Heart Health
Magnesium: A mineral you might be missing
A healthy diet is the best way to make sure you're getting enough of this essential element.
Image: mamadela /Thinkstock
Magnesium probably isn't a mineral that comes to mind when you think about heart health. But a recent report showing that magnesium supplements may modestly lower blood pressure may have left some people wondering if they should head to Whole Foods to buy a bottle of magnesium pills.
"That's what I'm worried about," says cardiologist Dr. Elliott Antman, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. The reason? There's far stronger evidence that consuming less sodium will help improve your blood pressure. "I don't want people to think they can stop paying attention to how much salt they're eating if they're taking a magnesium supplement," he says.
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