Anxiety my be influenced by what we eat or don't eat. Low Dietary Magnesium Levels from the North American Diet: In countries where a refined diet is the norm, such as North America, there is a universal deficiency in magnesium intake from the diet. 99% of the magnesium in sugar cane is lost when it is refined to white sugar. 80 - 96% of magnesium content in wheat is removed when refined to white flour. Magnesium is not added back to the soil, nor to "enriched flour" after the germ and bran layer have been removed. 50% of the magnesium may be lost during the cooking process into cooking water. The Asian diet, which is whole-food based, typically provides 500 - 700 mg of magnesium per day, while the Western diet provides one-third that amount.

Factors that increase the need for magnesium due to limited uptake or increased losses include excess phosphate consumption (soft drinks) and alcoholic beverages, high stress lifestyles, some diuretics, digitalis, strenuous exercise (high performance athletes lose a considerable amount of magnesium in sweat), pregnant and lactating women, individuals with diabetes, severe diarrhea, or kidney disease. The early signs of magnesium deficiency include vague symptoms such as loss of appetite, anxiety, stomachache, and diarrhea. Longer-term deficiency symptoms may manifest as confusion, apathy, depression, irritability, arrhythmias, weakness, poor coordination, nausea, vomiting, electromyographic changes, muscle and nerve irritability, and tremors

In athletics fear or anxiety isn't an option for champion athletes. Magnesium deficiency reduces metabolic efficiency, increases oxygen consumption and heart rate required to perform work, all things that would take the edge off of performance. The last thing any trainer or sports doctor wants to see is their athletes lose their competitive edge. Not performing to full capacity because of the lack of a mineral like magnesium is simply not an option for winners.