Magnesium intake in the average American diet has declined dramatically in the past 100 years. Boiling vegetables causes 50 percent magnesium content loss, brown rice loses 80 percent of its magnesium content when refined into white rice, and furthermore, magnesium is rarely added back in to the soil in conventional farming methods. Additionally, most Americans now eat fewer of the foods traditionally rich in magnesium (legumes, seeds, nuts, whole grains, and leafy green vegetables).
After Potassium, magnesium is the most concentrated intracellular mineral and although Calcium supplementation gets all the hype, magnesium deficiency is much more likely to be a problem. Magnesium is involved in energy production, protein formation, cell replication, and muscle relaxation. It is also hugely important in contractile tissue such as muscles and arteries. Many cardiovascular problems can be helped with magnesium supplementation because it can improve energy production in the heart and dilate the coronary arteries. Adequate magnesium levels will protect against angina, arrhythmias, congestive heart failure, hypertension and stroke.
Common symptoms of magnesium deficiency include asthma, chronic fatigue, high blood pressure, kidney stones, nervousness and anxiety, muscle spasms and cramps, memory and concentration problems, insomnia, rapid or irregular heartbeats, chronic constipation, and migraines.
When supplementing with magnesium look for aspartate, citrate, glycinate or malate. It is best to take magnesium in the evening because it can help to promote relaxation and good sleep. A daily dose can be anywhere from 300 mg to 500 mg depending on body weight. If you are supplementing with magnesium and calcium together make sure to take it in equal amounts. If you take 500 mg of calcium and only 200 mg of magnesium the magnesium absorption will be blocked by the calcium.
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