Magnesium
Written by Ted Gousse
I have always had trouble with muscle tension. I would go to Capoeira class and stretch what I could and make it through class but about an hour later I would be walking like the \”tin man.\” Aside from accounting for the lactic acid that builds up in the muscles after a long workout, other nutrients are exhausted in the body as well.
Proper daily hydration and a balanced diet is what you hear but the rest of the details are left out like what to eat and when and why. Banana\’s are popular for their potassium but that might not always work to relieve most of the pain and tension the body is expressing. Something else is missing and that is Magnesium. I started slow because, as a vegetarian, my iron intake is lower than that of someone who eats meat and the muscles need a consistant blood supply for the activities they facilitate. So, I needed to find a food that would suppliment that and I had success in finding the right foods by considering the foods involved in nourishing the muscles.
I finally came across molasses because it is considered an acceptable iron suppliment for the day. What I also found was that the debilitating low back pain I would experience after class was about 60-70% gone. I was so relieved that I found this that I continued looking for why it worked so well. Molasses is rich in magnesium, potassium, and calcium! That was a piece of the puzzle I did not have before so when I later found that it helped the muscles to relax and this was the reason for the relief I was feeling . Now I take Floradix Calcium-Magnesium as a daily suppliment and my muscle tension is reletively non-existant. If you are the \”heady\” type you can continue your journey through this link.
If you were wondering \”how am I gonna make this part of my healthy lifestyle?\” Here are a few websites that might make it easier for you to do your food shopping next week.
- http://magnesiumrichfoods.com/ (food shopping choices)
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2642861/?tool=pmcentrez&report=abstract (current research regarding magnesium sources)
- http://www.aquamin.org/ (mineral used in current research)