Do you feel that you lack muscle tone and strength and tiredness overcomes you? You may need to increase the levels of magnesium and potassium, essential when you practice any sport or physical activity.

As a lover of sports and a healthy life, you will know the importance of following a balanced diet rich in nutrients. 

In summer it is especially important to take care of your diet, because if your rhythm of life remains active, you may feel more tired, a reduction in your vitality and a greater weakness in the muscles due to the effect of the heat.

It is at times like summer as well as in times of intense training that it may be convenient and necessary to resort to two allied minerals in the athlete's diet: magnesium and potassium. 

The first acts on vitality and, the second, on the minerals that we lose during sports and sweating. Both can help neither fatigue nor heat prevents you from continuing with your exercise routine.

Magnesium, essential to maintain muscles and vitality

With age, muscles tire faster and faster. To help you slow down the passage of time, magnesium comes into play, a mineral that contributes to the maintenance of muscles and vitality and, therefore, to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue.

It is calculated that each day we must contribute 375 mg of magnesium to our body to meet our needs. However, some published studies indicate that the intake of this mineral in Spain could be less than recommended. 

Despite the fact that in the Mediterranean diet there are many foods that contain magnesium, it is important to include them in our daily diet, in addition to knowing how to ingest them, since when cooked or refined, the concentration of magnesium can be decreased.


The foods richest in magnesium are:

Fresh vegetables, especially leafy greens like spinach, chard, lamb's lettuce, or arugula.

Whole grains and whole-grain cereals, since the refining processes reduce their content as they are found in the parts that are eliminated, such as the bran or the germ.

Nuts and seeds, including walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, pine nuts, or pumpkin seeds, can be included on a daily basis if they are raw or toasted.

Milk, meat, and eggs, as well as their derivatives.


Diet to increase muscle mass:

Potassium, vital for movement, muscle exercises, and any sport

For its part, it is interesting to know the benefits of potassium, since it is vital for movement, muscle exercises, and any physical activity. 

In turn, during exercise and with the sweating of the activity added to the heat, we can decrease the levels of this mineral, so it is essential to replace it through good hydration and a correct diet.

Potassium is necessary not only in our daily activity, but it also has an important function in the body, such as regulating blood pressure and heart rate.

Daily consumption of 4,700 mg of potassium is recommended and, once again, a diet based on fresh, balanced, and healthy products can cover adequate amounts of potassium daily.


The foods richest in potassium are:

Vegetables such as broccoli, tomatoes, spinach, or squash.

Some fruits such as citrus, banana, kiwi, plums, and apricots.

Walnuts and other seed nuts.

Sardines, Salmon, and codfishes

Betting on a diet rich in these foods and supplementing it with a nutritional supplement in certain stages in which food is not enough, will help you overcome fatigue, maintain vitality and continue with your usual practice of exercise.