PurePharma M3: Magnesium, Zinc and the athlete.

PurePharma's M3 supplement contains 3 key ingredients; Magnesium, Zinc and Vitamin B6. In this article I'll discuss why these three ingredients are so important and how they combine to make one hell of a supplement.  

Why is Magnesium important?

Magnesium, in short, is essential for the regulation of cellular activity and metabolism by effecting enzyme activity (in over 300 hundred of them!), within the body. It is also important for the metabolism of calcium so plays a key role in bone health. Importance for the athlete of magnesium are related to the enzyme effecting properties it has, especially on the body’s ability to metabolize carbohydrates, proteins and fats as well as ATP for energy production (amongst other things such as hormonal and immune function).  Magnesium deficiency, therefore, has been cited as having a potentially limiting effect on performance, especially in the athlete as it is used at higher rates in the muscles during exercise. Studies have shown magnesium deficiency impairs performance in terms of muscle strength and power, as well as endurance activities. Supplementation studies have shown increases in cellular activity, thus potentially improving athletic performance with correlations between deficiency (which can be common) and performance indicators for a number of sports. The RDA for the general population is in the region of 320-420mg per day, with athletes being recommended higher intakes by nutritional experts.

Why is Zinc important?

Zinc is also a mineral that effects multiple enzymatic reactions (again over 300!) within the body and is especially important for tissue recovery and repair.  Deficiency in Zinc has been reported to effect athletic performance, potentially due the effect zinc has on muscle contraction, this has been stated to effect both strength and endurance activity. The enzymatic reactions involved in muscle lactate synthesis for energy are also dependent on zinc, this may be another biological pathway with which it effects performance and particularly fatigue. Although athletic performance studies are limited due to the difficulty measuring accurately zinc sensitivity. I would recommend PurePharma M3 (as a company they are difficult to match in terms of quality), this contains 300mg of magnesium accounting for around 80% of the RDA, which when combined with other nutritional sources (green leafy veggies and grains) should provide enough magnesium to maintain optimal performance. PurePharma M3 also provides 15mg or 150% of the RDA for zinc providing ample amounts for those concerned with getting enough nutritional sources, particularly those with food intolerances or aversions.

Why is vitamin B6 important?

Alongside these 2 key minerals PurePharma M3 also contains large amounts of Vitamin B6 (786% of the RDA) which is a key vitamin for neural transmission, particularly high doses of vitamin B6 supplementation has demonstrated effects of fine motor control. It also plays an important function in enzyme activity, particularly the regulation of glucose, which is obviously an important factor for most athletic activities. The final added string to PurePharma M3’s bow is the addition of malic acid (derived from apples!) . Although limited studies have assessed physiological effects on performance, it is cited as being an important factor in mineral uptake, so is an important little extra that this product provides. by Paul Rimmer, (BSc, MSC).