Magnesium To Speed Up Metabolism

The term "metabolism" describes the group of processes involved with the conversion of food into energy and the use of that energy. Although your body uses more energy during times of exercise, which speeds up your metabolism, it also uses energy when at rest. The amount of energy your body expends just to support necessary bodily functions, including breathing, regulating temperature, circulating blood and growing and repairing cells is known as the "basal metabolic rate." Certain nutrients, including minerals like magnesium, can help speed your resting metabolism.

Muscle Function

Magnesium plays an important role in a variety of biological functions involved with metabolism. Magnesium functions as an electrolyte, which means that it transmits electrical impulses between nerves and muscles. Every muscle contraction, initiated through voluntary movement or involuntary contractions like that of the heart beating, need magnesium. Supplying your muscles with adequate amounts of magnesium boosts muscle function which can speed up your metabolism.

Chemical Reactions

Your metabolism involves thousands of chemical reactions that occur simultaneously in every cell of your body. These reactions require proteins that function as enzymes to speed up the reactions. Your body needs magnesium for more than 300 chemical reactions, according to the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements. Without magnesium, the chemical reactions slow down, which means metabolism also slows down. To maintain and speed up your metabolism, avoid a magnesium deficiency by eating foods rich in magnesium.

Sources

Many different types of foods provide magnesium to your diet. Green, leafy vegetables like spinach contain magnesium. Legumes, such as lentils and peanuts, also serve as a good source of magnesium. Beans, nuts and whole grains contribute toward your recommended daily intake of magnesium. Despite all these food sources, the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements reports that many people in the United States fail to meet the Institute of Medicine recommendations of 420 milligrams per day for men and 320 milligrams per day for women.

Deficiency

A magnesium deficiency interferes with your body’s ability to function effectively, which contributes to a slower metabolism. A magnesium deficiency severe enough to cause symptoms usually occurs due to gastrointestinal disorders, like Crohn’s disease, that inhibit the absorption of nutrients or kidney dysfunction that causes the body to excrete too much magnesium. Symptoms of a magnesium deficiency include a loss of appetite accompanied by nausea, vomiting, fatigue and weakness. As the condition worsens, you may experience numbness and tingling caused by an interruption in nerve impulses, aberrant muscle contractions and cramps, seizures, personality disturbances and irregular heartbeat.