Our Grilled Salmon with Sesame Glaze is a tasty source of magnesium.
It seems everywhere I look, folks are talking about how using food as medicine can help solve weight struggles. Okay, so mostly I’m looking at professional nutrition journals. Everything is relative….
Still, it’s exciting how much research is pointing to nutritional deficiencies as major players in the development of problematic obesity.* Because that moves the discussion beyond the tiresome calories in vs. calories out story to one that looks deeper at what may be going on inside a person’s body that drives what we see on the outside.
Take the review article “Magnesium, inflammation, and obesity in chronic disease” in this month’s issue of Nutrition Reviews. The upshot of it is that about 60% of adults in the US do not consume the estimated average requirement for magnesium, and “low magnesium status has been associated with numerous pathological conditions characterized as having a chronic inflammatory stress component.” Problematic obesity is one of those conditions.
It’s a complicated story that points to low magnesium as just one among many potential causes of chronic inflammation as well as to the fact that other nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids and phytonutrients from foods like blueberries, cherries and green tea can help ameliorate inflammation that may arise from low magnesium intakes. Which underscores the importance of using food as the basis for healing health problems, instead of individual nutrients (although supplementation can help if it’s used in conjunction with a healthy eating plan).
The good news is that some pretty tasty foods are rich in magnesium:
- pumpkin, sunflower and sesame seeds
- greens like spinach and swiss chard
- beans
- a variety of fish
- raspberries
- watermelon
- and many more foods.
Our Grilled Salmon with Sesame Glaze is a delicious example of a magnesium-rich healthy recipe. Also check out one of my favorite sites for a list of other good food sources of magnesium.
*I came up with the term “problematic obesity” in an attempt to distinguish higher levels of body fat that don’t appear to cause any health problems from those that do. It’s an ongoing discussion among advocates of Health at Every Size whether the term “obesity” should even be used because it implies a health problem when we know some people can be larger and be perfectly healthy.
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First off I have got to say it is rare to come across a website that really does their research before writing an article, so kudos to that!
Out of all of those foods mentioned I definitely go for the fish. Not only are there great magnesium levels, but the omega 3 acids that help benefit the body can do wonders compared to just a hamburger or some other similar food.
I get a little freaked out by the concept of food as a “medicine.” While I believe that diet is the biggest control factor you have over your health (after sleep), I worry about the mindset that goes with thinking of food as medicine. For one, it may lead to people breaking their diet down into “doses” of vitamins and such, rather than concentrating on a well-rounded and balanced diet. We still don’t know enough about how nutritional elements interact in the food that delivers them to us. Choosing one food out of context may not be helpful at all.
The second problem is that medicine tastes bad. I mean, who enjoys taking medicine?? Food is a wonderful thing, and eating well is a pleasurable experience.
All said, notice that magnesium rich foods fall into some broad categories of things most of us already enjoy eating.
1- Seeds, nuts and whole grains. Beyond pumpkin seeds, almonds, cashews and just about every nut provides a good bit of magnesium. Also anything whole grain and minimally processed is loaded with magnesium.
2-Green leafy stuff like spinach. A little secret here- even kids like spinach if it blended with basil to make a nice pesto. Serve it with whole grain pasta to add some more magnesium, and they’ll love it.
3- Beans. Even Hormel canned chili with beans. It’s not the greatest food in the world, but it is magnesium rich.
4- Chocolate. In fact, cocoa is maybe the most magnesium rich food in existence. So choose a chocolate with a high cocoa content.
Foods High in Magnesium – Bille´s last blog ..Magnesium Absorption and Effects of Other Supplements