A deficiency in this nutrient accounts for a long list of symptoms and diseases — which are easily helped and often cured by adding this nutrient. Unfortunately, 68% of Americans are not meeting the Recommended Dietary Intake (RDI) of magnesium on a daily basis.
Remember that the RDI is the amount of a nutrient felt to be sufficient to meet the requirements for most healthy individuals. This recommended intake may not be the optimal intake and often may not be enough in certain health situations. As a result, even more people may not be getting enough magnesium from their daily diet for optimal health.
Essential in Biochemical Reactions
Magnesium is found throughout your body. In fact, every cell in your body contains this mineral and needs it to function.
One of its main roles is to act as a cofactor — a helper molecule — in the biochemical reactions continuously performed by enzymes. It’s involved in more than 600 reactions in your body, including
- Energy creation: converting food into energy
- Protein formation: creating new proteins from amino acids
- Gene maintenance: helping create and repair DNA and RNA
- Muscle movements: aiding in muscle contraction and relaxation
- Nervous system regulation: regulating neurotransmitters, which send messages throughout your brain and nervous system
Magnesium for relaxation
Think of magnesium as the relaxation mineral. Anything that is tight, irritable, crampy, and stiff — whether it is a body part or even a mood — is a sign of magnesium deficiency.
This critical mineral is actually found in all of your tissues — but mainly in your bones, muscles, and brain. You must have it for your cells to make energy, for many different chemical pumps to work, to stabilize membranes, and to help muscles relax.
That is why the list of conditions that are found related to magnesium deficiency is so long. In fact, there are over 3,500 medical references on magnesium deficiency!
Even so, this mineral is mostly ignored because it is not a drug, even though it is powerful.
You might be magnesium deficient if you have any of the following symptoms:
- Muscle cramps or twitches
- Insomnia
- Irritability
- Sensitivity to loud noises
- Anxiety
- Autism
- ADD
- Palpitations
- Angina
- Constipation
- Anal spasms
- Headaches
- Migraines
- Fibromyalgia
- Chronic fatigue
- Asthma
- Kidney stones
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- Osteoporosis
- High blood pressure
- PMS
- Menstrual cramps
- Irritable bladder
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Reflux
- Trouble swallowing
Magnesium deficiency has even been linked to inflammation in the body and higher CRP levels.
Magnesium Deficiency
Inadequate intake of magnesium is one cause of deficiency, but your body can also become depleted of magnesium in times of stress. When you are under stress and the sympathetic nervous system is engaged (think running from a tiger) your body excretes more magnesium, resulting in less magnesium in the brain and an increased risk of depression.
I am sure you are wondering if you can get tested to see if you are low in magnesium. Interestingly, lab testing is often falsely reassuring. Serum magnesium levels can be normal even when magnesium deficiency is present. So even if your serum magnesium or even your RBC (red blood cell) magnesium levels are in the normal range when checked by your doctor, this does not mean that you have enough magnesium in your body or that you would not benefit from increasing your magnesium intake.
First, choose a whole foods diet. Green leafy vegetables are rich in magnesium. Beans and legumes, nuts and seeds, whole grains, such as buckwheat, brown rice, and quinoa, and meat are all good sources of magnesium. As you can see there are a lot of foods that are rich in magnesium.
Don’t waste your calories on processed foods that have the magnesium stripped out of them. When a grain is made into a flour and then put into a food substance, the magnesium is removed and not sprayed back on. Avoid foods made with white flours, such as breads, crackers, cookies, and white rice. Gluten-free products are often no better. Instead of bread or pasta, choose quinoa or root vegetables.
Should you supplement?
Supplementation should be considered for patients with headaches, sleep disorders, muscle cramps, irritability, PMS, depression, anxiety, hypertension, asthma, and constipation. You can take magnesium as an oral supplement.
There are many types of magnesium. Magnesium citrate and oxide will pull water into the intestines. As a result, they will loosen up the stools and if you take too much, you can get diarrhea. In addition, these types of magnesium are not as well absorbed into the body. So, if you do not need to loosen your stools and if you have symptoms of low magnesium, I recommend a chelated magnesium such as magnesium glycinate. Typical dosages are 100-300mg, once or twice daily. Magnesium is safe for most people, but check with your doctor before using it if you have any kidney issues.
Magnesium in the Diet
When was the last time you had a good dose of sea vegetables (seaweed), nuts, greens, and beans? If you are like most Americans, your nut consumption mostly comes from peanut butter, and mostly in chocolate peanut butter cups.
Much of modern life conspires to help us lose what little magnesium we do get in our diet. Magnesium levels are decreased by excess alcohol, salt, coffee, phosphoric acid in colas, profuse sweating, prolonged or intense stress, chronic diarrhea, excessive menstruation, diuretics (water pills), antibiotics and other drugs, and some intestinal parasites.
This is all further complicated by the fact that magnesium is often poorly absorbed and easily lost from our bodies. To properly absorb magnesium we need a lot of it in our diet, plus enough vitamin B6, vitamin D, and selenium to get the job done.
Stop Draining Your Body of Magnesium
- Limit coffee, colas, salt, sugar, and alcohol
- Learn how to practice active relaxation
Eat Foods High in Magnesium
Kelp, wheat bran, wheat germ, almonds, cashews, buckwheat, brazil nuts, dulse, filberts, millet, pecans, walnuts, rye, tofu, soy beans, brown rice, figs, dates, collard greens, shrimp, avocado, parsley, beans, barley, dandelion greens, and garlic
Summary
Magnesium is essential for maintaining good health and plays a key role in everything from exercise performance to heart health and brain function.
Enjoying a variety of magnesium-rich foods may ensure that you’re getting enough of this important nutrient in your diet. Spinach, chia seeds, peanut butter, and avocados are a few examples that make great additions to smoothies, snacks, and other dishes.