Magnesium, while it may sound like a Greek god, or a Swedish world’s strongest man competitor, magnesium is one of the most abundant minerals in our body. Magnesium is needed for hundreds of biochemical reactions in our body. It helps maintain normal muscle and nerve function, keeps heart rhythm steady, supports a healthy immune system, and keeps bones and teeth strong. Magnesium also helps regulate blood sugar levels, calcium/zinc/potassium/vitamin D levels, promotes normal blood pressure, and is known to be involved in energy metabolism and protein synthesis. If this is the first time you are hearing about how important magnesium is to our body, it is not surprising. Magnesium is not popular to research for two reasons: 1 it is difficult to isolate magnesium to test one thing at a time, and 2 magnesium does not have the potential for large profits and therefore does not get much attention from large research/medical/pharmaceutical/government companies.
Signs of low magnesium
True, 100%, magnesium deficiency is uncommon. However, there are certain health conditions that may contribute to a deficiency. These health problems include: intestinal virus that causes vomiting or diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis, diabetes, pancreatitis, hyperthyroidism, kidney disease, diuretic medications, excess coffee/soda/salt/alcohol, excessive sweating, prolonged stress, hypochlorhydria, or heavy menstrual periods to name a few. Some studies indicated that American’s are about 20% magnesium deficient; in that the average American gets 80% of what their body needs per day. One difficulty facing our understanding of magnesium is that only about 1% of our body’s magnesium is contained in our blood, making blood tests for magnesium levels not very valuable. Therefore, one of the best ways, at this time, to know if you are low on magnesium is to look for the following signs and symptoms: loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, weakness, numbness, tingling, muscle contractions/spasms/cramps, seizures, personality changes, abnormal heart rhythms, anxiety, asthma, restless leg syndrome, sleep disorders, irritability, poor nail growth, bowel disease, migraine, osteoporosis, tooth decay, premenstrual syndrome, to name a few.
How much magnesium should you take?
Supplementation with magnesium can be a little tricky. Some experts talk about the calcium to magnesium ratio, which should be about two calcium to one magnesium; while they estimate that the average American is about 5 calcium to one magnesium and current research on the “caveman diet” shows a ratio closer to a one to one ratio. Also keep in mind that your body’s demand for magnesium changes with activity; due to the large amounts used in muscle tissue. Magnesium is available in different forms; the easiest to absorb forms are magnesium citrate, magnesium gluconate, and magnesium lactate. Magnesium hydroxide and magnesium sulfate are often used as a laxative, while magnesium malate is being promoted for people with fibromyalgia. Some forms of magnesium can also be absorbed through your skin, in a soak or bath. It is also recommended to take a B vitamin complex, or a multivitamin that contains B vitamins, while supplementing magnesium; this is to further help absorption. The following list gives a guideline for magnesium supplementation:
1-3 years old male and female 80mg/day
4-8 years old male and female 130mg/day
9-13 years old male and female 240mg/day
14-18 years old males 410mg/day females 360mg/day
19-30 years old males 400mg/day female 310mg/day
31+ years old males 420mg/day and females 360mg/day
Foods that provide Magnesium
Like we have discussed in the past, it is always best to try to get our nutrients from food sources. However, food is only as good as the soil the food is grown in. Typically, organic food tends to contain more magnesium, but only if farmers replenish the soil with magnesium containing fertilizers and compost; often fertilizers contain only nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium. Here is a short list of some foods that contain magnesium: almonds, cashews, peanuts, halibut, soybeans, spinach, potato with skin, peas, beans, banana, lentils, oatmeal, cereal, wheat bread, and rice.
Interactions with medications
Due to the involvement of magnesium in so many bodily functions, it is recommended to speak to your health care provider prior to supplementation. Particularly if you are taking diuretics, antibiotics, anti-neoplastic, blood pressure medications, calcium channel blockers, diabetic medications, and hormone replacement therapy medications; you are at higher risk for interactions between magnesium and your medication.
In closing, our body and its numerous chemical reactions and processes are complex beyond our full understanding. However, we continue to discover more nutrients/vitamins/minerals that are very important to our daily functions. Magnesium is one of these minerals that we are finding to be necessary in many processes. Like we have discussed in the past, it is not the idea that one mineral/vitamin/nutrient can provide miracle health; it is that we need certain amounts of all nutrients every day in order to live to the best potential of our environment and DNA.