucosal lining – which can feel especially irritated in cases of leaky gut, Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.
In an intestinal absorption study of 2017, researchers concluded, “The relative Mg2+ uptake is higher when the mineral is ingested in multiple low doses throughout the day compared to a single large intake of Mg2+.” 1
Of course, if the goal of drinking a high concentration of magnesium is to loosen stool and alleviate constipation, then that is an appropriate treatment, but remember that most of that magnesium will not be making it to the interior.
The digestive system is a very complex tract where food has to be digested and broken down, with the nutrients separated from what we don’t need, and absorbed from the gut to the interior of the body. There are a lot of areas where this complex machinery can have malfunctions – most particularly under stress, because stress suppresses digestion.
The more you look into the research the more you will find that stress is a fundamental precursor to all disease states, and the more stress and trauma, the more magnesium is lost in the urine, with consequent depletion of health. This applies to any kind of stress: both physical and emotional. Athletes, pregnant women, night shift workers, or those prone to chronic anxiety can all become particularly magnesium deficient and may need to replenish with much higher than normal amounts – as much as two or three times the average recommended intake, or well over 1,000mg per day. Oral doses at these higher rates can, however, present potential problems for the gut.
Those with kidney issues also lose alkali salts (including magnesium) too quickly, making it difficult for the body to balance pH, leading to acidosis, which is always associated with low magnesium reserves. Transdermal magnesium absorption offers the safest way to replenish magnesium for those with high-end needs, including those with kidney dysfunction, because the body self regulates uptake via skin.
How do those with high-end magnesium needs recover their cellular cache?
This is one of the biggest challenges facing those recovering from illness. Our food supply has become magnesium depleted over time, with less than half the magnesium content in most supermarket foods that we used to have in the 1960’s. As stress and illness suppress digestion, and the food supply has less magnesium, it is almost impossible now to get enough magnesium to cater for high-end needs. Although, on rare occasions, say, in the middle of a heart attack, hospitals may administer intravenous magnesium chloride to relax the heart and cardiovascular system.