The Mineral That Keeps Pain Away

Muffin tops might not be so bad after all -- as long as they're the type on your plate and not the stuff hanging over the waistband of your jeans. Oat-bran muffins may reduce the risk of gallstones -- the pesky, painful pebbles that plague some people's gallbladders. That's because they're high in magnesium, a mineral that reduces the risk of those stones. One muffin serves up anywhere from 50 to 90 milligrams.

Without enough magnesium, triglycerides can soar, and your healthy HDL cholesterol levels (you can remember which one of the cholesterols is healthy or lousy by their first initial) levels can drop -- a combination that's linked to lousy LDL-cholesterol-packed gallstones. The only trouble with getting your magnesium from muffins is that if you don't make them yourself, they can contain more bad (sugar, fat) and less good (oats). And one of the biggest risk factors for gallstones -- and the pain that comes with them -- is extra weight.

If you're not going to stir up your own oat muffins (and even if you are), you can also get magnesium from these other good choices: A cup of spinach packs 156 milligrams; the same amount of oatmeal holds 60 milligrams; and halibut has 91 milligrams in 3 ounces. Whole grains are filled with magnesium (brown rice, for instance, has 63 milligrams in a 3/4-cup serving), as are nuts (walnuts have 44 milligrams per ounce). Best thing about it: What your taste buds love, your gallbladder does, too.