Why You May Need To increase Your Magnesium Intake

Most of us know that we need essential vitamins and minerals to optimise our health. If you want shinier hair, Vitamin D helps. Want to improve your mood and bone health simultaneously? Calcium is what you need. However, when was the last time you thought about magnesium? Magnesium is a vital mineral. It helps regulate bodily functions, muscle recovery, blood sugar levels, and more. Do you need to consider increasing your magnesium intake?

According to the NHS, magnesium also helps convert the food eaten into energy and ensures the parathyroid glands work efficiently. These glands are critical for hormones related to bone health.

As homoeopath Des Sheehan further explains in his series The Missing Minerals: Magnesium

“Magnesium is the fifth most abundant mineral found in the body and is the co-factor of more than 300 enzyme processes. All this enzyme activity cannot function effectively without adequate magnesium. It is essential for good health.”

While most doctors and dieticians prescribe multivitamins for daily health, the magnesium content in the body can decrease over time. There can be a few reasons for this, including chronic diseases, medication, and controlled doses of other minerals.

Are You Magnesium Deficient?

If your meals and snacks are wholly dependent on junk food, processed foods, and other quick healthy food substitutes, there is a good chance you are magnesium deficient and should therefore urgently consider supplementation to increase your magnesium intake.

However, if you eat whole grains, nuts, fruits and veggies, beans, and lean proteins, there’s a high possibility that you are getting the magnesium your body requires. These foods form the basis of the Mediterranean diet which is generally accepted as the best option for good health.

The daily recommended magnesium intake is:

• 270mg/ day for women between the ages of 19 to 64 years
• 300mg/ day for men between the ages of 19 to 64 years
• Children should be given magnesium through healthy foods to avoid a build-up of health complications.

Taking high doses of magnesium is not recommended for adults or children since they can develop diarrhoea, kidney problems, cardiac arrest, urine retention, vomiting and nausea, and other symptoms.

What Are Some Causes and Symptoms of Magnesium Deficiency?

 Magnesium deficiency (Hypomagnesemia) can occur because of diabetes, gastrointestinal disorders, excessive consumption of alcohol, and a side effect of some medications.

Magnesium deficiency has been linked to chronic diseases like insulin resistance, Alzheimer’s disease, migraine headaches, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), type-2 diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular diseases like strokes.

Some symptoms of magnesium deficiency are:

• Loss of appetite
• Weakness or chronic fatigue
• Vomiting and nausea
• Seizures
• Tingling sensation in the limbs
• Heart spasms or rhythm changes
• Numbness
• Muscular cramps

What Are the Benefits of Increasing Magnesium Intake?

The body needs seven major macro-minerals per day (sulphur, sodium, potassium, chloride, magnesium, calcium, and phosphorus). Magnesium is one such macro-mineral required in 100mg or more quantity daily. Trace minerals like copper, zinc, iron, selenium, and fluoride are needed in quantities lesser than 100 mg per day.

There are several benefits of magnesium that can help your body reach its optimum level.

• Bone Health: While calcium is critical for bone health, regular magnesium intake reduces the chances of osteoporosis in women after menopause, increases bone density, and has a positive impact on bone crystal formations. While magnesium improves bone health, it also actively and passively regulates vitamin D and calcium levels in the body.
• Cardiovascular Health: It is concluded in a 2019 analysis that an increase in magnesium could lower the risk of stroke. Magnesium is also highly successful in preventing and lowering the chances of cardiovascular diseases and helping patients with heart attacks reduce the mortality rate.
• Diabetes: Magnesium plays a critical role in insulin metabolism and glucose levels. A systematic review of the effect of magnesium on insulin resistance suggested that people with low magnesium levels can improve their sensitivity to insulin with regular magnesium supplements. Magnesium deficiency may worsen insulin resistance and cause further complications to the blood sugar level. While there is ongoing research about the benefits of magnesium on diabetes, most doctors prescribe supplements for glycaemic control.
• Migraine Headaches: Increasing the magnesium intake could help reduce or prevent migraine headaches. People with lower magnesium levels tend to develop headaches that could lead to migraine-like conditions and last over a day or two. Regular intake of magnesium (with a doctor’s prescription) can reduce the risk of migraines and also prevent menstrual-related migraines.
• Anxiety: Magnesium levels affect moods, including anxiety and depression. Studies show that low magnesium levels are linked to anxiety and mood disorders. This is due primarily to the HPA axis (Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal) controlling the reaction to stress in the system. Regulating the magnesium level in the body can help with stress and anxiety.
• Muscular Maintenance: Magnesium is known to dispose of lactate build-up during exercise (causing extreme fatigue). It does this by moving the blood sugar to the muscles and plays a critical role during practice as it can boost the energy and performance of athletes.

Conclusion

As we suggested at the beginning of this article, magnesium is not a mineral that most people consider essential to good health, yet it clearly is. Ideally, a good diet will provide sufficient magnesium but if you know your diet is lacking and/or there are other factors such as medications or a few too many glasses of wine every evening that could impact magnesium levels, perhaps it’s time to consider increasing your magnesium intake with supplementation?