Magnesium
Recently, magnesium has been making the news. People seem to be supplementing for sleep, muscle recovery, improved energy, constipation, and overall health. So is it all its cracked up to be? Should you consider a magnesium supplement?
Magnesium is one of your bodies electrolytes. Its a mineral found throughout your body in blood and within your body cells. Its main job is to aide in muscle function, nerve conduction, heart rhythym, and bone health. The problem is that magnesium is hard to measure for deficiency. You can measure it on bloods with your doctor and if you’re low then supplement. However, this only represents about 1% of your bodies magnesium and therefore is not a clear picture of your bodies total magnesium levels as it may be concentrated more inside certain tissues. This means we have to look at an overall clinical picture (i.e. are you eating enough food sources of magnesium).
When I’m reviewing someones diet for magnesium, I’m looking daily sources of green leafy vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds, or whole grains. Magnesium can also be found in tap water or certain bottled waters. If you aren’t consuming these foods daily, then you may not be getting enough.
Most adult women need 310-320mg and most adult men need 400-420mg per day. To give you an idea of what this would look like in food:
Breakfast: bowl shredded wheat with milk = 85mg
Snack: 1 oz (30g) almonds = 80mg
Lunch: Chicken sandwich (3oz or 90g chicken) with 1/2 avocado on 2 slices whole wheat bread with spinach and an apple = 177mg
Dinner: Brown Rice (1/2 cup or 120g cooked) with (3oz or 90g) salmon and broccoli = 80mg
Total= 422mg
Thats a pretty healthy diet right there! So if you don’t eat plenty of fruit, veg, and nuts or whole grains (meaning bran based breakfast cereals, whole wheat breads) then it may be worth considering a supplement.
Before you supplement, some advice: remember the safest and best approach for any nutrient is almost always food first. When you take a single dose concentrated nutrient, its much easier to develop toxicity. Many people I work with don’t know this and often think if they take too much its ok because its natural or their body will just pee it out. The most common symptom is diarrhoea (that’s why they are used in laxatives). It can also react to a number of medications including antibiotics, antacid medications called proton pump inhibitors, diuretics, and some osteoporosis meds. So make sure you always alert your doctor or pharmacist when you begin taking supplements.
If you supplement, don’t take more than 350mg from a supplement. You’ll see a range of dosages on the market, pick the one thats less than 350mg. I’m usually in favour of a lower dose supplement or multivitamin with 100mg Magnesium and then aiming for more of those whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, and fruit and veg.
