Magnesium.  Essential for so many of our daily activities and over 325 of our enzymes and yet somehow a common insufficiency.  It may be due to poor digestion/absorption or the beige-food diet, lacking in fresh greens.  Today we will discuss why magnesium is so amazing for us, where to get it from whole plant foods and what it might look like not have enough.

More than half of the magnesium in our bodies is in our bones, a quarter of it in our soft tissues and fluids and another quarter in our muscles. Magnesium is partly responsible for maintaining cells’ electrical charges and enable our cells to reproduce.  Magnesium is important for energy production and protein forming.  It is responsible for proper muscle and insulin function.  Now that’s important!  With the ability to alter our metabolism and make our muscles (including our hearts) work properly, magnesium is the second-most prevalent mineral in our bodies after potassium.

A University of Virginia study followed people with adequate levels of magnesium for a fifteen year period and found that they had a 31% lower chance of developing Metabolic Syndrome compared to the rest of the population studied.  That is significant and was only measuring the one factor.  Insulin resistance burns up magnesium in the body leading to quite the downward spiral.  In a separate double-blind study supplementation with Magnesium was shown to improve markers for metabolic syndrome in individuals that were previously deficient.

Some foods that are highest in magnesium are spinach, kale, collard greens, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, almonds, dried figs and chocolate.  The nuts and seeds can be soaked and sprouted to reduce the phytic acid, making the magnesium more absorbable but soaking chocolate doesn’t really work out.  Much of the magnesium in chocolate is difficult for us to absorb.  Of course I love green juice but green smoothies and soups can also be great ways to get some green power.  Popeye obviously had the right idea, strong and smart too 🙂 Watch this video https://plantpoweredprobiotics.com//videos/ to learn more about how magnesium boosts the brain.

Magnesium deficiency can appear in the form of blood sugar dysregulation as we discussed above and also in poor memory, fatigue, dizziness, constipation, high blood pressure, anxiety, tremors, cramps, weakness and deficiencies of other minerals such as potassium and calcium.  Magnesium can help with sleep and depression.  There is a reason why the brand “natural calm” has that name.  Magnesium can also be rubbed into the skin “transdermally” in the form of hexahydrate for good absorption along with consuming our favourite green foods.

See this week’s recipe https://plantpoweredprobiotics.com//green-homous/ for a magnesium-rich dip.