VIGOROUS EXERCISE NEEDS ADEQUATE MAGNESIUM TO BE HEALTHY RATHER THAN DANGEROUS

VIGOROUS EXERCISE NEEDS ADEQUATE MAGNESIUM TO BE HEALTHY RATHER THAN DANGEROUS

 Vigorous activity can influence magnesium status, and magnesium status influences physical performance.  Magnesium status also dictates whether vigorous physical activity is healthy or dangerous.  This is true whether the runner is fit or unfit, trained or untrained. 

 

Magnesium is deeply involved in ATP (energy) production, oxygen uptake, nerve function, electrolyte balance, glucose metabolism and muscle contraction, including the all important muscles—the heart plus those in all its blood vessels.

 

During both a race and/or training, vigorous exercise ups the body’s requirement for magnesium—not only because of the higher metabolism and muscle contraction where magnesium plays crucial roles, but also because of increased magnesium loss in sweat and urine.  It has been estimated that athletes’ general requirement for magnesium is easily 10 – 20% higher than the general population.  At the same time, nutritional magnesium can be low in modern, processed food diets.  The combination of increased magnesium need for racing/training plus marginal magnesium intake can make the seemingly healthy choice of running just the opposite by depleting an already low body magnesium.

 

When the body’s magnesium status is healthy and adequate, blood magnesium shows large swings during exercise, more than 10 times larger than the blood magnesium swings seen in a magnesium-deficient body  during vigorous.  This wide range of blood magnesium inflow and outflow enables the healthy body to fully function during the high magnesium need of vigorous exercise.  Healthy magnesium stores allow for the large excretions of magnesium in urine and sweat that occur when the body is performing at peak capacity--without danger of going into a depleted magnesium state.  These magnesium changes in blood and urine normalize within 24 hours after vigorous exercise in runners adequate in magnesium, unless magnesium deficit has been induced by the exercise bout.  In runners with marginal or deficit magnesium status, the blood levels do not show such wide swings of magnesium during performance, and urine losses are smaller.  It is as if the body is conserving its precious store of magnesium by limiting the body’s ability to perform at its peak.  Thus, it has been shown that supplemental magnesium given to deficient and marginally deficient runners allows measurably increased performance during athletic events, while those who are magnesium adequate are already performing at peak ability which magnesium supplements do not enhance.

 

Reference:  Nielsen FH, Lukaski HC. Update on the relationship between magnesium and exercise. Magnes Res 2006;19(3):180-9.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17172008/

 For more information:  Contact  A. Rosanoff, Ph.D.,  Director of Research & Information Outreach, CMER Center for Magnesium Education & Research;  Phone:  808-365-3386

Email:  ARosanoff@gmail.com

©2021 CMER Center for Magnesium Education & Research

©2021 CMER Center for Magnesium Education & Research