What is magnesium and why do we need it?
Have you ever been stopped by some activity, persistent and annoying cramps?
Muscle cramps are muscle contractions when they get tired or when magnesium is missing from the body. The cramps They are generally innocent, but they can become particularly annoying. Very often cramps visit paws and calves. I don't need to describe the pain they cause, I'm sure we've all felt it. It is common for us to wake up sometimes And in our sleep. Taking magnesium helps the muscles relax and soon the cramps are reduced or they may even disappear.
Magnesium the protector of our heart;
Many studies have proof of the beneficial effect of magnesium even in various cardiac or vascular conditions such as blood pressure and atherosclerosis. It makes sense if we consider that the heart is nothing more than a muscle. Since magnesium is therefore responsible for contracting and relaxing the muscles, it can act protectively in the various heart diseases. While the contraction of the vessels will also remain in good condition, protecting them from being "clogged" from deposition LDL cholesterol.
Magnesium for better sleep;
Sleep is a basic condition for a good life. Without it we cannot rest, while symptoms of accumulated fatigue can reduce endurance, performance and the quality of our life. It is enough to remember the last time we stayed up late until morning and the next day we had to get up to go to work. Personally, my faith in caffeine worked its miracle, but this is not the permanent solution to the issue of fatigue. He only places her in the "PAUSE", until we find the opportunity to rest. How many hours we sleep is not the point. A basic condition is to sleep well, if we desire substantial rest. Calcium deficiency can be a reason for sleep quality disorder. So before you start any insomnia treatment, check your magnesium levels first.
Period pains and magnesium
A large percentage of women suffer from the severe symptoms of premenstrual syndrome. On these "difficult" days of the month, the symptoms can be so intense that they reduce your productivity. Due to the fact that magnesium is a neuro-muscular relaxant, it can bring relief to some extent from these symptoms. It should be taken not only during the period, but also a few days before and after to see results.
Which foods contain magnesium?
Magnesium is a necessary trace element since it acts as a catalyst for over 350 reactions that take place every day in our body. We find it in the bones, muscles, liver and other organs, while little is in our blood. International recommendations recommend that you take up an amount of magnesium equal to 6-10 mg/kg/day. But since all women and correspondingly all men are not identical, the dose of each of us may differ Depending on the characteristics and specifics his. Magnesium is a sensitive element in processing and cooking, which is why we should try to introduce into our body, on a daily basis, respectable amounts of the following foods. Reducing its processing will give us greater amounts of magnesium.
Rich sources of magnesium in our diet are the following foods:
- Vegetables such as: spinach, cabbage, okra, artichokes, broccoli and peas.
- Starchy foods such as: oats, buckwheat and corn.
- Fruits such as: avocado, banana, watermelon
- Nuts like: Brazilian peanuts, pecans, pumpkin seeds and almonds
- Seafood like: Salmon and oysters
- cocoa and preeminently dark chocolate
- The whole milk
- and tap water, (bottled may be poorer because it passes through various filters that may retain magnesium).
We should include these foods every day in our diet, so that all the necessary minerals, trace elements and vitamins that we need to maintain a healthy body are obtained. Nevertheless, in the event that there is a lack of magnesium or you have noticed any of the above symptoms, you should discuss it with your attending physician or nutritionist, in order to give you the appropriate nutritional supplement.
Dietitian-Nutritionist
Anastasia Tsourouktzi
Sources
- Kelepouris E, Agus ZS. Hypomagnesemia: Renal Magnesium Handling. Semin Nephrol 1998; 18:58-73.
- Altura BM, Altura BT. Role of Magnesium in the Pathogenesis of Hypertension Updated: Relationship to its actions on cardiac, vascular smooth muscle and endothelial cells: in: Laragh JH, Brenner BM, Eds. Hypertension: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis and Management. New York: Raven Press, 1995: 1213–1242.
- Ahsan SK. Magnesium in Health and Disease. J Pak Med Assoc 1998; 48: 246-250.
- Gregory J, Foster K. Tyler H ETA!. The Dietary and Nutritional Survey of British Adult. London, HMSO, 1990.
- Nielsen FH1, Johnson LK, Zeng H, (2010). Magnesium Supplementation Improves Indicators of Low Magnesium Status and Inflammatory Stress in Adults Older Than 51 years with poor quality Sleep'. Magnes Res. 2010 Dec.
