5 Reasons Magnesium is the Ultimate Performance & Productivity Enhancer
50% of you do not meet consumption requirements
🔑Key Points:
About 50% of adults in the United States fail to consume enough magnesium. FIFTY PERCENT!
Athletes are prone to higher magnesium losses through sweat and urine as a result of heavy exercise regimens and increased fluid intake.
Magnesium affects over 300 processes - from protein synthesis and muscle contraction to metabolism, inflammation, and sleep modulation.
If you are a high performer/busy professional, you can’t afford to neglect your magnesium intake. Adequate magnesium levels will give you an advantage over your competition.
Magnesium deficiency has a number of implications for overall health, particularly in relation to chronic inflammatory conditions and exercise recovery.
Despite availability in foods, you may want to consider supplementation - Keep in mind not all magnesium supplements are made equal - (Details at the end).
📰In This Issue:
In this issue I bring you up to speed in under five minutes - or longer if you are lacking in the reading comprehension department, on the importance of magnesium for performance and productivity, exercise and recovery, and overall health and wellness.
We’ll go over circumstances that may place you at higher risk of magnesium deficiency, and I’ll give you practical tips on how to asses your own magnesium intake, incorporate magnesium-rich foods into your diet, and consider magnesium supplementation, if necessary. This information is particularly relevant for busy professionals, individuals consistently operating at higher levels, people seeking to optimize their health, and athletes striving for improvements in performance.
⚠️Importance of Magnesium:
Magnesium is involved in multiple key processes including protein synthesis, cell growth, muscle contraction, nerve function, blood pressure regulation, immune function, energy metabolism, and sleep modulation. Whether you're a high performing individual seeking to increase productivity, efficiency and improve overall health, or an athlete looking to enhance performance and optimize recovery, neglecting to maintain adequate magnesium intake will hurt you on multiple fronts. Here are the Top 5:
🧠Efficiency and Productivity:
Magnesium improves sleep quality and regulation through various mechanisms including interaction with neurotransmitters and modulation of melatonin production - a hormone that plays a key role in sleep-wake cycles. In turn, better sleep leads to enhanced performance across multiple domains including: concentration and cognitive function, stress management, mood and emotional well-being, memory consolidation and learning, immune function, weight management, cardiovascular fitness and health, and exercise performance, among many others.
⚡Energy Metabolism and Obesity:
Independent of sleep, magnesium directly affects metabolism. Magnesium is a cofactor for various enzymatic reactions involved in energy utilization in various tissues and cells. Adequate magnesium levels help you optimize weight management, energy production, and maintain sustained output throughout demanding workdays and intense physical activities through the day.
💆♂️Stress Management and Adrenal Support:
Magnesium plays a key role in regulating the activity of the adrenal glands - which are responsible for producing stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. By supporting healthy adrenal function, magnesium aids in stress management, enhances resilience, and helps us maintain adequate energy levels and mental focus throughout the most mentally and physically challenging tasks of the day.
🏋️Exercise Performance and Recovery:
Magnesium plays a vital role in exercise performance. It supports protein synthesis - necessary for muscle growth and repair, it influences energy metabolism - essential for blood glucose control and weight management, and it mediates optimal muscle contraction and nerve function - enabling higher force production, enhanced endurance, and improved reaction times. Together, these improvements will make you a better athlete across every sport.
💪🏽Muscle Soreness and Cramping:
Incorporating magnesium into your workouts can help alleviate muscle soreness and cramping, promoting faster recovery and allowing you to spend more time in the training room. Studies have demonstrated that magnesium supplementation can reduce metabolites produced during exercise, leading to decreased muscle damage and faster recovery. Studies have also shown that individuals who suffer from muscle cramps - especially those with magnesium deficiency, may experience relief with magnesium supplementation.
📉Magnesium Deficiency and Chronic Inflammation:
Low magnesium status has been associated with increased chronic inflammation and oxidative stress. Numerous pathological conditions, including atherosclerosis, hypertension, osteoporosis, diabetes, and certain cancers, have been linked to magnesium deficiency. Addressing sub-optimal magnesium levels may help mitigate chronic inflammatory stress and oxidative stress, potentially improving the severity and presence of these conditions.
💀Risk Groups for Magnesium Inadequacy:
Individuals more susceptible to magnesium inadequacy include people with gastrointestinal diseases, type 2 diabetes, alcohol dependence, and older adults. Factors such as malabsorption, renal dysfunction, medication use/side effects, and decreased dietary intake contribute to magnesium deficiency in these groups. In contrast, athletes may be prone to higher magnesium losses through sweat and urine as a result of heavy exercise regimens and increased fluid intake.
🍽️🥗Food Sources of Magnesium:
Some excellent sources of magnesium include:
Peanut butter - 49mg per serving (2 tablespoons)
Bananas - 32mg per serving
Fatty fish - 26mg per serving (3 oz)
Pumpkin Seeds - 156mg per serving (1 oz)
Spinach - 78mg per serving (1/2 cup, boiled)
Nuts - 63mg per serving (1/4 cup)
Soy milk - 61mg per serving (1 cup).
By incorporating these foods into your meals and snacks, you can boost your magnesium intake and support your overall well-being. To determine if you're consuming enough magnesium, start by evaluating your current magnesium intake in these foods and compare it to Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) ranges:
400 to 420mg/day for men
310 to 320mg/d for women
💊Supplementation:
In cases like mine, where meeting the recommended magnesium intake through diet alone is challenging or time consuming, supplementation may offer you the best and simplest solution. Various forms of magnesium supplements are available, but studies have found that magnesium in the aspartate, citrate, lactate, and chloride forms is better absorbed and is more bioavailable than magnesium oxide and magnesium sulfate.
Lastly, magnesium modulates sleep 💤, and hence, if you are going to take magnesium supplements, you should take them at night before going to bed.
More Resources:
You can ask me any questions you may have about magnesium and other topics here
Sources:
National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements: https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium-HealthProfessional/
Neilson FH. Magnesium, inflammation, and obesity in chronic disease. Nutr Rev 68: 333–340, 2010
Monteiro PC, Matias NC, Bicho M, Santa-Clara H, Laires JM. Coordination between antioxidant defenses might be partially modulated by magnesium status. Magnes Res 29: 161–168, 2016.
Dragani L, Giamberardino MA, Vecchiet L. Effects of magnesium administration on muscle damage from physical exercise. Magnes PhysAct: 53–260, 1994
Terblanche S, Noakes DT, Dennis CS, Marais WD, Eckert M. Failure of magnesium supplementation to influence marathon running performance or recovery in magnesium-replete subjects. Int J Sports Nutr 2: 154–164, 1992
Setaro L, Santos-Silva PR, Nakano EY, Sales CH, Nunes N, Greve JM, Colli C. Magnesium status and the physical performance of volleyball players: effects of magnesium supplementation. J Sports Sci. 2014;32(5):438-45. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2013.828847. Epub 2013 Sep 9. PMID: 24015935.