Wherever you look, there’s yet another lengthy, albeit useful article on how protein is vital for your fitness and your wellbeing. True, this macronutrient, together with carbs and fats is the key to healthy muscle building, excellent performance at the gym, and a myriad of other processes that occur in your body on a daily basis. It’s no coincidence that amino acids, the main ingredient of proteins, are dubbed the building blocks of life. But what about the many vitamins and minerals such as magnesium that make muscle protein synthesis possible, and that enable other essential metabolic processes as well?
One of them is, you’ve guessed it right, magnesium. This potent mineral is often neglected in our diets, and we’re rarely aware of the many consequences we experience due to our incomplete diets. As an athlete, or even as a fitness enthusiast, you need to balance your magnesium intake to make sure that your performance is pristine, and that you can protect your health. Here are a few key benefits you can expect from enhancing your magnesium intake.
Ensuring bone health
When you think of strong bones, you think calcium. This is only partially true since the mineral is definitely vital for your bone health and preventing premature osteoporosis and other bone-degenerative diseases, but it only serves its purpose when you consume enough magnesium in your daily life.
To be more specific, for your body to be able to absorb and use calcium to build strong and sturdy bones, it needs magnesium for this chemical process to occur. Calcium alone is far from enough, it needs magnesium for your body to utilize it properly.
Boosting muscle recovery
Every athlete and versed workout junkie knows that training puts a lot of stress on your mind and your body. As healthy as exercise is, you need to strike that fine balance between hard work and going after the results you want, as too many people neglect the role of recovery in the chase after greater strength, mobility, endurance, and the like.
Adding more magnesium to your diet means that you will help your body recover faster and with greater ease. Find the most suitable magnesium tablets for optimal bioavailability, and you’ll give your muscles the much-needed mineral fuel to recuperate and prepare for the next training session. That also means preventing injuries due to overtraining and preventing debilitating muscle soreness that can hamper your performance.
Enhancing training performance
Naturally, less pain from those workout sessions and easing DOMS means that you have better control of your body and your mind for the next workout. If you train a few days in a row, you know that this level of control is essential for ensuring that you can stay on the right track with the number of sets and reps you need to perform.
Magnesium serves as a natural muscle relaxant, so using it in your post-workout routine, as an Epsom salt bath, for example, can be a great way to improve the quality of your sleep, prevent severe muscle soreness, and be capable of training without setbacks the very next time you go back to the gym. No more tight muscles, cramps, and spasms that force you to drop the dumbbells before you wrap up your set – you’ll be as good as new when you ensure optimal magnesium intake every day.
Promoting mental health
One extremely important element in your overall health and wellbeing is your mental health. Unfortunately, too many people nowadays ignore the early symptoms of any mental issues that could later lead to depression or various forms of anxiety. And more often than not, people don’t look to their lifestyles and dieting to ensure that their mental wellbeing is included in the process of optimizing their daily choices.
Magnesium, in addition to serving as a key mineral for physical health, is equally vital for our mental wellbeing. Its calming effect can help regulate your mood, and considering its vast impact on our nervous system and brain health, it’s natural that this mineral can help you treat mental health issues, and more importantly, prevent them. If you’re feeling blue, or you’re finding it impossible to train on a regular basis due to lack of energy and motivation, it could be due to a lack of magnesium.
Improving cardiovascular wellbeing
You already know that magnesium is a true asset for your workouts with regards to your muscles in a wide array of ways, from preventing spasms, to ensure optimal recovery. Now let’s translate the same logic to one of the most vital muscles in your body, one that also plays an essential role in your workout routine – your heart.
Magnesium is necessary for keeping your heart healthy, strong, and for preventing heart disease. Your blood vessels in addition to your heart can function better when you consume enough magnesium every day, making it easier on your cardiovascular system to withstand your workouts and benefit from them.
All in all, this single mineral seems responsible for many key functions that affect our health and wellbeing. It would be wise for all fitness enthusiasts to consider checking their magnesium levels to spot any deficiencies and to introduce a supplement if need be to make sure their health is in check.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Claireanne Hastings
Claire Hastings is a wanderer and a writer. She writes as long as she can remember, and she is very passionate about fashion, running, other cultures, and her cat.
Follow Claire on Twitter @claireahastings
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