Tag: magnesium

All about Magnesium

Todays post is all about Magnesium. I recently read a small article on foods rich in magnesium and how this mineral plays a part in controlling blood sugar. This was news to me, so I decided to do a bit of research into this essential macro mineral.

What is Magnesium?

Wikipedia states that Magnesium is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth’s crust. It’s also abundant in seawater due to its high solubility. Magnesium is also the 11th most abundant element by mass in the human body.

Why is it important?

Magnesium is necessary for more than 300 chemical reactions in the human body and is used by almost every cell. It’s needed for healthy bones, heart, muscles, and nerves and helps your body control energy, blood sugar, blood pressure, and many other processes.

An adult body contains approximately 25 g magnesium, with 50% to 60% present in the bones and most of the rest in soft tissues. It is absorbed through the bowel and stored mainly in bone and soft tissue.

How our body uses it.

Calcium and magnesium work together in maintaining bone health and preventing osteoporosis. Magnesium is important for bone formation. It helps assimilate calcium into the bone and plays a role in activating vitamin D in the kidneys.

Magnesium plays an important role in carbohydrate and glucose metabolism. Several studies have associated a higher intake with a lower risk of diabetes. It is also necessary to maintain the health of muscles, including the heart, and for the transmission of electrical signals in the body.

Studies have also shown that magnesium can help with migraine headaches, PMS and anxiety. If you were basically healthy, you probably wouldn’t have symptoms from low magnesium unless it went on for a long time. Low levels have been linked to health issues like Crohn’s disease, celiac disease, or insulin resistance. 

Lifestyle choices can also lead to low levels, such as poor diet, gastrointestinal problems, or vitamin D deficiency. Some symptoms of magnesium deficiency include tingly fingers and toes, flu like symptoms, cramping muscles, irregular heart rate, mood changes and constipation.

Getting your daily dose

Magnesium is one of seven essential macro minerals that need to be consumed in relatively large amounts, at least 100 milligrams (mg) per day. The best way to ensure you are getting your daily dose is from food.

Latest research regarding magnesium absorption from gels and creams on the skin is inconclusive. The best sources of magnesium are pumpkin and sunflower seeds, spinach, Swiss chard and other leafy greens, black beans, quinoa and cashews.

Studies have revealed that when the foods are cooked for any length of time the mineral content is significantly less. All the more reason to eat fresh unprocessed vegetables, nuts and seeds as much as possible.

I hope that you found this information as interesting as I have, I wasn’t aware that magnesium played such a big role in our bodily functions.          Sources – (National Institutes of Health – Health Direct –  Medical News Today 

Till the next post,   

Live clean n Prosper.

Chocolate & Cacao

Today’s post is about Chocolate and Cacao.

Those people, who know me, know I like my chocolate. I have always claimed that it is good for us and it is. Specifically it’s a raw cacao chocolate has health benefits.

Cacao can refer to any of the food products derived from cacao beans – the seeds or nuts of the cacao tree. These include cacao nibs, cacao butter, cacao paste and most commonly, cacao powder.

This is my favourite chocolate recipe.

Raw Chocolate bar

for (approx.) 200gram block

* 100g Cacao butter

* 50g Cacao powder

* 33g Liquid sweetener (Rice malt, Maple, Agave syrup)

* tiny pinch of Himalayan Pink Salt

Melt butter on a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.

(The original recipe instructs to put the melted butter into a blender or processor with the other ingredients to mix. I think this wastes too much, so I do it differently.)

Once the butter is melted, I then add syrup, cacao powder & salt to the bowl. Take the saucepan off the heat and mix. I use a stick blender to mix the ingredients together while the mix is still in the bowl, over the hot water.

Once mixed, I pour the chocolate into a lined rectangle cake tin with other ingredients such as chopped mint, nuts, dried berries or ginger.

I then put it into the freezer so it’s ready to eat in approx. 20 to 30 min.

Cacao v Cocoa, what’s the difference?

Raw cacao powder is made by cold-pressing un-roasted cacao beans. The process keeps the living enzymes in the cacao and removes the fat (cacao butter).

Cocoa looks the same but it’s not. Cocoa powder is raw cacao that has been roasted at high temperatures. Sadly, as a result, roasting changes the molecular structure of the cocoa bean. This reduces the enzyme content and lowers the overall nutritional value.

Recent studies reveal that 60% and 90% of the original antioxidants in cacao are lost through common “Dutch processing”. Dutch processing was originally developed to reduce the bitterness, darken the colour, and create a more mellow flavour to chocolate

Here are 5 reasons to enjoy Raw Cacao’s chocolatey deliciousness.

  1.  Raw Organic Cacao has over 40 times the antioxidants of blueberries.
  1.  Source of Iron

It is the highest plant-based source of iron known to man, at a whopping 7.3mg per 100g.  This compares to beef and lamb at 2.5mg, and spinach at 3.6mg. As the iron in cacao is all plant-based, research revealed that to get the maximum benefits you’ll want to combine it with some vitamin C. Think oranges or kiwifruit.

  1.  Full of Magnesium for a Healthy Heart & Brain

Cacao is among one of the highest plant-based sources of magnesium.  Magnesium is important for a healthy heart, and helps turn glucose into energy enabling your brain to work with laser-sharp clarity and focus.  The reason why you might turn to a bar of chocolate in the afternoon.

  1.  Loaded with Calcium

Raw Organic Cacao has more calcium than cow’s milk, as much as 160mg per 100g vs only 125mg per 100ml of milk.

Interestingly, research also shows that dairy inhibits the absorption of antioxidants from raw cacao.

and finally

  1.  A Natural Mood Elevator and Anti-Depressant

It is a great source of 4 scientifically proven bliss chemicals – serotonin, dopamine, anandamide and phenylethylamine.  These chemicals are associated with feelings of wellbeing, happiness, and as a result, alleviate depression.

See, it is good for you.

Till next post, 

Live Clean n Prosper.