Magnesium always seems to play second fiddle to the more popular mineral calcium, yet magnesium is involved in hundreds of essential metabolic reactions. Without magnesium your body couldn’t produce energy or build bone, you wouldn’t be able to regulate your blood sugar, and your muscles (including your heart) wouldn’t work.

Fall is in the air and you’ve likely started bringing out the sweaters and scarves in your wardrobe to support your body during the transition. But have you started changing out your diet yet? Just like flip-flops and tank tops won’t cut it as we move through fall and into winter, neither will the cold breakfast smoothies and raw salads of summer. To truly support your body and cultivate wellness, take a cue from the natural world and use fall as a time to prepare your body for the upcoming winter.

I really love the fall. But fall brings with it something I don’t love so much—darkness! As we move closer and closer to the Winter Solstice and the days get shorter and shorter, I notice my mood getting progressively lower. I’m not alone either: fourteen percent of Americans suffer from the winter blues and another six percent from the more pronounced Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD.[fn value=1][/fn]