If you missed part 1 on Post-Workout Supplements you can check that out here Shake it up!
In this mini-series, we’ll run through what’s in the world of supplements, and talk about exactly what supplements have the science and research to back up their efficacy, which ones are a little sketchy, and which completely miss the mark.
The whole purpose of this is to save you money!
You can rest assured you’ll never waste your cash on another useless, overhyped, over-marketed supplement scam ever again after reading this.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at today’s super supplement
What are Magnesium and supplement?
Magnesium is a mineral that’s stored in your body.
Compared to other minerals, you actually carry quite a lot of it at any one time. In fact, you can store around 25 grams of magnesium, half of which is contained in your bones.
The main role magnesium plays within the body is in the growth and repair process.
Aside from keeping your bones healthy, magnesium plays an important part in ensuring that your nerve cells and muscle cells are functioning optimally. It also aids with digestion, by neutralizing acid in the stomach, and keeping your digestive tract clear.
Another reason why you may consider supplementing with magnesium is due to its association with treating and preventing infection and stopping bacteria from spreading when you have a cut or an ulcer.
It is believed that magnesium deficiency is not uncommon in the developed Western world, particularly in the elderly and African American populations.
Additionally, young women are often at risk of deficiency due to dietary choices.
Magnesium helps Build Muscle
First up, for anyone out there looking to build muscle, magnesium is right up there alongside creatine, BCAAs, and protein powder in terms of effectiveness.
Two reasons exist for this:
- Supplementing with magnesium may increase testosterone production. And seeing as testosterone is perhaps the most powerful muscle-building hormone in the human body, that’s a pretty good reason alone.
- Magnesium supports protein synthesis. When training, your body breaks down protein. To build it back up again, and not just prevent muscle cell degradation, but also actively boost growth, muscle protein synthesis needs to be ramped up. Eating protein will do this to a degree, but if you want to maximize protein synthesis (and if building lean mass is your goal, then you should!) the fact mag enables healthy enzyme function in the body has a direct impact on how efficiently your muscles synthesize protein, thus leading to greater gains.
Magnesium supplement helps with recovery
“Inflammation” is a word that strikes fear into the heart of every serious trainer.
While inflammation of the muscle cells is a natural part of training hard, breaking down tissue, and repairing it, chronic inflammation is far from a good thing.
Aside from meaning, you feel sore between workouts, and potentially impacting your performance from one session to the next, inflammation is also a key culprit in increasing your risk of heart disease.
Magnesium deficiency has been shown to decrease lipid metabolism, as well as increase blood pressure. This negatively affects your blood vessels, as well as the tissues in your cardiovascular system.
Required for building bones magnesium supplement
Remember what we said earlier about magnesium being stored in bones?
Well, it makes sense then, that having higher levels of magnesium in your body will aid with bone and joint strength, and prevent osteoporosis in later life.
While many may rave about calcium being the be-all and end-all of bone health, having high calcium levels means nothing if you’re magnesium levels aren’t also up to par.
How Much Supplement?
As with any mineral-based supplement, your best bet is to visit your doctor and get an RBC Magnesium blood test done to see if you are deficient.
However, as a general rule of thumb, the recommended dietary allowance of magnesium is 400mg per day for men and 310mg per day for women. We however recommend focusing more on the elemental levels and shoot for 150mg/day.
Unlike other supplements, magnesium comes in many different forms, including magnesium citrate, magnesium malate, magnesium taurate, magnesium chloride and magnesium carbonate, magnesium orotate, among others.
The required dosage will differ between each of these, so always check the label before consuming.
Contact OBF Gyms for a complimentary assessment to get started with one of our trainers today!