There are different forms of magnesium, make sure you're taking the right one to help with speeding up your muscle recovery after workouts  

Pop quiz: what do headaches, constipation, insomnia, high blood pressure, anxiety, muscle cramps & spasms, and low energy have in common?

Hint: It starts with ‘Mag’ and ends with ‘Nesium’

Magnesium is THE relaxation mineral; anything that is crampy, stiff, tight, or irritable in your body or your mood could indicate a need for magnesium. So how does this relaxation mineral work in the body, exactly? It acts as a cofactor (or partner) for more than 300 different functions (enzyme reactions) in the body! Without these co-factor partners, like magnesium, the body can still create enzyme reactions, but it can require much more energy, time, and work to achieve.

Some of those reactions include:

• Regulating contractions of heart muscle
• Relaxing smooth muscle (blood vessels, gastrointestinal tract, and skeletal muscle)
• Enhancing control of inflammation
• Protein synthesis
• Energy production for your cells
• DNA/RNA synthesis

(yeah… it’s kind of important)

Unfortunately, our population is wildly deficient in this important mineral. Why aren’t we getting enough magnesium? There are a few layers to this problem:

We aren’t eating enough magnesium-rich foods- Many of us eat a diet of highly-processed, refined foods with ‘empty’ calories, with no magnesium content.

Lifestyle factors deplete the body of magnesium stores Magnesium levels are decreased by excess alcohol, coffee, soda, chronic stress, digestive issues, anti-biotics and other drugs.

Our soil has less mineral content now than in previous decades Industrialized farming and lack of regenerative practices has created a shift in the mineral content of our soil. Unfortunately, that means less nutrient-dense foods.

And, like always, there is more to the story when it comes to the body! In order to properly absorb magnesium, we need plenty in our diet AND some other nutrients (Vitamin B6, Vitamin D, selenium, and calcium) to build balance. The body is wonderfully complicated, isn’t it? Don’t stress! Nature has a way of giving us just what we need; any of these magnesium-rich foods that you consume has a profile of many of these other nutrients.

Let’s talk about a few ways we can combat this epidemic of magnesium deficiency:

Include a variety of magnesium-rich foods in your diet:

Leafy greens- spinach, parsley, dandelion greens, mustard greens, and collard greens.

Nuts/seeds- Almonds, cashews, brazil nuts, walnuts, pumpkin seeds

Avocado, cacao, bananas, and black beans.

Limit or avoid foods that deplete your body’s stores of magnesium 

Once you begin increasing magnesium-rich foods in your diet and reducing lifestyle factors that deplete it, friend, you are on your way to a calmer, relaxed mind and body! BUT when I still see clients still struggling with brain fog, poor sleep, and muscle soreness, Magnesium is one of the first supplements I recommend. With all of the types of magnesium on the market, how do you know what’s right for you? Get yourself an NTP! Just kidding, let’s look at a quick breakdown of the major supplemental forms of Magnesium:

What about muscle recovery? With so many different kinds, how do you know which you should take?

Quick answer: Our body needs a variety of these in the right balance and not all supplements are made the same. Quality is important for the food you eat and even more important with the supplements you choose. Empirica’s TRI-MAG is a no-brainer here. The blend combines THREE types of magnesium that target muscle relaxation and boost recovery:

Magnesium Glycinate and malate to support muscle relaxation, control inflammation, and increase energy production.

Magnesium Threonate to allow for a boost the brain’s magnesium level by crossing the blood-brain barrier. Not only does this support cognition to impact learning as well as long & short term memory, it also has a major impact on two of the most influential factors on our recovery: stress management and sleep!

Quick recap:

Magnesium is THE relaxation mineral that your body needs for a TON of processes. We could all use more of it! With our modern lifestyle and environment, supplementation is often necessary. It is so important to include magnesium-rich foods and to balance your lifestyle to give your body the variety of nutrients to maximize use and absorption. P.s. – get yo’self some Tri-Mag.