The Role of Magnesium in Muscle Function and Energy Metabolism
Magnesium is an important mineral that supports the health of your muscles and bones, making it important for moving your body and doing sports. It supports the strength of the bones in your body, the proper functioning of the muscles, and the absorption of many other vital minerals in your body.
Impact of Magnesium Deficiency on Physical Activity and Performance
Magnesium controls a lot of enzymes that act as hormones that produce, transport, use, and store energy in your body. It has many roles that affect muscle function, such as oxygen use, energy production, muscle relaxation, and electrolyte balance. All your striated and long muscles need magnesium to relax. Considering that magnesium is important for muscle functions, any deficiency of magnesium can make it difficult to exercise or do sports because it can lead to constant contractions and severe cramps in your muscles, making it especially difficult to engage in any physical activity.
Given magnesium’s importance for regulating muscles and converting carbohydrates into energy, magnesium is especially important for people exercising regularly. Having a deficiency in magnesium can be characterized by fatigue after physical exercise, severe muscle cramps, and spasms. At the same time, magnesium has also been found to boost cellular metabolism and increase muscular endurance and strength in athletes. Although magnesium is essential for everyone, it is known for helping athletes and other people who follow a physically active lifestyle prevent problems like insomnia, muscle pain, and decreased physical performance.
In summary, the positive effects of magnesium on people who do sports include:
- Increased muscle strength
- Hormone balance
- Insulin balance and body composition
- Better recovery from physical activity
- High energy
Improve your Physical Performance with Magnesium
Intense physical training accelerates the use of magnesium in metabolic events and results in losing magnesium through urine and sweat. For people between the ages of 19-51, the recommended daily amount of magnesium needed is 400 mg per day for men and 310 mg per day for women. People who are active, like athletes and amateur athletes, require 10-20% more magnesium than people who lead more sedentary lifestyles.
However, it is important to keep in mind the Tolerable Upper Consumption Level of magnesium, or the highest daily intake of magnesium that is unlikely to affect your health. There is 350 mg of magnesium in supplements alone. In some people, high-dose supplements might cause diarrhea, nausea, and cramps. On the other hand, extra magnesium from meals is harmless as it is excreted by the kidneys through urine.
Dietary Sources of Magnesium
Magnesium is abundant in plant and animal diets, as well as in drinks. Green leafy vegetables like spinach, legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains are all good sources of magnesium. Magnesium is also found in foods that include dietary fiber. Some cereals and other fortified meals contain magnesium as well. Some food processing methods, such as refining grains to remove the nutrient-rich germ and bran, significantly reduce a food’s original levels of magnesium.
Foods containing magnesium are a savior if you want to lead a healthier life. These foods include:
- Dark chocolate
- Avocado
- Green beans
- Banana
- Milk
- Spinach
- Dry beans
- Whole Grain Foods
- Soybean
- Dark Leafy Greens
