Feeling Wimpy? Try This Quick, Healthy Fix

If your arms feel like wet noodles after carrying groceries or pushing a swing, check your multivitamin: It -- and you -- may be low on magnesium. Your muscles (and your heart, nerves, and intestines) require this mineral to function properly, yet two-thirds of us don't get enough. Ideal amounts are 400–500 milligrams (mg) per day. (Good rule of thumb: Get a third as much magnesium as you do calcium.)

When you don't get enough, you feel wimpy, and the effects increase with age. In studies, older adults with the lowest magnesium levels do the worst on strength tests, and being weak invites falls. Also, magnesium shortages encourage constipation.

Top sources include cashews (yes!) and the other good-for-you foods below, but it's hard to get all you need from diet. Eat as much as you can, and add a multivitamin/mineral that includes at least 100 mg of magnesium. Don't depend on a supplement for more than 350 mg, though; the concentrated hit of magnesium you get from bigger doses can cause kidney trouble.

These eight foods are easy to work into your diet and will bump up your magnesium intake. Rely on your multi to top it off.

1. Pumpkin seeds (pepitas): 151 mg per ounce (bonanza!)
2. Cooked spinach: 150 mg per cup (ditto)
3. Dry-roasted almonds, cashews, or mixed nuts: about 75 mg per ounce (a small fistful)
4. Whole-grain cereal (oatmeal, bran flakes, shredded wheat): about 55 mg per serving
5. Yogurt, no-fat, no-sugar-added: 45 mg per cup
6. Brown rice: about 40 mg per half cup
7. Beans and lentils: 35 to 45 mg per half cup
8. Bananas: about 30 mg per medium piece