Archive for the ‘Magnesiium’ Category

Today we will get back to looking at some the minerals the body needs and uses.
Magnesium appears to be one of the most important health-promoting minerals and the average person’s body only contains an ounce of magnesium.
When people rely too much on processed foods they may end up short of adequate stores of magnesium. Also magnesium levels are also easily depleted by stress, certain medicines or medications. Highly intense physical exercise will also deplete this mineral.
Studies suggest that besides enhancing about 300 enzyme-related processes in the body, magnesium may also help prevent or combat many chronic diseases from asthma and fibromyalgia to heart disease.
Magnesium is one of the most versatile minerals; magnesium is involved in energy production, nerve function, muscle relaxation, and bone and tooth formation. Along with potassium and calcium, magnesium regulates heart rhythm and clots blood.
Some research shows that the risk of cardiac arrest is lower in areas where there is hard water, which contains high levels of magnesium.
Because magnesium relaxes muscles it’s useful for sports injuries and fibromyalgia. Apparently it helps ease PMS and menstrual cramps and may increase bone density in postmenopausal women, helping stem the time of osteoporosis.
The RDA for magnesium is 400 mg a day for men 19 to 30, 310 mg for women, 420 mg a day for men over 31 and 320 mg for women. But higher doses are required for disease prevention or women taking oral contraceptives.
A word of caution, if you have a medical condition, talk to your doctor before taking supplements.
Besides supplements, good sources of magnesium are whole grain, nuts, legumes, dark green leafy vegetables, and shellfish.
This information taken from GUIDE TO DRUGS AND SUPPLEMENTS, Reader’s Digest, 2007