Magnesium is an element that is necessary for the body to function. On average, human body contains 25 g of magnesium that the biggest amounts of are accumulated in bones, muscles, nervous system, liver and kidneys. The body needs a lot of magnesium in order to maintain proper functioning of many systems and organs. There’s a growing number of people these days who suffer from not having enough magnesium in their body. The symptoms of its deficiency are not characteristic and may resemble symptoms of other food deficiencies. How to recognize magnesium deficiency? And how to prevent it?
The role of magnesium in the body mostly boils down to supporting the functioning of the nervous system. Magnesium enhances conduction of neural impulses, which makes it essential for supporting the processes of learning and concentration. Magnesium provides great mental state, prevents depression, alleviates the sensation of fatigue.
Another system the functioning of which requires the right level of magnesium in the body is the cardiovascular system. This particular element regulates the contractions of the heart muscle, normalizes blood pressure, helps maintain the right level of cholesterol in the body. It inhibits the development of atherosclerosis lesions and the complications from atherosclerosis. Magnesium is also great at supporting the functioning of skeletal muscles – that’s why people who do sports should make sure to always have a big enough supply of magnesium.
Magnesium is also what we owe prevention of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes to. Magnesium also supports fertility, conditions proper development of pregnancy and minimizes the risk of miscarriage. Magnesium deficiency impairs functioning of many systems and has a negative impact on the body’s physical and mental capacity.
The daily magnesium requirement depends on the age. The average requirement for this element in an adult is about 300 mg for women and 400 mg for men.
Magnesium is commonly found in diets, but there are plenty of factors that limit its absorption:
– cooking vegetables contributes to losing even 75% of magnesium
– alcohol and fruit juices impair absorption of magnesium from the gastrointestinal tract; it is similar for large amounts of saturated fatty acids and calcium in the diet
– industrial processing of food also limits the magnesium content in the diet
Magnesium deficiency is caused by insufficient amounts of this element in the diet and increased magnesium requirement that occurs in several special cases. It applies to people who take antibiotics, antidepressants, sleeping pills, diuretics or hormonal contraception. Those suffering from kidney failure, malabsorption, and menial or intellectual workers also need larger doses of magnesium. The deficiency is also more likely to affect those under constant stress, pregnant and breastfeeding women or going through menopause and older people.
Insufficient magnesium level mostly impacts the nervous and circulatory systems.
The symptoms in the cardiovascular system are:
– cardiac arrhythmia
– hypertension
– coronary heart disease manifesting itself through chronic fatigue
Nervous system disorders, on the other hand, lead to development of insomnia, irritability, lost focus. The neuromuscular hyperactivity often leads to the so-called tics (i.e. eyelid twitches), one can also experience bothersome and painful muscle cramps, stiff and tingling limbs, as well as brittle nails and excessive hair loss.
If you don’t want to experience troublesome symptoms of magnesium deficiency and the resulting deteriorated well-being – make sure to get high magnesium supply out of the diet and take supplements.
The biggest amounts of magnesium are present in the following ingredients of the diet:
– cocoa
– nuts: walnuts, pistachio, hazelnuts
– pumpkin seeds
– almonds
– bean
– pearl barley, brown rice
– bananas
– Gouda cheese
– parsley leaves
– pork and beef
When consuming products rich in magnesium, one should also avoid taking drugs that inhibit the absorption of it, calcium, phosphor and fiber.
It’s a good idea to enrich the diet with supplements – preferably the easy to absorb, organic forms of magnesium, such as magnesium citrate. That way with a daily dose you will get few hundred mg of magnesium, which will help prevent the deficiency of this element.
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