Magnesium, like calcium or potassium, is a mineral of great importance for our body but with less reputation than the previous ones. To know more about this nutrient that should not be missing in your daily diet, we tell you everything you need to know about magnesium .

The functions of magnesium

The magnesium is one of the most abundant minerals in our body and is found mostly in our bones, but not only structural part of the same but also a regulator variety of essential processes in our body.

For example, it intervenes in the absorption of calcium and vitamin D , hence it is so important to have healthy bones , as well as, it participates in the transmission of nervous impulse and muscle contraction , so it is necessary for good sports performance and also to prevent muscle cramps .

Also, since the heart is also a muscle, magnesium intervenes in its proper functioning by favoring its proper contraction.

On the other hand, magnesium participates in many metabolic processes of obtaining energy , being involved in the formation of proteins and also in the absorption of glucose and its degradation.

We already see that the magnesium functions are many and they cover different areas of great importance of our organism, for that reason, their consumption in amounts between 300 and 400 mg daily are fundamental for a healthy body.

What happens in my body if magnesium is missing?

Given the variety of functions that magnesium has in key processes of our organism, it is to be expected that its deficit or its fall below normal levels will cause consequences, causing different disorders in our body .

In the first place, vital processes are affected, such as those that regulate the electrolyte balance, which can cause a decrease in calcium in the body and also alterations in potassium levels . All this leads to a loss of calcium from the bones that can ultimately lead to osteoporosis but also alters muscle contractility.

The lack of magnesium can cause faults in the nervous and muscular system, leading to irritability, tremors, cramps, symptoms of vertigo or dizziness, as well as failures in cardiovascular functioning .

In rodents it has been proven that magnesium deficiency causes a considerable increase in the circulation of inflammatory cytokites that, together with other effects, may be the causes of the increased risk of cardiovascular or metabolic diseases such as diabetes due to magnesium deficiency, such as as it concludes a research published in the scientific journal Hypertension .

For all these reasons, magnesium deficiency can not only alter muscle functions and cause a drop in physical performance, but can also cause complications in people with heart or kidney problems as well as in those who suffer from diabetes.

The deficit of severe magnesium can cause even convulsions and coma , hence it is essential to prevent its decline in the body, because although magnesium deficiency is rare, it can occur because of kidney problems or gastrointestinal diseases and be responsible for serious consequences .

Foods with more magnesium

Magnesium is not only a very abundant mineral in our body, but it is distributed in a great variety of foods that we can consume and because of this, its deficit due to its low intake is usually rare.

Among the foods with more magnesium are those such as seeds, nuts or whole grains, among which are:

• Cocoa powder : its version with higher purity usually contains around 500 mg of magnesium that we can take advantage of with very healthy preparations such as creamy chocolate and avocado , truffles or, a tasty dessert like this pudding with chia .
• Pumpkin seeds : pumpkin seeds are an excellent option to consume toast as a snack or to add to salads , breads , soups and other preparations. They offer around 500 mg of magnesium per 100 grams .
• Sunflower seeds : they provide an average of 400 mg of magnesium per 100 grams and we can consume them as a healthy snack or incorporate them into salads , breads with seeds , cookies , bars and others.
• Almonds and peanuts : have about 250 mg of magnesium per 100 gramsand are excellent for eating as such between hours, although we can also incorporate them into a brown rice with dried tomatoes , sautéed , chocolates , or make almond cream with them. Peanut butter to use in a variety of dishes or spread the toast of each breakfast.
• Legumes : all legumes have an average of 150 mg of magnesium per 100 grams and with them we can make from a variety of salads and stews, to hamburgers , meatballs , sautéed and more healthy dishes.
• Soy flour : it contributes little more than 200 mg of magnesium per 100 grams and we can use it as other flours to make breads or several biscuits .
• Whole wheat flour : this ingredient of many loaves or whole grains such as cake , pie and others, provides around 140 mg of magnesium per 100 grams and therefore, we can not stop using it to replace wheat flour white or refined .

As we can see, it is not difficult to obtain magnesium in our diet and its deficit can pass us an extensive bill that better avoid, taking care that its presence in our body is not lacking.