In our "fast food nation," it's too easy to not get the recommended daily amounts of most vitamins in minerals into our diets, and that includes magnesium, a less talked about mineral but one equally important to keeping in good health. Whether taken through magnesium rich foods or through a supplement, magnesium offers a number of health benefits, including lowering blood pressure.
Many health research studies have shown that most Americans are not getting enough magnesium. In fact, one study reported that as many as 68 percent of Americans have a magnesium deficiency, with the average person only consuming one fourth of the required amount of magnesium to maintain a healthy body. The recommended minimum daily amount of magnesium in the U.S. is about 320 mg for females and over 400 mg for males. The doctor recommended daily amounts of magnesium are between 500 and 700 mg daily. However, many Americans only take in about 225 mg of magnesium a day.
Magnesium is essential for good health and well-being. Mostly found in the skeleton and muscle tissues of the body, it is needed for more than 300 chemical reactions in the body, such as creating adenosine triphosphate for energy, relaxing blood vessels, controlling calcium metabolism, and regulating blood sugar. Since our bodies are unable to make magnesium, it is necessary to either eat magnesium rich foods every day or take a regular magnesium supplement.
Causes of Magnesium Deficiency
There are many factors contributing to a magnesium deficiency, especially in America. You may not realize it, but soda and carbonated drinks are an enemy of magnesium, as are alcoholic beverages. Chronic health conditions can also cause magnesium deficiency, like irritable bowel syndrome, diabetes, and gastrointestinal disorders. Emotional stress and overexercising can also cause magnesium depletion. Other causes of a magnesium deficiency are less obvious. For instance, the intake of high doses of zinc and protein supplements may interfere with the body's ability to absorb magnesium.
Magnesium Deficiency Symptoms
Magnesium deficiency results in various symptoms. Early signs of a magnesium deficiency include nausea and vomiting, fatigue, headache, and loss of appetite. Here is a more complete list of magnesium deficiency symptoms:
- muscle cramps
- digestive problems
- kidney stones
- high blood pressure
Magnesium for Blood Pressure & Hypertension
New research indicates that magnesium rich foods or a supplement may reduce high blood pressure. One third of Americans suffers from high blood pressure or hypertension and may not even realize it. One out of three people have hypertension, or high blood pressure. High blood pressure left untreated can cause a stroke or heart and cardiovascular problems. If your blood pressure is above 140/80, taking a magnesium supplement or adding magnesium to your diet wherever you can is not only a good idea, it could save your life. Magnesium is good for high blood pressure because it helps dilate blood vessels and even dissolve blood clots. If your blood pressure is between 120/80 and 140/80 you are still in the high blood pressure danger zone, so taking magnesium will definitely benefit your health.
Magnesium Rich Foods: Foods for Magnesium Deficiency
There are many magnesium rich foods out there that you should be eating regularly, whether you have high blood pressure or not. Almonds, soybeans, oatmeal, avocado, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, cashews, and brown rice are all magnesium rich. Seaweed is not only magnesium rich, it is also full of another mineral supplement, iodine, you should be taking regularly for good health. Barley, shredded wheat, sweet potatoes, peanuts, corn, blackberries, broccoli, carrots, white fish, chicken, tomatoes, eggs, bananas, and spinach. To make sure you are getting adequate amounts of magnesium, it is important to eat a varied diet full of whole foods and green leafy vegetables. One key point is the fact that magnesium levels often depend on the soil where crops are grown. Organic foods may contain more magnesium due to the reduced use of fertilizers containing nitrogen and potassium.
Magnesium Supplement Health Benefits
Magnesium benefits many important bodily functions and maintaining a healthy level is necessary for bone formation, producing proteins, maintaining normal function of muscles and nerves, body temperature regulation, energy release from muscles, and proper calcium absorption. Magnesium can also help prevent stroke, diabetes, bone loss, and heart attack, and provide therapeutic benefits for type 2 diabetes, premenstrual syndrome, and fibromyalgia. Furthermore, magnesium plays a part in detoxification processes and it helps prevent the effects of toxins on the body, such as metals and environmental chemicals.
What is the Best Magnesium Supplement to Take?
Try to stuff your diet with as many magnesium rich foods as possible. However, if you are not sure you can realistically eat as many magnesium rich foods as you should, a magnesium dietary supplement may be your best option. MoreNature offers one of the best magnesium supplements to take, a 200mg daily supplement that contains magnesium stearate, vegetable stearins, micosolle, titanium dioxide, slicia, cellulose, and modified cellulose gum.
Magnesium should be taken with calcium because is it essential for proper absorption. While we have heard over and over about the importance of calcium in the diet, the fact is magnesium is equally important. When your body does not have enough magnesium, it produces more pituitary thyroid hormone, which prevents absorbed calcium from use in bones and causes it to calcify in the soft tissues.
Now you know that magnesium has benefits for many health problems, especially high blood pressure and hypertension. Now that you know, you have to do something about it. It's difficult to follow a good diet every day, so your best option is eating as many magnesium rich foods as you can and taking a magnesium supplement whenever you feel that your diet is not as good as it could be.