Health

MAGNESIUM DEFICIENCY, SYMPTOMS AND CAUSES

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One nutrient that is often forgotten for optimal health is magnesium. This article will discuss magnesium deficiency symptoms and causes that are becoming increasingly common amongst adults in developed countries that aren’t getting enough in western diets.

Magnesium is actually involved in over three hundred metabolic processes and is a factor in a variety of diseases and illnesses which range from bone health to heart diseases. As is typical with many nutrients nowadays, we used to get much higher quantities from natural food.

Magnesium is used in so many metabolic and enzymatic functions that to list all of them here would be beyond the range of this article, however, let’s attempt to include the most significant signs of deficiency.

It is often referred to the heart of minerals because of its importance to the cardiovascular system. But aside from its importance to the heart, it also contributes to the body’s digestive system, nervous system, and even the skeletal system.

Symptoms of magnesium deficiency

Because this nutrient has such an enormous number of functions in the body, it is no surprise that it influences the brain as well. A few of the magnesium deficiency symptoms may include mental and psychological health issues, including major depression, anxiety, stress and low energy.

One of the first things many people point out when enhancing the diet with the mineral is an improvement in sleep quality, which is not surprising since insomnia is a common symptom of deficiency.

A disorder that responds quite well to magnesium is migraines, and supplementing with this mineral has reduced the rate of migraines in some research studies. It is sometimes given by intravenous injection to stop acute migraine attacks.

A number of studies claim that low magnesium levels are correlated with hypertension.

Our bone tissues actually contain the largest amount of magnesium in the human body and an insufficiency may cause an increased chance of developing osteoporosis.

Magnesium deficiency symptoms are broad due to its importance but include:

  • Insomnia
  • Anxiety
  • Restlessness
  • Constipation
  • Muscle spasms
  • Difficulty swallowing
  • Backaches
  • Headaches
  • Chest tightness
  • Heart palpitations
  • High blood pressure
  • Extreme fatigue
  • Osteoporosis

Causes of magnesium deficiency

  1. Restricted dietary consumption: one in all the foremost common causes of a magnesium deficiency is the low consumption of foods that contain the mineral. An unbalanced diet high in processed foods makes it hard to absorb magnesium.

2 Intestinal problems: Disorders that have an effect on your intestinal health or your digestive system may also be a result of a magnesium deficiency.

When your body has a problem completing biological processes and using nutrients properly, you ultimately lose magnesium.

  1. Consumption of alcohol: The toxins that build up in your body as a result of excessive alcohol consumption, may also reduce the absorption of magnesium.

Alcohol alters the method your kidneys perform and might even be guilty of depleting stores of this mineral from your body’s tissues.

  1. Medications: Some drugs will alter your kidney functions and keep you from absorbing magnesium.

This is an additional common drawback among patients who are undergoing a treatment that need certain drugs and medication for prolonged periods of time.

  1. Physical overexertion: it’s accepted that magnesium is a necessary mineral for physical and mental performance. When you overwork yourself, however, it’s common for your magnesium levels drop.

One would say that magnesium is among the most important micronutrients that we should care about. It is advisable to take around 300mg each day as a dietary supplement, at night. The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) can vary from 300-400mg/day for men and women.

It is also possible to obtain it through some healthy foods, such as nuts, leafy green vegetables, and whole grains, but it is a micronutrient that is often inadequate in the western diet and therefore important to take a little extra just to remain on the safe side.

 

Magnesium

 

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