Importance of Proper Magnesium Intake For Exercise Performance and Healthy Functioning
Whether you’re a regular at the gym or interested in supplement talk, you may have been recommended to increase your magnesium intake. Are you getting enough? Why does is matter? There are many benefits of having a healthy amount of magnesium in our diets since it is believed to be involved in muscle relaxation, regular neural firing, energy production, and other systems throughout the body that keep you performing and feeling well. One specific phenomenon popular in research right now is the potential ability of enhanced magnesium intake to reduce the occurrence of muscle cramps. This is of interest to both the exercise science and sleep communities since cramping can disrupt either activity significantly. So, how much magnesium should you be getting regularly anyways? National intake recommendations vary by age, sex, and events of pregnancy, but tend to range between 310 and 420 mg daily for most adult individuals. For the most efficient absorption and usage by the body, it is also recommended that magnesium intake be balanced with Vitamin D and calcium. We have put together a quick reference for different foods that are pretty rich in magnesium content to make reaching this goal easier, but visit the National Institute of Health’s page for more.
By: Marily Oppezzo, PhD & Carly Smith, BS
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