A new survey conducted by healthcare research company ConsumerLab.com revealed that the use of magnesium as a dietary supplement has sharply risen in 2015.

According to the survey, 43.1 percent of the respondents admitted that they now choose magnesium-based dietary supplements over others. This reflects a 5 percent increase from last year’s 38.1 percent.

The use of CoQ10, vitamin D, B vitamins and probiotics also increased. Probiotic use showed the most notable increase by reaching 40.2 percent of respondents, a 2.4 percent increase from 2014’s 37.8 percent. Despite remaining as the most popular supplements, multivitamins and fish oil usage experienced a sharp decline.

"The changes in supplement use seem to reflect research findings and events that made headlines this past year. For example, recent studies show a wide range of benefits with probiotics and magnesium, but indicate more limited applications for resveratrol than the general "life-extending" benefit for which it was originally touted,” said Tod Cooperman, president of ConsumerLab.com.

Magnesium has become a fundamental aspect of wellness and medicine as it is a key player in more than 300 separate enzymatic reactions transpiring within the human body. It is present in muscle, bones and brain tissue. Among its many benefits is it improves serotonin production (curing depression, insomnia, anxiety, irritability, fatigue and migraines), relaxes muscles, enhances cardiovascular system, regulates blood sugar and helps the body produces energy.

But the abundant mineral ’s capability to produce energy has also been realised by scientists focused on developing sustainable, earth-friendly energy technologies. Among these is Aqua Power Systems ( OTCQB: APSI ), a Japanese fuel cell manufacturer that developed a magnesium air fuel cell technology. The technology, which is unique for being “refuelable,” utilises an air-filter cathode capable of permitting only oxygen and blocking water or any kind of liquid.

The company calls it Realistic Magnesium Air Fuel System (RMAF), which is considered by many as one of the most innovative battery technologies on the market today.

Over the past years, the company’s earth-friendly products have received critical acclaim from Japanese market and enterprise leaders for their “extraordinary shelf life, unlimited refueling capabilities, recyclability, environment friendliness, and capacity to power not only small and portable appliances but also giant stationaries and applications.”

In the past, when magnesium and air technology was still at its nascent stage, experts and industry leaders have agreed that the mineral, when combined with natural elements such as air and water, is capable of producing clean and safe power.

“Magnesium has electrolyte versatility of using a common saline (salt) solution” while the fuel cell’s performance capabilities can be enhanced by adding the company’s hydrogen inhibitors. The fuel cell could also be used as a backup system for electric and solar power companies,” a company developing this kind of technology said in 2012.

The two large markets for magnesium is both showing signs of stable growth. The global minerals supplement segment is expected to hit the $14.5 mark by 2020 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.3 percent, while the fuel cell market is predicted to grow at an estimated $2.61 billion in 2014 to $5.20 billion by 2019 at a CAGR of 14.7 percent from 2014 to 2019.

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