Magnesium is a mineral that is important to our health because it plays several roles in keeping us healthy, including helping with bone heath, heart rhythm and regulating blood pressure. The RDA for magnesium is 400-420 mg/day. Lots of foods contain magnesium, but in smaller amounts. To get a full day’s worth of the recommended amount of magnesium, you could eat 2 ounces of dry roasted almonds, one cup of boiled spinach, 1 cup of soymilk,2 ounces of dry roasted cashews AND 1 cup of black beans.
In comparison, Vitamin D is important to our health in a variety of ways. It helps calcium and phosphorus to be absorbed from the gut. This is important for bone health. Vitamin D is harder to get from food because not as many foods contain it naturally. However, many food products are fortified with Vitamin D. The RDA is 15-20 micrograms/day. You can get that from 4 oz of rainbow trout, OR 1 tablespoon of cod liver oil OR 1 cup of white mushrooms.
You need vitamin D in order for proper immune system functioning. Having a deficiency leaves you immune compromised. Studies show that adults, especially in Northern climates, are at risk for Vitamin D deficiency. This is in part because there is less sunlight in those regions. It is also important to note that Magnesium is needed to help our bodies make vitamin D from sunlight; it also helps to transport vitamin D in supplement from into the body to be used in cells.
It might be necessary to take a vitamin D supplement if you aren’t getting enough in your diet (which can be tricky since fewer foods contain it). When choosing a supplement, it is best to opt for one that contains Vitamin D 3. There are lots of options for supplements, and if you aren’t a fan of swallowing pills, you could use a gummy, like vitafusion gummies, or a sublingual, like frunutta, which contains no fillers or additives, and dissolves right under your tongue.
Nicole Avena, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Neuroscience at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Visiting Professor of Health Psychology at Princeton University. She is the author of several books, including Why Diets Fail, and What to Eat When You’re Pregnant.
