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Common Uses for Magnesium Chloride
Magnesium chloride is a versatile compound with a number of uses in food preparation, health and personal well-being areas, road care and industry, according to Serving History 2. A naturally occurring salt, magnesium chloride may be harvested from lakes and shore deposits. Rather than overlooking it as a non-table salt, you may find it beneficial to consider all the ways that magnesium chloride can be used in your daily life.
Food Preparation
Magnesium chloride is popularly used in food preparation, particularly in Asian communities and children's formulas. Magnesium chloride works as a coagulant agent on liquid forms of soy, helping the material solidify into tofu according to Serving History 2.
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Magnesium chloride is commonly used as a supplement 2. It is the primary supplement compound used to help raise magnesium levels in the body, according to the Office of Dietary Supplements. Magnesium itself is responsible for more than 300 biochemical processes in your body, and magnesium chloride supplements are one of the more effective ways to raise your body's levels of bioavailable magnesium.
De-Icing Agent
Interestingly, magnesium chloride is one of the world's more popular de-icing agents. The Montana Department of Transportation describes the normal manner for using magnesium chloride on roads, which is to use a liquid form of the chemical and spray it over roadways in advance of a temperature drop below the freezing point 1. This prevents ice forming on the road. However, magnesium chloride may also be sprayed on or applied in rock salt form after ice has formed, to remove ice buildup from roadways, driveways and sidewalks.
- Interestingly, magnesium chloride is one of the world's more popular de-icing agents.
- However, magnesium chloride may also be sprayed on or applied in rock salt form after ice has formed, to remove ice buildup from roadways, driveways and sidewalks.
Industrial Production
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Along with its health and public safety uses, magnesium chloride is also used in a number of industrial processes, including textile production. The journal "Water Research" notes that among the environmental industry applications of magnesium chloride, it is also used as an industrial dye and dye waste remover 2. It is particularly common in printing mills and other paper textile manufacturing centers, where it is used to neutralize and clean wastewater byproducts.
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References
- Montana Department of Transportation: Winter Maintenance - Plows and De-icer
- Serving History: Magnesium Chloride Applications
- Rodríguez-Morán M, Guerrero-Romero F. Oral Magnesium Supplementation Improves Insulin Sensitivity and Metabolic Control in Type 2 Diabetic Subjects: A randomized double-blind controlled trial. Diabetes Care.2003 Apr;26(4):1147-52. doi:10.2337/diacare.26.4.1147
- Office of Dietary Supplements/National Institutes of Health. Magnesium: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. Bethesda, Maryland; updated July 11, 2019.
- Kass LS, Poeira F. The effect of acute vs chronic magnesium supplementation on exercise and recovery on resistance exercise, blood pressure and total peripheral resistance on normotensive adults. J Int Soc Sports Nut. 2015;12:19. doi:10.1186/s12970-015-0081-z
- Morais JBS, Severo JS, de Alencar GRR, et al. Effect of magnesium supplementation on insulin resistance in humans: A systematic review. Nutrition. 2017 Jun;38:54-60. doi:10.1016/j.nut.2017.01.009
- Rosanoff A, Weaver CM, Rude RK. Suboptimal magnesium status in the United States: are the health consequences underestimated? Nutr Rev. 2012 Mar;70(3):153-64. doi:10.1111/j.1753-4887.2011.00465.x
- Zhang X, Li Y, Del Gobbo LC, et al. Effects of Magnesium Supplementation on Blood Pressure: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trials. Hypertension. 2016;68:324-33. doi:10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.116.07664
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Jamie Simpson is a researcher and journalist based in Indianapolis with more than 10 years of professional writing experience. She earned her B.S. in animal science from Purdue University and her Master of Public Affairs in public management from Indiana University. Simpson also works as a massage therapist and equine sports massage therapist.