STYLE of SPORT | Gear & Apparel Curated for the Stylish Sports Enthusiast

Not sleeping? Take magnesium. Constipated? Take magnesium. Muscle cramps? You guessed it… take magnesium. It seems to be everyone’s answer to what ails you. “Magnesium is the fourth most abundant mineral in the body”, says Dr. Daryl Gioffre, Certified Nutritionist, Gut Health Specialist. “It is the number one neuroprotector of your brain, and is responsible for hundreds of enzyme reactions throughout your body, “yet it’s the single biggest nutritional deficiency I see in most people.”

Getting enough magnesium is essential, and supplementation can help bridge the gap when you’re not meeting your needs through your diet. But a trip down the supplement aisle reveals a dizzying array of options: magnesium citrate, glycinate, oxide, malate, and more. Same mineral, different formulations. So what does each actually do? Here’s our guide to decoding the magnesium menu.

MAGNESIUM GLYCINATE — SLEEP SUPPORT

Magnesium glycinate, also called bisglycinate, helps promote muscle relaxation, stress reduction, and better sleep. For replenishing low magnesium overall, Dr.Gioffre’s go-to is chelated magnesium bisglycinate because binding magnesium to glycine helps support absorption while keeping it generally gentle on the gut. Glycine supports GABA activity in the brain, reducing nervous system activity to produce a soothing effect. 

MAGNESIUM CITRATE — CONSTIPATION & GENERAL SUPPLEMENTATION

As a citrus byproduct, magnesium citrate can boost immunity, reduce inflammation, and increase antibody production. If constipation is the complaint, magnesium citrate is one of the most familiar options. It draws water into the intestines, softening stool and making it easier to pass — but dose matters. Its bowel-moving benefits can also mean diarrhea and abdominal cramping. Read More

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANNE MENKE

 
For the past several months, I have been going to Moment Physical Therapy & Performance (Moment PT). There have been periods of clear progress, followed by days when movements that had started to feel easy have become painful again — not so much exercise, but the physical demands of a normal day. The hardest part has been understanding why my capacity seems to change from one day to the next.

“The gym is controlled stress,” explains Andy Fata-Chan, co-founder with his wife Kristianna Fata-Chan of Moment PT. “If all you did was train, you could gradually progress. But walking around the city, taking the stairs, carrying a heavy bag — they all contribute to your overall load. Add work, relationships, finances, and everything else life throws at you. Your body doesn’t distinguish between physical stress and emotional stress. It simply experiences stress.”

Physical therapy, Andy explains, isn’t about avoiding stress. It’s about gradually increasing your capacity to absorb it. Strength training, mobility work, and carefully dosed movement expand the body’s ability to tolerate more load over time. Improve mobility and the body gains more movement options. Build strength within those new ranges and stress is distributed instead of concentrated in one vulnerable area. Expose the system to manageable challenges until it learns that it is safe to move again. Read More

MD HYPERBARIC

From elite athletes and biohackers to fitness enthusiasts, hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) has become one of the hottest trends in recovery and wellness. Originally developed to treat serious medical conditions such as decompression sickness, carbon monoxide poisoning, and non-healing wounds, HBOT has increasingly moved into the mainstream, where it is promoted for sports recovery, athletic performance, cognitive health, and overall wellbeing.

Inside a hyperbaric chamber, atmospheric pressure is increased to levels two to three times above normal sea level pressure, allowing the body to absorb significantly more oxygen than it can under ordinary conditions. HBOT is often prescribed after surgery because the increased oxygenation in the bloodstream helps promote cellular repair, reduce inflammation, and stimulate tissue regeneration. But its potential benefits extend beyond medical recovery and have numerous overall health benefits as well.

The protocols for treatment, however, and the chambers themselves, differ significantly between a medical facility and a wellness spa. I have done HBOT several times at Restore Hyper Wellness. A recent visit to MD Hyperbaric gave me the opportunity to experience how a medical-grade treatment differs from the wellness version. Read More

NUROPOD VAGUS NERVE STIMULATOR

 
Back in January, we featured vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) in 31 Days of Wellness, and VNS devices, the hot new trend in biohack tools. Knowing there was much more on the topic than could fit into the short 31 Day posts, we wanted to go in for a deeper dive…

Vagus Nerve Stimulation was originally used as a medical neuromodulation treatment for epilepsy and seizure control, as well as severe psychological disorders such as depression. The invasive VNS devices used were surgically implanted pulse generators that resembled a pacemaker, and shown to have about 50% efficacy, which was considered beneficial as a treatment.

In the past decade, the effect of VNS on general psychological and cognitive functioning has gained a lot of attention in the health and wellness space, with the introduction of non-invasive VNS methods shown to be capable of activating the vagus nerve, similarly to the invasive techniques, for overall wellbeing. Read More