What is magnesium and what does it do?
Magnesium a vital regulator of the human body’s basic health. It is one of the essential minerals that the human body is completely reliant on to function. The body requires this mineral in large quantities and cannot produce it naturally. Therefore, magnesium must be collected from outside sources, like through ingestion of food/supplements or by topical application. About 60% of the magnesium in an adult human body is found in the bone cells, while the remaining 40% is distributed to the muscle, tissue, and fluid cells (US Dept of Health and Human Services). In other words, every cell type in the human body requires magnesium to perform its life functions.
Magnesium can boost performance during exercise, and aid recovery
Magnesium is deficient in over two thirds of the modern world’s populations, but athletes tend to have exacerbated deficiencies. This is likely because athletes push their bodily functions to their limits, and each of these functions require magnesium. Athletes have shown up to 20% loss of magnesium through the increased sweat and urine excretions that follow strenuous exercise, and restrictive diets or calorie intake also contribute to these predominately low levels.
Research on the subject suggests that, because of these magnesium deficiencies, endurance athletes are at higher risk of muscle damage while exercising and have a reduced ability to recover. The same trend is often noticed in people who regularly engage in strenuous workouts. At minimum, magnesium level maintenance is important for athletes to deliver oxygen to cells and regulate the relaxation of muscles (calcium contracts muscles and magnesium releases them; magnesium also controls in the intake of calcium into muscle cells). Magnesium prevents lactic acid build up and speeds muscle recovery time. However, if low magnesium levels become chronic in athletes, it is often found to increase the body’s CRP production (C-Reactive Protein production is a natural immune response to cell damage, but CRP levels become extremely high in those with low magnesium levels), which can indicate an increased risk of undesirable chronic symptoms like fatigue, tension, irritability, anxiety, migraines, and insomnia.
While some stress and inflammation in your muscles is natural and improves fitness, consistently high levels of stress and inflammation can cause chronic over-response issues in your immune system and contribute to muscle damage and painful side effects. Many athletes suffer from these symptoms without realizing that the answer can be as simple as increasing magnesium intake as the first step in the road to proper recovery.
How do I get magnesium?
Magnesium is naturally occurring in a large variety of foods and is often found in fortified foods, but the US Department of Agriculture states that 50% of Americans still consume less than the recommended amounts. In addition, the average body can absorb only 30%-40% of ingested magnesium. Therefore, it is of upmost importance to ensure magnesium is present in your daily meals to achieve the recommended 310-420mg daily. In general, foods containing dietary fiber also contain magnesium; some examples include dark leafy greens, spinach, legumes, (unprocessed) whole grains, nuts, seeds, and tofu. Cacao, as well as some meats like salmon and chicken, can also provide an additional magnesium boost.
If you’re an athlete or workout regularly, your body can likely require and even higher intake of magnesium, somewhere between 500-800mg per day. It can be easy to consume enough magnesium in your diet if you prepare the right meals and snacks. For example, a magnesium rich meal plan for the day could include recipes like: Cinnamon Plantain Pumpkin Seed Bites, Breakfast Power Bowls with plenty of unprocessed grains and seeds, Butternut, Kale, and Black Bean Quesadillas, Salmon Salad Veggie Bowl, Broccoli Cashew Fried Rice, and Banana Ice Cream (add cacao nibs or a couple of dates for an extra magnesium boost!).
If keeping consistent magnesium intake through food turns out to be difficult, oral supplements can also assist they body in obtaining proper levels of magnesium, although it should always be taken into consideration that too much magnesium supplement can act as a laxative or result in malabsorption. If it is unlikely that magnesium is deficient in your body, there is no need to take magnesium supplements, as you can continue gaining sufficient levels through your diet. You can also try topical applications that allow magnesium to absorb through your skin. There are bath salts, lotions, oils, and more – just be sure to do your research on safe products and ask your doctor if you’re unsure.