In this episode of Discover with Dr. Dan | Proactive Health, Dr. Dan meets with Kristen Bowen, creator of Living the Good Life Naturally. Her story is one of resilience and strength that’s sure to inspire the masses. Learn how you can change your life with magnesium by listening to the full podcast. 

 

Finding the Beauty in Brutality

Kristen’s health journey was ignited when she saw the multitude of benefits that magnesium did for her body. It aided in healing her bones from osteoporosis and it helped her recover from many health issues that prevented her from living a fulfilling life. For Kristen, spending time with her loved ones is a main driver for her wanting to keep her body healthy for the long haul.

Something many of Kristen’s clients learn is to find the beauty in the journey and to appreciate how much you grow along the way. It would be difficult for anyone to overcome any sort of health challenge, so Kristen recommends looking for the good parts among the bad.

“It was brutally beautiful because some of the best things that I experienced now are because of that. At the time, I didn't see the beautiful parts. I just experienced the brutal. But looking back, it was a brutally beautiful experience.”

Learning about magnesium taught her that everyone is affected by the mineral differently depending on various lifestyle factors like foods we consume, the amount of sugar included in diets, certain medications, and diseases. She explains how those who suffer from autoimmune diseases often have lower magnesium, which can lead to other health complications. 

A Little Grandma Wisdom Never Hurt Anybody

For those of us lucky enough to have grandmothers, we often hear little tidbits of wisdom whenever they visit. Does something along the lines of, “Eat your vegetables or else,” ring a bell? Kristen’s grandma added on to that advice growing up, “drink your water, get enough sleep, eat your vegetables, eat your leafy greens.” Grandmas know best that we don’t always need to look for the cure all– sometimes we simply have to go back to the basics for optimal health. Kristen finds that personal accountability is a huge component to getting her clients on track to ultimate magnesium cell absorption. Personal accountability doesn’t make us “prey” for big pharma marketers shilling the next mineral fix; rather, it helps us find value in basic activities that boost health naturally.          

Kickstart your Health with Gratitude 

When asked how we know if we need more magnesium, Kristen says that if we’ve eaten sugar, we absolutely need more magnesium. She also advises listeners to try a magnesium test to gauge where they are on the scale, which they can then use to steer their health journey. “We both need magnesium at the cellular level, but I might need a little bit more. If someone has autoimmune, they tend to burn through magnesium a little bit faster, so they might need a little bit more than someone who doesn't have autoimmune.”

Without magnesium, our bodies cannot readily absorb calcium, which can be an issue for bone strength down the line. Magnesium and calcium go hand in hand for cellular absorption.

Kristen leaves us with one last tip: be grateful. She says that being grateful every day helps the body to, “hold on to magnesium.” When we’re stressed or worried, our bodies naturally deplete magnesium resources and the act of gratitude is known to help reduce daily stressors. “When we choose to step back and focus and take a deep breath and really create that level of gratitude, that helps us hold on to the very mineral we need to activate our health at the cellular level.”   

To learn more about the power of magnesium, check out the Discover with Dr. Dan | Proactive Health podcast episode below, and be sure to subscribe for new episodes each Tuesday.