Go with natural foods rather than processed ones.
ulleo / Pixabay

I advocate balanced nutrition. It is not difficult, but it requires constant attention. Mineral-depleted soils, purification processes, food production methods and packaging are the primary reasons why so many vitamins and minerals are not present in today’s foods.

One mineral, magnesium, is critical for our health. It is needed is hundreds of chemical reactions in our bodies. However, if it not available, those processes will not happen. As a result, your health will suffer.

Adequate levels of magnesium have been shown to lower the risk of death from cardiovascular disease by 40% and sudden cardiac death by 77%. It has been shown the reduce the risk of cancer by 50% and reduce the risk of most other diseases by 40%.

We, most Americans, are deficient in magnesium – and, vitamin D. Both of these deficiencies lead to serious bone and cardiac problems. Magnesium is a relatively easy to find in foods – dark leafy green vegetables, nuts, fish, whole grains, avocados, bananas and dark chocolate. The minimum daily need is 400 mg. Eating too much can lead to diarrhea because the body excretes anything it doesn’t need.

Not having enough magnesium also has problems – restless leg syndrome, sleep disorders, irritability, confusion. low blood pressure, anxiety, etc. If you are not eating balanced foods (not processed and packaged foods), then you might want to consider a supplement. I am not a doctor, so don’t just go willy-nilly adding a supplement of magnesium because you can.

As always, when you change any aspect of your health, you should seek medical counsel, even for something as simple as a change in diet. Why? Because there are many problems associated with the different medications people take. Some of them exhaust many of the vitamins and minerals we need daily. Changing your dietary intake might interfere with your health because of some drug you might be taking. OK, you might not be taking any drugs (you are in the true minority), but be reasonable in whatever you do in those cases.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *