1

My vegetarian diet is well belanced so I'm pretty sure I have no deficiency BUT I read that it makes sense supplementing magnesium as an athlete and that it especially makes sense when you go easy on carbs while having a lot of protein throughout the day.

My diet consists of whole grain cereals (wholemeal bread, pasta and brown rice) and I try to eat green leafy vegetables once a day as well as nuts and seeds, peas, beans and lentils. I eat tofu, drink soy milk and supplement whey powder for protein as well as iron and Omega-3 fatty acids in pill form. I do have dairy products though as well as eggs from time to time so I'm not a vegan. I'm trying not to have too many carbs because I'm a boxer and I have to weigh comparatively little compared to my height (I compete at 69kg with a height of 178cm). So my diet needs to supply me with enough energy for rigorous workout while not making me gain weight.

Improve this question
0

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
2

When you cut carbs and train hard, magnesium can be depleted due to its role in insulin metabolism. Avoid this by supplementing with a high-quality magnesium blend such as magnesium glycinate and magnesium taurate, but avoid magnesium oxide as your sole source because of its poor quality.

http://main.poliquingroup.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/1025/Don%E2%80%99t_Make_These_Fat_Loss_Mistakes_When_Going_Low-Carb.aspx

NOTE: if you have kidney problems or kidney failure, don't take oral magnesium supplements without checking with your doctor. 

Muscle cramping is also something that occurs pretty often for people on a low carb diet and they use magnesium to help with it, if you start having cramps or getting muscle twiching... you should consider it.

Improve this answer
2
  • Can the comments in this post be applied equally to a person thats on a vegetarian diet? Or it doesn't matter if you're vegetarian or not?
    – Just Do It
    Dec 10, 2015 at 23:26
  • 1
    Many people experience nighttime leg cramping and more muscle discomfort during exercise, and this is likely due to low magnesium a high percentage of people (even non-vegetarians) don’t get anywhere near enough magnesium, and if you’re leaching magnesium with a combination of your sweating and a low carbohydrate diet, you’re almost guaranteed to have some muscle twitching issues. Considering that over 300 enzymes require magnesium as a co-factor to make them work properly, it’s a smart move to add magnesium into a low carbohydrate diet, weather Vegi or not.
    – mitro
    Dec 11, 2015 at 8:12

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.