Published: 04/17/2009 - Updated: 08/14/2019
Author: Dra. Loredana Lunadei2 Comments
We have seen that there are plenty of supplements for athletes, but must be taken into account the importance of certain minerals, including magnesium. Magnesium supplements are an effective weapon to help performance and prevent muscle and joint damage. We can say that there is a direct relationship between the concentration of magnesium and muscle contraction.
It is a mineral essential for the athlete for its role in muscle relaxation and proper functioning of the heart.
Magnesium is an essential mineral which is involved in over 300 enzymatic reactions. It participates in the metabolism of food components in the complex transformation of nutrients in their basic units and in the synthesis of many organic products.
To develop all the functions that are involved in this mineral, is established as an acceptable range of intake for the healthy adult population from 150 to 500 mg / day.
Contents
The functions of magnesium
Magnesium is distributed in our body and outside the cells. Extracellular magnesium is involved in nerve transmission and muscle, the smooth functioning of the heart muscle and plays a role in muscle relaxation. Intracellular magnesium is part of the bone matrix.
For athletes, magnesium is a mineral that plays engaged in balance with calcium, an important role in muscle function, the relaxation and contraction of the muscle.
A deficit of magnesium would cause an over-excited nervous muscle (muscle cramp, myalgia …), irregular heartbeats, lower blood pressure, weakness… therefore there is a direct relationship between the concentration of magnesium and muscle contraction. Muscles and the heart in particular, do not work properly if they do not contain enough magnesium.
In addition, this mineral is necessary for the transfer and release of energy. The effort generates a loss of magnesium, and the lack of it leads to a reduction in capacity for resistance and adaptation effort. It is therefore essential to assess the availability of magnesium in the diet of the athlete.
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Causes and symptoms of a lack of magnesium
In most cases, lack of magnesium is the result of a poor diet, prolonged diarrhea, diabetes, alcoholism or intestinal bad absorption. It also tends to occur when taking diuretics on a continuous way or received intravenous nutrition for prolonged periods of time. The symptoms of magnesium deficiency are lack of memory and difficulties in retaining. This mineral is essential for the proper performance of children in school, students in general and others in the workplace and every day.
Thus, both pregnant women and people doing heavy physical activity, either for sports or work reasons, are also prone to suffer from loss of this mineral.
In sport, magnesium is a mineral with a vital importance in preventing joint and muscle injuries such as sprains, fractures or cracks. It has been shown how, with an injury, convalescence, recovery and reconstruction of bone is made faster and more robust, if magnesium levels are adequate.
Diet rich in magnesium
Magnesium is mainly found in green vegetables (spinach, chard, chicory, lettuce, endive …). This mineral is also abundant in meats, seafood, dairy, nuts and grains to whole grains (not refined or milled). Water is another food that can contain up to 120 milligrams / liter of uranium and is a great way to absorb magnesium.
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Diets high in refined foods tend to have lower content of magnesium rich in vegetables and grains not refined. The mineral is lost during the refining of cereals such as wheat flour and rice and processing of foods such as sugar. So a diet rich in magnesium is one that includes variety of vegetables each day, sufficient amount of meat or fish, cereals and derivatives (bread, crackers, breakfast cereals).
Properties
- It helps prevent cramping and fatigue sensation produced in the process of muscle contraction-relaxation.
- It provides flexibility, agility, muscle elasticity, ability to relax and adequate oxygenation.
Within the wide range of supplements on the market, we find magnesium in the form of:
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People tend to forget about the important elements that the body needs when there are trying anything to get better in sports or while doing work to get bigger muscles but then they see their mistake when it?s too late, so better take care of this, I take the tablets and those are very good for me so go ahead and try
I haven’t actually heard that much about magnesium as a supplement, so it was pretty cool reading about it. Thanks for the info. I don’t take supplements because I get all of my nutrients from food, but it’s interesting to know the science behind it.