Could a simple magnesium supplement improve sleep?
The USDA's Agricultural Research Service says it might:

"Can't sleep? You are not alone. Not being able to sleep, or insomnia, is a common complaint, especially among people older than 50. More than half of all people aged 65 years and older have sleep problems."

"Not surprisingly, lack of sleep is caused mainly by factors that are more common later in life, such as breathing problems, illness and medications. Yet, scientists have proved that poor sleep is not a natural part of aging."

"A factor getting more attention recently is poor nutrition. A low intake of the mineral magnesium may be one nutritional factor causing sleep problems.  A low intake of the mineral magnesium may be one nutritional factor causing sleep problems."

"Magnesium plays a key role in the body's chemistry that regulates sleep. This may be why persons with long-term lack of sleep, or abnormal brain waves during deep sleep, often have low magnesium in their blood."

"Magnesium treatment increased deep sleep and improved brain waves during sleep in 12 elderly subjects. Magnesium treatment decreased time to fall asleep and improved sleep quality of 11 alcoholic patients who often have a low magnesium status. Magnesium deficiency increased time awake at the expense of deep sleep in rats. Feeding magnesium to the rats restored their sleep patterns to normal." (I wish they had provided references.)

"A national food consumption survey found that many Americans, especially older women, consume less than the RDA for magnesium."

"Another risk factor for low magnesium status in older women is the use of calcium supplements without magnesium for bone health. High calcium intakes can make magnesium deficiency worse."

Here's some good advice from Livestrong:

"It's nearly impossible to overdose on magnesium from diet alone. The possibility of a magnesium overdose increases when you take magnesium supplements. If you're unsure of your magnesium levels, talk to your health care provider and ask your doctor to check them for you. Until your appointment or test results come back, you can include magnesium-rich foods in your diet such as nuts, whole wheat flour, oatmeal, bananas and shredded wheat."

almond photo by HealthAliciousNess     fruit photo by keepon

If you are one of the many people in the battle to fight the bulge you will be pleased to learn that there are actually foods that may help you burn fat. Certain foods have a strong metabolism-boosting impact when eaten. Some of the calories in food you eat are burned off just to digest them, so the net amount of calories is less than the amount contained in the food.  This process is called dietary induced thermogenesis. The following list of foods speed up the rate at which your body burns calories in different ways. These foods get a green light, so eat and enjoy!

Low-Fat Dairy: Milk, Yogurt, Cottage Cheese:
Studies show that not getting enough calcium may trigger the release of calcitrol, a hormone that causes us to store fat. Therefore, meeting your daily calcium needs through consumptions of low fat dairy products helps to burn fat more efficiently. Dairy products can boost weight loss efforts, according to a recent study in Obesity Research. People on a reduced-calorie diet who included three to four servings of dairy foods lost significantly more weight than those who ate a low-dairy diet containing the same number of calories. Low-fat yogurt is a rich source of weight-loss-friendly calcium, providing about 450 mg per 8-ounce serving, as well as 12 grams of protein.

Berries:
Berries are high in fiber and fiber keeps you full and satisfied all day on little calories. A 1 cup serving of raspberries contains 8g of fiber and only 60 calories!  Strawberries, blackberries and blueberries are all high-fiber berries.  Fiber also acts like a sponge and absorbs and moves fat through our digestive system faster so that less of it is absorbed.  (Read complete article by Dr. Dolgoff)