Hi, this is Monica Reinagel, and you're listening to the Nutrition Diva

podcast, welcome. You know, you don't hear very much about magnesium these days.

Unlike Vitamin D or omega-3s, which seem to be in the health headlines every week or so,

magnesium seems to be a nutrient that we take largely for granted.

Yet 61% of Americans do not get the recommended amount of magnesium each day

and adults over the age of 50 are even more likely to fall short.

Not surprisingly, magnesium was recently flagged as a nutrient of

Concerned by the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, and it's also the subject of this week's podcast.

Although you're probably not suffering from any acute symptoms due to magnesium deficiency,

you could be missing out on important benefits.

A diet rich in magnesium will help you build and maintain stronger bones, keep your blood pressure down and

reduce your risk of heart disease and diabetes.

Magnesium is also not that hard to come by.

It's found in a wide variety of whole foods. In fact, if you're eating a variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and whole grains, it would be kind of hard not to meet the requirement.

In fact, I see our epidemic of low magnesium intake

as a marker for diets that are high in processed foods.

The foods that are high in processed foods.

The foods that are rich in magnesium are high in lots of other nutrients as well. So including more of these foods in your diet

will improve your overall nutrition, not just your magnesium status. in your

diet will improve your overall nutrition, not just your magnesium status. So rather than just pop a

nutritional supplement, increasing our consumption of whole foods is by far the best way to

increase magnesium intake.

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