Nutrition and Body Experiment 1

As the quote says at the top of my blog, I like to test, tweak and alter my body in different ways. I recently discussed tracking my body weight and fat. I have also in the past discussed the different 'diet' methods employed to achieve maximization. Of course, I facetiously use the word diet because my first few experiments included ice cream, peanut butter and chocolate syrup. At least I enjoyed it.

This year, I am letting my body be Jessica's guinea pig as she explores different nutritional theories that impact the body...particularly endurance athletes. The idea is that each month, I will try something new with my diet. I will monitor how I am feeling mentally and physically. Ideally, I will see improvements but they may come in the subtle form of minor body composition adjustments, reduction in inflammation and fatigue or sleeping better at night. I enter each new challenge with a bit of skepticism and fear about what the changes might mean for my body and training.

Experiment #1: Increase the level of magnesium in my body.

From a NYT Health article:

• Magnesium is readily available in foods that form the basis of a healthful diet -- whole grains, fruits, dark-green leafy vegetables and nuts. But the highly processed foods that most Americans live on are sorely lacking in the mineral. The latest national studies found that as many as three-fourths of Americans do not consume enough to avoid the adverse effects associated with chronic magnesium deficiency.
  

From NIH

• Magnesium also helps regulate blood sugar levels, promotes normal blood pressure, and is known to be involved in energy metabolism and protein synthesis

From Jessica

• Magnesium levels are related to levels of a hormone called adiponectin. As magnesium goes up, so adiponectin goes up. This is important because adiponectin has an INVERSE relationship to body fat: as adiponectin goes UP, body fat levels go DOWN. This is also why an optimal magnesium level in the body reduces the risk of Metabolic Disorder and Type 2 Diabetes. Magnesium is also helps with stress, relaxes muscles, helps with sleep and restless legs, reduces blood pressure, and is necessary to carry out the metabolic functions of cells.

I started this process four weeks ago. I began using a product called Natural Calm. It is a flavored powder that dissolves in hot water. I began with just 1/2 teaspoon a day and worked my way up to 1.5 teaspoons.

I can't say that I have seen any significant improvement. My biggest complaint is that it changed the way my body processes food and made me a bit irregular. I have not experienced a weight or body fat loss. Those figures are still holding steady. I can't say for certain that I am less sore as there are too many variables in that equation. I will say that I am a bit more focused than normal. I suspect that despite the adjustment to my schedule, I am slightly more energetic as a result. I am definitely sleeping well right now but that may be related to going to bed earlier and focusing on recovery.

In the end, I don't know that I experienced an significant benefits from taking the extra magnesium. With ING this week, I am discontinuing my dosage so that I don't suffer from any GI issues Sunday. At this point, I don't know if I will go back onto the Mg. Of course, that might all change if I start feeling the subtle signs of fatigue, etc.

I am more excited about my next challenge...I get to eat a lot!!!