Stress, Heart Disease, Obesity: Could Magnesium Be the Missing Link In Your Diet?

There are many benefits of magnesium and is a requirement in our diet that is oftentimes neglected.

The amount needed varies among individuals. Adults need about 400 mg per day for women and 420 mg a day for men. When you do not take in enough, it leads to problems such as causing an imbalance in Calcium and Vitamin D in the body. It is also a critical electrolyte that is needed to balance other elements, as well as oxygen transport throughout the body.

The levels of magnesium directly affect inter-cellular transport of potassium and sodium

For verification, the prefix “inter” means “within,” medically. Muscular contractions are enabled by magnesium, and it is a key factor in glycolysis and the way the body breaks down glycogen into glucose. Common things that lower magnesium levels in the body are poor or unbalanced diets, excessive diuretics (such as alcohol or excessive caffeine), sweating, and illness. The electrolytes you most commonly concern yourself with are sodium and potassium, with calcium coming in third (although it is crucial for contractility of the heart). Magnesium is right there as well, and losses can cause everything from cramping to severe fatigue.

Eat a good diet

Common sense reminds us that the more processed a food, the more it will lack in terms of nutritional value. Therefore, eat a healthy diet to get natural forms of magnesium intake. Some examples of foods that are high in this essential element are chlorophyll-abundant vegetables (green leafy vegetables), peas, legumes (beans), nuts, seeds (pumpkin, sunflower), and unrefined whole grains in the form of cereal and bread. Unrefined being the key word there.

Supplementation helps, especially when you are lifting or exercising. Magnesium is also a critical component in the production of energy, as when fats and carbohydrates are metabolized to produce energy, magnesium is a key component here: ATP is found “attached” to it. ATP is Adenosine Triphosphate, a protein found in the mitochondria of your cells used to produce energy. ATP is found in the cells in the form of MgATP. Guess what that “Mg” at the beginning stands for? Oh, you smarty, you guessed it! Magnesium.  ATP needs that magnesium to complete its reactions and provide energy from the cell.

Magnesium is also critical in your recovery; one of the facets of training that is either most neglected or overlooked. In order to synthesize DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), RNA (ribonucleic acid), and proteins, well, magnesium is critical. Synthesize means to produce a substance (as the ones mentioned) from elements or molecules…in other words, “build.” This is the reason that it is critical in your recovery. In order to build new muscle tissue and repair what has been “shredded” with the training, magnesium is critical in forming proteins and the DNA and RNA.

For balance in your diet, athletic performance, and overall health, magnesium is a much-overlooked element that does far more upon closer examination than most would have believed possible. That powder is pretty good stuff and easy to take. It is in a form that is more readily available for your system to take up (termed “bioavailable,” and it has a bunch of probiotics with it that are beneficial additions to the magnesium supplementation.

To read more about the health benefits of magnesium read The Magnesium Miracle. Updated and revised throughout with the latest research, this amazing guide explains the vital role that magnesium plays in your body and life. Inside the book you will discover:

• new findings of the essential role of magnesium in lowering cholesterol
• improved methods for increasing magnesium intake and absorption rate
• how calcium can increase the risk of heart disease—and how magnesium can lower it
• a magnesium-rich eating plan as delicious as it is healthy
• information on the link between magnesium and obesity
• vitamins and minerals that work with magnesium to treat specific ailments
• why paleo, raw food, and green juice diets can lead to magnesium deficiency

Find out why magnesium truly is miraculous!