What is magnesium and why do we need it? The understanding nutrients series

The next edition of the understanding nutrients series is here! This time we’re doing the mineral magnesium. You can find all the nutrients I’ve covered so far here.

Roles of magnesium:

Magnesium has many roles in the body. It acts as a cofactor for enzymes which means it helps enzymes to speed up bodily reactions. As there are over 300 enzyme reactions magnesium aids, I’ll just touch on a few.

Energy production: magnesium helps the food we eat be turned into energy. It’s a complex process to turn the sandwich you had for lunch into energy that your cells can use. Glucose from the carbohydrates in your meal is turned to ATP. ATP is the ‘currency’ that our cells use for energy. Magnesium helps us use this ATP; the ATP won’t be active unless there’s magnesium present.

DNA/RNA function: magnesium acts as a cofactor for lots of reactions involving DNA and RNA. This includes DNA synthesis, and protein synthesis. DNA is like the instruction manual for building proteins. RNA takes a copy of these instructions and forms proteins out of amino acids. Proteins form muscle, and other tissue like skin and nails. All of these steps need magnesium to work.

Muscle and nerve function: as I said above, magnesium helps with protein synthesis, which is what builds muscle in the body. It also plays a role in muscle contraction and nerve impulses which is what helps us move and breathe. Finally, it helps maintain a normal heart rhythm, which is obviously crucial.

How much magnesium should we be having? 

Men should be having 300mg per day, while women should be having 270mg a day. For context, a small handful of peanuts (about 25g) contains 50mg of magnesium.

Foods that are high in magnesium: 

Magnesium is found in lots of foods, like nuts, seeds, green veg, and wholegrains. So, this isn’t an exhaustive list, but here are some examples of foods that contain magnesium.

• 100g of spinach has around 54mg
• A slice of brown bread has around 40mg
• 100g of kidney beans has around 40mg
• 25g (a handful) of sunflower seeds has around 96mg
• 100g of cooked brown rice has around 48mg
• 40g of oats has around 45mg

What happens if you don’t get enough magnesium? 

You should be able to get all the magnesium you need through a healthy balanced diet. And your body is also able to regulate magnesium levels pretty well. But a magnesium deficiency can occur if you’re on certain medications, suffer from alcohol abuse, have a diet very low in magnesium or have a malabsorption disorder.

Low magnesium can leave you with: an abnormal heart rate, tiredness, nausea, vomiting, a poor appetite, and muscle cramps to name a few. The treatment is taking magnesium supplements.

Magnesium is a mineral that might not be the most well known, but it’s so important for our health!

Key points: 

• Magnesium has many roles in the body. This includes: helping you get energy from the food you eat, DNA and RNA synthesis, and maintaining muscle and nerve function.
• Adult men should be having 300mg of magnesium a day, while adult women should have 270mg.
• Sources of magnesium include: wholegrains, nuts, seeds, and green veg.
• If you don’t get enough magnesium, you can get symptoms like nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and muscle cramps.

I hope you enjoyed this blog post! I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Bye for now! 👋

References:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/743790/Dietary_Reference_Values_-_A_Guide__1991_.pdf

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/others/

https://quadram.ac.uk/UKfoodcomposition/food-list/

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/magnesium/#:~:text=The%20mineral%20plays%20an%20important,and%20muscle%20and%20nerve%20functions

https://www.biologyonline.com/dictionary/protein-synthesis