Low Magnesium or Something Else

What if low magnesium is only part of the story—and the real issue is everything your body has been carrying for too long?

In Episode 201 of Wellness in Every Season, Autumn Carter unpacks the connection between magnesium deficiency, chronic stress, burnout, and the deeper patterns that can leave you feeling exhausted, anxious, foggy, twitchy, and completely out of sync. This episode explores why magnesium gets so much attention, what low magnesium can actually feel like in the body, and why supplements alone may not solve the bigger picture.

Autumn breaks down common symptoms like muscle tension, poor sleep, heart palpitations, constipation, and feeling “wired but tired,” while also widening the lens to include nervous system dysregulation, blood sugar instability, hormonal shifts, inflammation, and emotional overload. She also shares practical support strategies, including magnesium-rich foods, meals that support a stressed-out body, Epsom salt baths and foot soaks, and simple ways to reduce stress at the root instead of only managing symptoms on the surface.

This episode is a grounded reminder that your body is not broken. It is communicating. If you have been trying to “fix” yourself with one solution while your whole system is crying out for nourishment, rest, rhythm, and recovery, this conversation will help you slow down and listen differently.

To learn more about Autumn’s coaching and wellness support, visit wellnessineveryseason.com and connect with her on Instagram.

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Transcript

Magnesium And Your Symptoms

SPEAKER_00 0:01

This is episode 201, and we are talking about magnesium. Is it low magnesium? Is it simply stress? Is it something else? What's going on with my body? Why do I have low energy? Why do I have twitchy muscles? Let's dive into this. Welcome to Wellness in Every Season. We talk all things wellness to help you align yourself, align with your goals, find balance in your life, and just recalibrate yourself. If you are listening for the first time, welcome, welcome. I'm so glad you're here. And let's get started in the rest of the podcast. I'm so excited for this one because this is something that I have been unpacking within my own line. I've been working with a functional medicine nurse, and soon I'll be working with a functional medicine doctor to dive even deeper in this with my own journey. And I don't know how many of you have witnessed this in your own life, but you know when you decide you're gonna buy a new car, new to you at least, whatever new means for you, and all of a sudden, or somebody you know buys a new to them car, and all of a sudden you see that same car on the road everywhere. That's what it's like for me. Because I've been diving into this in my own life. I'm now coaching more people around it, I'm now noticing other people talking about it in the world. So I'm excited for this one. This will be a blend of personal experience, research. There's a lot here. And this is still going to go along with my whole stress series. And the last time I had a solo episode, I talked about adrenal fatigue versus burnout. So think of this as another chapter in the book. You've been feeling exhausted, anxious, not sleeping well, overwhelmed in your body. And you may have heard somebody say, take magnesium, or they tell you to take something that will help you sleep. And while those can absolutely help, not always the whole picture. And here's why magnesium comes up so often. It's often the mineral that we don't have enough of. And it touches almost everything in your body. It affects nervous system regulation. So stress, muscle relaxation, sleep quality, stress response, blood sugar balance plays a role in your muscles. You ever had those twitchy muscles? For me, I get them right around my eyes, usually under here. And because I'm used to it under here, it's super annoying when it's my upper eyelid. It just feels like I can't see straight. I feel like I can't talk straight because it's doing weird stuff up here. Like I said, a lot of adults are not getting enough. So it makes me wonder: are children getting enough? Modern, like I feel like not quiet, I feel like it's kind of loud. Loudly depletes magnesium through chronic stress, caffeine, coarsely, processed foods, even intense exercise can do it. So magnesium matters a lot. But what does it look like when it's low? How do you know? I mean, we just said that most people are low, but how do you know if you're in that group of people? You can feel like your system is constantly on edge. You might notice muscle tension or twitching, headaches, or sleep or waking during the night, anxiety or restlessness, heart palpitations, constipation, feeling like your body can't fully relax. And what's interesting is I had these and I started seeing specialists. And then when I started working with functional medicine nurses, like, oh, I wasted all that money and time on specialists when it was this. It's like your body is stuck on the subtle on position and it can't get to off or rest. Even when you're trying to rest. And in those cases, magnesium can quietly take the edge off. And we'll we'll talk in a little bit about what foods help with that. But here's where people get stuck. They treat it like a solution when sometimes it's just support, and that's that whole layered idea. And we'll talk about stress and all the different ways that it can deplete my vitamins and minerals. So, really, we start out talking about magnesium, but we're really talking about stress and how magnesium correlates, like where they intersect here. You can take magnesium every night, and I've done this and still feel exhausted, overwhelmed, emotionally drained, foggy, still have the twitchy muscles, and it's that idea that you've gone so long without that it will take you a while to recover. And magnesium is just one layer of it, so exhausting, which is why we talk about wellness as a whole, because you need to add and remove a lot of things to really feel like, yes, this is right, and what is right changes throughout your life. So ever evolving as you are ever evolving. Because magnesium doesn't remove the chronic stress, the emotional load, the overpack schedules, the misalignment in your life. Whatever else is just weighing you down. It does help your body cope. It doesn't change what your body is coping with. Not going to suddenly make your bank account explode. That idea. So is it magnesium or is it burnout? Optimable. Magnesium depletion and burnout tend to feed each other. Stress burns through magnesium, low magnesium makes you more sensitive to stress, or sleep worsens both, and you need sleep to be able to process your stress and to be able to absorb vitamins and minerals. But what happens when you're so stressed out and you don't have enough vitamins and minerals that you can't get enough sleep to help those things? But start where you can. Start with what makes sense, and you're gonna try different things and go, this works, this doesn't work, or at least doesn't work for right now. That's where coaching comes in. So helpful because when you get overwhelmed, you have somebody who's there to listen, there to support you, there to offer advice when you need it in that safe space, a really soft landing. We all need that in life, we all deserve it in life. So it goes with the whole layers idea, and it goes with with coaching asking the right question to really get you to yes, this works, no, this doesn't. You can also work with the nutritionists, you can work with functional medicine doctors, so many different options. And really, all of us are working with stress at the end of the day. There's so many different aspects of it, but it's really kind of the foundation of what we're working on. Here are other things that can feel like low magnesium. They can come from nervous system dysregulation. This is what we talked about a little bit, but it's this is us widening the lens, feeling consistent, feeling constantly on edge or shut down. Or like we're about to. Sleep disruption, even if you're in bed long enough. I've been there, been so frustrated. Like I was in bed long enough, why didn't it work? Blood sugar instability, energy crashes, irritability, cravings, hormonal shifts, especially in perimenopause. And I've been having a lot of professionals talking about this recently because I'm going through it. I just turned 40. And I know some because I'm going through it, and I just turned 40. A lot of my friends are my same age. So we have a lot of discussions around this. And a lot of the people that I coach are around my same age too. And it's very interesting from what I've been learning that the reason why it feels like everything is falling apart here, and then with menopause is because of how long we have been ignoring signs or symptoms, and it can take a while to undo all of this that has been our whole life leading up to this point, that we are fixing stress-wise, vitamins and minerals-wise, relationship-wise, our environment, our the way we think and talk about ourselves and to ourselves. Mental and emotional overload that also goes with that, carrying too much for too long. So that's that same idea of what I was just talking about. Chronic inflammation or gut issues. And here's why it makes it tricky. These all overlap, so it can be really hard to disentangle this. And you can feel like, okay, I've gotten this fixed, so why isn't everything else working? You really want it to be, I fixed this, so the house of cards it falls down, and now I'm good. It can be very overwhelming, but know that this is an important layer, so it's worth continuing listening to, it's worth having that check-in with yourself of do I need this? And it's that reminder of that song. Your everything is connected within your body, so it can be really frustrating when you go to the doctor, especially if they're a specialist, or you go to your primary care doctor and they send you here, and you're like, no, it's all of this and it's all connected. So let's talk about what moves the needle with regards to stress and magnesium and thinking in layers here. So magnesium is absolutely a part of your nervous system supporting this. Real change usually comes from improving sleep rhythm, not just supplements, regulating regulating your nervous system daily. And I interviewed somebody for she came out with an app and she now has changed the name. But I really love this app. It's called Ease now, but it can really help you become regulated because it's asking you to add in your mood for the day. It has EMDR in here, which can really help regulate yourself. It can be part of seeing a therapist with regulating your nervous system. It can be doing somatics. Think about things that help regulate you, especially when you're so stuck that you feel like you are just not getting traction. Stabilizing meals and blood sugar. How many of us are so busy, so stressed out, so disconnected from ourselves that we are not realizing my blood sugar sinking. We aren't listening to our hunger cues that go along with that. So we're bottoming out, and then we're overeating, so we're getting out of that green zone area. Our blood sugar spiking, so then what goes up must come down. So that idea. That idea of I'm working really hard and pushing through on this thing, so I know that I need to do something lighter if it's during your work day and you can't clock out yet. Or house project-wise, we did this major house project or major cleaning of this area, and now we just need to decompress. We just came back from vacation, and we feel like we need a vacation after our catching back up at work and around the house and our to-do list and our life. Also, a really good indication that you might have too much going on. Feel like you need a vacation after the vacation. That's really the biggest one out of all this. If you're creating space for recovery and you're tuning in with yourself, it'll be easier to get to your sleep rhythm. It'll be easier to regulate your nervous system, it'll be easier to know when you're hungry and to not eat too much. Wait too long. And it'll be easier to realize your invisible load and redelegate it or decide maybe this doesn't matter. You might be asking yourself what's wrong with me. Your symptoms aren't random, they're signals. And it's not failing you. Your body's communicating with you. Right. They might be signals that say, I need more nourishment, I need more recovery time, I need less pressure, I need support to regulate again. So instead of jumping straight ahead to what supplements do I need to take, maybe ask, how can I support my body at the root level? What's really going on underneath this? Let's talk about foods. So let's talk about some foods that are high in magnesium. And this I was always told go eat a banana. Bananas are actually low in magnesium. So pumpkin seeds, powerhouse, almonds and cashews, spinach and swish chard, black beans and lentils, dark chocolate. Darker the better. Avocados, quinoa. Here's the trick with quinoa. Rinse that like none other. Rinse it really well before you go to cook it. I made the mistake of not rinsing it well and cooking it and could not figure out why everyone else tasted good, and mine was gross. So like a decade or two ago, but bless. You don't need perfection here, but definitely try to add some every day. Now let's talk about foods that support a stressed-out body. This is stable energy. So have some type of protein with each meal. This does not need to be meat. So talking about proteins, I can go to a poster that I have up here. Beans and lentils, tofu, whole grains, beag, nuts, hummus, have a variety. It's that whole idea of eating the rainbow, healthy fats, linseed oil, pep seed, rope seed, olive oil, green leafy vegetables are fat, avocados, nuts. And fiber-rich carbs. Quinoa is a really good source of fiber, too, and protein. Two for one. It actually offers a lot of different things. It's a powerhouse. For fiber, think whole grains, beans, lentils, fruit and vegetables, nuts and seeds. Make sure you're drinking water. Plenty of water. Stable energy that reduces those energy crops and the mood swings, the binking glucose with this. Anti-inflammatory support. So berries, leafy greens, olive oil, fatty fish like salmon, young. Think about nervous system support. Warm grounding meals and not doing something else while you're eating. Just focusing on eating. And you're taking the time to focus on the texture, the way it looks, the texture in your mouth. Focus on the taste of it. Really slowing down and enjoying that meal. Soups and stews. Love that during fall season. Cooked foods, especially if your digestion feels off. And then there's gut support because stress hits digestion harsh. I know that one from my own life. Fermented foods like kimchi, sauerkraut, miso, legumes. And it's not about a perfect diet. It's not about perfect sleep. None of this is about perfection, but it is about tuning in with yourself and giving yourself space to really. And this goes along with coaching or therapy, where you're given the space to really think through things, really process. So you're giving yourself that space of how am I feeling? What else? What's coming up? What do I need right now? Just doing this with my eyes closed because that gives me that chance to really tune in. Okay. Extra Excel. Okay, I'm here in this moment, grounding myself. Another part that I'm excited to share with you. And this is about Epsom salt baths and foot soaks because this is a really great way to get more magnesium. In my magnesium, looking back, it's so depleted that I've never had enough my whole life, which is why I had terrible cramps. And why my mom has terrible cramps in her chest. My grandmother had the same thing. So it's looking back of, oh, this is a generational thing. So these women never had enough magnesium. So of course, I never had enough. Right? Because my mom has a fetus, inside my grandmother, she needed these new vitamins and nutrients, and she did not have enough. Plus, growing up, if my grandmother wasn't eating enough, she was probably not feeding her children enough. Epsom salt bass and photos. This is one of those simple tools that can feel surprisingly powerful. So Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate. And while absorption through skin is still depleted, many people feel relaxation benefit. So it's that idea of you can unplug. I love things that are multi-layered, and that I'm getting to unplug and I'm absorbing some magnesium. That's a win. So for a full bath, it's two one to two cups of Epsom salt, and you soak for 15 to 20 minutes, and warm, not overly hot. For a foot soak, it's half a cup Epsom salt in a basin of warm water and it's 15 to 20 minutes, two to three times per week for support, and more often during high stress periods if it feels good for your body. And this also helps with pooping because magnesium muscles, right, with constipation, but it's also really good if you have hemorrhoid, it softens them. Double winner. And while you're in there, you can shave your legs. I have it kind of looks like a cheese grater, so I'll do the bottom like B. That's when I'll switch out my toenail polish. So it's a really good self-care night. Two or three times per week. Let's talk about what stress depletes in the body. Chronic stress is expensive for your body. And it is financially too, right? How many times are you buying things because some aspect of what you're missing in life has been marketed to you? And if you really go back to it, stress, small things being marketed to you and sex. Right? That sexy person, or they're doing something that looks fun. Anyway, it's expensive. You're going to the doctor more, you're buying more things to fix your stress, you're using up time being sick instead of going on vacation. You're missing out on advancement where you work because you're spending too much time being sick, or being sickly where you're still there, but you're not functioning optimally. Or it's expensive on your relationships. So it can be expensive in a lot of different ways. And stress burns through key nutrients faster than you can replace if you're not intentional. Common nutrients that are depleted, and these are ones that were depleted for me when I did my hair follicle analysis. And blood work, magnesium, and that affects relaxation, sleep, muscle function, B vitamins, energy production, brain function, vitamin C, immune support, and adrenal function, zinc, immune system, and healing. And for me, I actually had too much zinc in my body. So inflammation. Omega-3s, inflammation, and brain health. And this is why you can feel both tired and wired, depleted and overstimulated. And here's what chronic stress can lead to. This isn't about scaring you, it's about awareness. When stress goes unaddressed long term, it can contribute to cardiovascular disease, digestive disorders, anxiety and depression, sleep disorders, hormonal imbalances, autoimmune conditions, metabolic issues like insulin resistance. Chronic stress is not just emotional, it becomes physical over time. So definitely can be expensive. Now let's talk about some ways to reduce stress and not just manage it. And this is where people often get stuck. And I'm pointing at myself too. You can't think your way out of stress. Right? Your body needs physical signals of safety. Needs physical signals of safety. What would that look like? Can look like breath work, slow, deep breathing, longer exhales, especially, movement, walking, stretching, yoga, non-intense regulating, heart and relaxation, sauna, baths, even just sitting still without stimulation. And that can be really hard. You might need to work up to the without stimulation part. Totally fine. Sensory grounding. I love this one. Being outside, sunlight, hands in water, touching something natural. For me, it can even just be looking around you, maybe finding all the things that are green, whatever, or something of a texture. Emotional release, talking. Coaching can be with that. Journaling, crying. Not my favorite, because then I get all headache and I'm stuffy. So maybe cry before you go to sleep. Like hours before you go to sleep, then you won't be all stuffy and trying to breathe. Reducing input. Yes, this is mine. Sometimes the most powerful thing is less noise, less scrolling, less pressure. So when you ask, is it magnesium or something else? Here's the grounded answer. Magnesium might be part of the support, but your body is asking for more than one thing: nourishment, rest, rhythm, safety, and space to recover. So I have coaching questions, and then I have coaching questions. So let me get to my first series of coaching questions. When do you feel the most tense in your body? Did anything come to mind? What's happening around you at that time? Am I relying on quick fixes or am I also addressing the root stress in my life? What quick fixes am I relying on? Do they work enough? Should they be layered? But what's at the root of this? If you're struggling with that, reach out to me. Wellnesseveryseason.com. You can schedule with me right there on the landing page. What actually helps me feel calm? And how often do I give myself access to that? This is a big deal because we live in a time where CBD is all over the place. Is that a band-aid? What do you think? If CBD came to mind for you when I asked, that's not addressing the root cause. Where might my body need support? And where might my life need adjustment? Here's a big one. If I stopped trying to fix using quotes, fix myself for a moment, what would I notice instead? Where is my body asking for support that I've been overwriting? For me, that was definitely the magnesium one. Which is why I wanted to have a whole episode on it. Am I trying to solve a whole body issue with a single solution? I totally was with the magnesium. Even with writing this episode and realizing, no, no, no, there's more to it. What would support look like for me? Not ideally, but realistically. What is one small way I can nourish my body this week? If I truly believe my body was on my side, how would I treat it differently? Because here's the thing: your body's not working against you. It's adapting, it's compensating, it's doing everything it can to keep up. And when it starts asking for more support, that's not a failure. That's important to remember. And that's something that I'm going to need to reflect on past instances where I thought it was failing me. It's an invitation. Right? So for me, I just went to the doctor to get antibiotics, and I'm very frustrated because two times ago when I had a virus, I had to get antibiotics then. And it's like my body's failing me. Hold on, what's actually going on? So it goes back to that question. Huh, my body's not failing me. It's been in stress for such a long time. So here's the closing thoughts. Magnesium can be incredibly supportive, but it's not a magic switch. Great if it was. If your body feels depleted, overwhelmed, or stretched, then it's not because you're missing one thing. Because your system has been carrying more than it can substantially hold. And healing isn't about chasing the next solution. So great if it was. And that's also why the wellness industry is telling trillions of dollars, not just billions. Why it makes so much money. For your needs, for your ideal lifestyle. So going back to it's an invitation. Are there people who are also struggling through this that need this episode? People that you know. Who comes to mind? Who can you share this episode with so that they can also find relief? And maybe so that they can become your support partner. Please share this episode and please know you are absolutely worth having amazing health, wellness, vitality, whatever words you need to put in here, energy, balance, love, lightness. You're worth it. But know that this is work, it's absolutely worth it, and it will be an amazing investment. It will absolutely pay off. I believe in you, and I know you can do it, and I know that it's worth unwinding the stress, and it's worth showing other people how to do it, and we don't have to be perfect at it to also cheer on other people who are working to become the best versions of themselves in a very whole self way. Think about examples in your life of when you pushed through, you stayed up late, and then when you got sleep and you looked at whatever you're working on, you had to redo all of that versus the times where you went, I'm burning out, my candle was running low, I need to take a break, or I need to go to sleep, and then you come back to it when you're refreshed. Have you noticed that you don't have to undo things when you take the time for yourself, and then you come back to whatever it is, pays off to take these breaks, pays off to look at your stress and how you can relieve it, and what you need to put in nutritionally, what you need to put in environmentally, what you need to put in with support systems, and what you need to subtract. Maybe it's that boss, but maybe it's spending less time around a coworker, spending less or no time around a family member or someone in your community, or maybe it's about giving yourself more white space in your calendar. Listen to yourself. When you really listen to yourself, you will find that you are your own guru and that you have the answers. And if you are absolutely stuck, I would love to help you. Wildnessandeveryseason.com, you can find it there. I'll see you in the next episode. Thank you so much for listening to this episode. I hope that you found the answers that you needed and you had some amazing aha moments. Please share this episode with others because it helps us align ourselves and then better align the world so that we can seek the healing that we really are looking for. As part of the legal language, I am a certified life coach with uh bachelor's in applied health. That is what I am leaning on for this. This is general advice taken as that. See you in the next episode.