MAGNESIUM:

"Why is magnesium so important to athletes and what are its functions?"

Magnesium ranks 4th in over all abundance in the body. In our body 65% of the magnesium is present in bones and 25% in the muscles and 1% in blood. Magnesium present in the muscles is used up for daily activities. Magnesium present in bones is used only at the times of dietary deficiency of magnesium.
This mineral is involved in over 300 enzymatic reactions of the body. Some of the functions of this important macro mineral are relevant to endurance and strength athletes.

Let us first understand the role of magnesium inside our body.
During exercises muscles require energy; ATP is a high energy phosphate molecule that is produce inside the mitochondria of the cell. ATP molecules always work with magnesium, and also act as a catalyst and increase the rate of the energy producing reaction. Magnesium generally increases the anaerobic endurance exercises, by supplying phosphate bonds to ADP to form ATP which is required during athletic performance.

Magnesium helps to make proteins during athletic performance. During protein synthesis process, magnesium helps in activation of amino acids and aids in transfer of mRNA to ribosome’s component of the cell were proteins are produced.

During prolonged exercises magnesium is lost through sweat and urine, this can lead to muscle cramps and muscle spasms, and hence magnesium has to be supplemented to athletes during events.
STUDY: 1
In a clinical study, 500 mg of magnesium gluconate relieved muscle spasms (within a few days) in an adult female tennis player who was complaining about having muscle spasms associated with prolonged outdoor exercise. This may be due to the fact that mineral losses through sweat and urine are increased during prolonged exercise. In specific, sweat losses of magnesium may increase during exercise. Increased loss of magnesium from the body has been seen during and after exercise.

Magnesium is also an important mineral for endurance athletes. Endurance athletes may become magnesium deficient because of increased magnesium losses in sweat. Increased energy expenditure may also cause an increase in magnesium requirements. Magnesium supplementation has also been shown to improve cellular metabolism in competitive athletes