Yet another use for my favorite mineral.

It looks like we're not going to run out of reasons to emphasize the importance of my favorite mineral: magnesium. It was once under-appreciated and largely ignored. But magnesium has certainly made the news in the past few years. It's the first nutrient to give someone after a heart attack. It relieves constipation, lowers blood pressure, and relaxes muscles. And it reduces your risk for heart disease and diabetes. Now we can add another application: muscle strength.

In the first study of its kind, researchers randomly selected nearly 1,500 older men and women to evaluate the effects of magnesium on muscle strength. This two-year study tested a number of muscles, including grip, lower leg strength, and the ability to extend their knees repeatedly. The researchers took into account many variables. These include the density of muscles and the difference between muscle strength in men vs. women. Then they looked at the blood magnesium levels of the participants.

They found that serum magnesium levels greatly influenced muscle strength. Those with the highest magnesium levels had much greater muscle strength.

If you find it difficult to stand up, or if you feel weaker after exercising than you once did, look to magnesium for a solution. As I've pointed out before, we use up more magnesium when we're under stress. A lack of stomach acids (or taking antacids) slows down your body's ability to use magnesium. And we tend to eat fewer foods high in this mineral (beans, nuts, seeds, whole grains, dark green veggies). And too many of us take too many supplements that emphasize calcium over magnesium. That's exactly the opposite of what your body most likely needs. So you can see why you may need to take some magnesium supplements.

Give magnesium a three-month trial. Try taking magnesium to bowel tolerance (until your stools are soft but not too soft). Use any magnesium except poorly absorbed magnesium oxide. And let me know how magnesium helped you regain muscle strength.

Dominguez, L.J., et al. "Magnesium and muscle performance in older persons: the InCHIANTI study," Amer Journ Clin Nutr, August 2006.