Magnesium regulates blood sugar levels and blood pressure, helps bones stay strong, aids muscle and nerve function, and is involved in energy production.   It may also help support emotional balance.

Magnesium has been dubbed the “anti-stress” mineral because it relaxes skeletal muscles as well as the smooth muscles of blood vessels and the gastrointestinal tract.

Magnesium is found in many foods.  However, much of the mineral can be lost through food processing and refining.  The level of Magnesium found in produce is the amount of magnesium in soils where food is grown.  According to the USDA, nearly a third of Americans don’t get the recommended amount of this mineral.

Studies point to magnesium’s efficacy for treating muscle and nerve pain as well as its ability to reduce cramping.  Other research has found that magnesium promotes muscle strength in male athletes.

Good sources of magnesium are brown rice, almonds, swiss chard and shredded wheat.

-Wegmans Nature’s Marketplace, September 2016