Magnesium is an essential mineral with a role in key
functions in the body, such as maintaining normal cell function, transfer,
storage, and use of energy, metabolism of fat, protein, and carbohydrates, DNA
replication, muscle function, and maintenance of cell membrane integrity.
These processes are critically important for
optimal functioning of virtually all organ systems in our bodies; therefore a
low level of magnesium may cause adverse effects affecting all organs of the
body, causing potentially life-threatening complications.
Although less than 2 percent
of the general population have significantly low levels of magnesium, a good
number of people consume magnesium in amounts less than the daily recommended
allowance. This means that this deficiency may not present with signs and
symptoms until your magnesium levels have dropped so low, making magnesium
deficiency an oft-overlooked and under-diagnosed health problem.
What Causes Magnesium Deficiency?
The body only requires small amounts of magnesium each day
and can retain good amounts of it. However, in the presence of certain
conditions, magnesium may be persistently depleted as to cause deficiency
symptoms. These conditions include:
Reduced Intake of Magnesium
- Consuming diets deficient in magnesium or starvatio
- Alcoholism, which impairs the absorption of magnesium in your gut.
Excess Use of Magnesium by Cells
This occurs in:
- Alcohol withdrawal states
- Insulin treatment for diabetics
- Inflammation of the pancreas (Acute pancreatitis)
- Post-surgical states
- Critical illnesses
Increased excretion of Magnesium
This occurs in:
- Genetic disorders of the kidney, such as Bartter syndrome and Gitelman syndrome, that cause increased excretion of magnesium.
- Medications, including loop diuretics, such as furosemide for the treatment of congestion in the lungs or heart. Also, medications that damage the kidneys including amphotericin B, cyclosporine, and cisplatin, may cause increased loss of magnesium from the kidneys.
- Hormonal problems: High levels of estrogens and progesterone in the body, as seen in pregnancy may cause magnesium depletion. Also, excess amounts of a hormone called aldosterone, and abnormal amounts of parathyroid hormones could lead to excess excretion of magnesium by the kidneys.
Increased Loss from the Gut
Gastrointestinal losses of magnesium occur in the following
conditions:
- Chronic diarrhea
- Diseases that impair food absorption
- Inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn’s disease and
- Bypass surgery involving the small intestine
- Medications such as proton pump inhibitors and antibiotics.
Signs and Symptoms of Magnesium Deficiency
Early symptoms of low magnesium include non-specific
symptoms such as:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Abdominal pain
- Weakness
- Loss of appetite
Muscle Twitches, Cramps, and Tremors
Magnesium is crucial for muscle function and plays a key
role in how our muscles use calcium. Its deficiency may cause calcium levels in
muscles and nerve cells to increase, causing over-stimulation of the muscles and
nerves. This results in muscle cramps
and twitching.
Muscle Weakness and Fatigue
Occasional fatigue is not abnormal and happens to everyone
at some point, but severe, persistent, and unexplained fatigue may be a sign of
low magnesium levels in the body.
As stated earlier, magnesium plays an important role in the
use, storage, and transfer of energy in each cell. This means that when
magnesium is depleted, your cells - and by extension, your whole body - may
lack the energy to carry out the daily function.
Muscle weakness, also called myasthenia, is also associated
with low magnesium levels. When magnesium levels drop significantly, it may lead to a
concomitant drop in the amounts of potassium available in the body. A lack of
potassium will make your muscles weak.
Anxiety and Depression
Magnesium has a huge
impact on our mental health, and its deficiency may result in severe mental
health problems. Magnesium acts as an inhibitory substance in the brain,
preventing overfiring of the nerve cells. If it is deficient, therefore, it may
cause the nerve cells to overfire, leading to anxiety symptoms.
As the deficiency worsens, the nerve cells may die off in
numbers, causing other mental health problems including apathy, depression, and
even loss of consciousness.
High Blood Pressure
You may not know you have high blood pressure until you
check it, and that’s because this condition mostly presents without any
symptoms in its early stages. High blood pressure is a well-established sign of
low magnesium levels.
There have been several studies to confirm this. Some controlled studies
reveal that intake of magnesium supplements is associated with lower blood
pressure levels in people with high blood pressure.
Irregular Heartbeat
This is one of the most severe symptoms of low levels of
magnesium in the body. Irregular heartbeat, or arrhythmias, may present as
palpitations lightheadedness, and shortness of breath. In more severe cases,
you may even faint when the irregular heartbeat begins.
This symptom of magnesium deficiency results from an
imbalance in potassium levels. Potassium is essential for normal heart rhythm,
and when its levels are insufficient, it may cause arrhythmias.
Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a condition in which bones become weak and
highly brittle. Magnesium is essential for bone health; it helps vitamin D to
stimulate the absorption of calcium in the gut and also stimulates the transfer
of calcium from muscles and other tissues into bone, to make it stronger.
A lack of magnesium, therefore, impairs bone mineralization
and strengthening, making bones weak and more easily broken. In younger people,
this presents as impaired bone growth.
Sleep Disturbances
Magnesium helps the body and mind to relax, improving sleep.
Magnesium does this by enhancing the function of GABA receptors in the brain.
GABA is a chemical in the nerve cells that lowers excitation and helps the
brain to relax. A lack of magnesium, therefore, may cause sleep disturbances.
Complications of Low Magnesium in the Body
Left unchecked, low magnesium levels increases one’s risk of
serious health challenges.
Heart Disease
Prolonged deficiency of magnesium may result in serious
health problems, one of which is coronary artery disease, which comprises
angina and heart attack.
In coronary artery disease, the artery supplying blood to
the heart – the coronary artery – is obstructed by calcified fat plaques,
causing symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath and, in severe cases,
a heart attack.
Magnesium deficiency causes excess calcium deposition in fat
plaques and the lining of the damaged blood vessel wall, increasing the risk of
coronary artery disease.
Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
In type 2 diabetes mellitus, the tissues are not responsive
to insulin – the hormone that regulates blood sugar, driving sugar into cells
and tissues when it is in excess in the blood. Having a prolonged lack of
magnesium causes this tissue insensitivity to insulin, increasing the risk of
type 2 diabetes.
Magnesium Deficiency: What Can I do to Treat or Prevent it?
Have or want to prevent magnesium deficiency? Here are a few
things you can do:
Get Enough Magnesium!
Increase your dietary intake of magnesium to prevent or
treat magnesium deficiency. Common food
sources of magnesium may include foods not on the Dr. Sebi Plan and so you must supplement with our favorite Transdermal Magnesium Spray or a high grade supplement.
But we know that by using the transdermal spray, which takes only 2 minutes to use to be the best source of magnesium possible. Also Dr. Mark Sircus testifies to this in his popular book Trandermal Magnesium.
The richest sources of foods for supplementation are seeds and nuts.
The National Institutes of Health recommends
the following daily intake of magnesium:
- Children 1 -3 years: 80mg
- Children 4 -8 years: 130mg
- Children 9 – 13 years: 240mg
- Teens 14 – 18 years: Boys 410 mg; Girls 360mg
- Adults 19 – 30 years: Men 400mg; Women 310mg.
- Adults 31 – 50 years: Men 400mg; Women 320mg.
Take Magnesium Supplements
Magnesium supplements are available as pills and solutions that
you can take by mouth. There are also topical forms which you can spray on theskin; magnesium in this form is absorbed directly into the blood by blood
vessels under the skin.
Summary
Magnesium deficiency is a widespread, yet under-diagnosed
problem. It may present without symptoms or with mild symptoms unless it is
seriously deficient in the body. Though needed in small amounts in the body;
when deficient, magnesium may increase your risk of heart disease, brain
disorders, and diabetes.
Therefore, it is essential to optimize your intake of
magnesium by filling your diet with rich sources of the mineral.
Resources
1.
Hruby A et
al., Magnesium intake is inversely associated with coronary artery
calcification: the Framingham Heart Study. JACC Cardiovasc Imaging.
2014;7(1):59-69.
2.
Sun Ha Jee, et
al., The effect of magnesium supplementation on blood pressure: a meta-analysis
of randomized clinical trials. American Journal of Hypertension
2012;15(8):691–696.
3.
Ryder KM, Shorr RI, Bush AJ, Kritchevsky
SB, Harris T, Stone K, et al. Magnesium intake from food and supplements is
associated with bone mineral density in healthy older white subjects. J Am Geriatr Soc.
2005 Nov. 53(11):1875-80
4.
Rodríguez-Morán M, Simental Mendía LE,
Zambrano Galván G, Guerrero-Romero F. The role of magnesium in type 2 diabetes:
a brief based-clinical review. Magnes Res. 2011 Dec. 24(4):156-62.
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