Magnesium’s long list of health benefits are nothing short of impressive. However, with the good, comes the bad. When the magnesium levels in the body dip too low, the body cannot function properly and is at risk of several illnesses and diseases.
Getting enough magnesium in your diet can be challenging. However, with the help of supplements, like the latest trend of magnesium bicarbonate drinks, achieving adequate amounts of magnesium is not only attainable, it’s easy. While magnesium bicarbonate cannot be found naturally in food, it can be made easily and affordably at home – and we’ve got a recipe to prove it.
Importance of Magnesium
Known to reduce muscle tension, lessen pain associated with migraine headaches, improve sleep, and address neurological disorders (to name a few), magnesium is essential to your overall health and wellbeing. Due to its cellular and molecular function, magnesium impacts nearly all systems of the body. For this reason, magnesium’s effect on the body can be as intense as that of many prescription drugs because of its regulatory function for electrolyte balancing, metabolism, and other crucial biochemical reactions.
The implications of magnesium deficiency are frightening. “Once magnesium falls below a certain level, just about everything goes,” says Dr. Andrea Rosanoff, M.D., Ph.D. Co-Auther; The Magnesium Factor, and dangerously, “up to 50 percent of sudden heart attacks may be due to magnesium deficiency.”
Symptoms of Magnesium Deficiency
- Muscle cramps or tremors
- Irregular heart beat
- Fatigue
- Confusion
- Irritability
- High blood pressure
- Asthma
- Bone and teeth degeneration
- Kidney and liver disease
- Hypertension
- Insomnia
Magnesium bicarbonate is a complex hydrated salt only found in liquid form, rarely found together except in some pristine mountain spring water. Drinking high alkaline magnesium bicarbonate water increases digestion and nutrient absorption. Overall, this increases energy levels and the detoxification of cells. The benefits of magnesium bicarbonate include:
- Neutralize acids and balances pH levels in the body
- Replenishes calcium, sodium channels in the body
- Protects cells from heavy metals poisoning (like aluminum, mercury or lead)
- Increases memory, focus, and deep relaxation
Making magnesium bicarbonate is both easy and affordable. The recipe is based on the reaction of magnesium hydroxide (in milk of magnesia) with plain carbonated water. To prepare the water:
Chill a 1-liter bottle of unflavored seltzer, which is fully carbonated water. The seltzer should only contain water and carbon dioxide (CO2). Club soda is carbonated water with a small amount of added sodium and is also suitable.
Shake the bottle of Milk of Magnesia well, then measure out 3 tablespoons (45 ml) and have it ready. The plastic measuring cup that comes with the MoM is accurate and ideal for the purpose.
Remove the bottle of unflavored seltzer from the refrigerator without agitating it. Open it slowly and carefully to minimize the loss of CO2. As soon as the initial fizzing settles down, slowly add the pre-measured MoM. Promptly replace the cap on the water bottle and shake it vigorously for 30 seconds or so, making the liquid cloudy.
After roughly ½ hour, the liquid will have cleared, and any un-dissolved magnesium hydroxide will have settled to the bottom of the bottle. Again shake the bottle vigorously for 30 seconds or so, making the liquid cloudy again. When the liquid again clears all of the magnesium hydroxide in the MoM should have reacted with all of the CO2 to become dissolved (ionized) magnesium and bicarbonate.
This 1 liter of concentrated magnesium bicarbonate water will have approximately 1500 mg of magnesium and approximately 7500 mg of bicarbonate.
It should be kept in the refrigerator. You may note that the sides of the bottle “cave in” when the liquid clears. This is a sign that the reaction is complete.
