Magnesium is a crucial mineral to our bodies. It is involved in over 300 varying physiological processes. It is also a very common deficiency in our modern world today. Is a magnesium deficiency impacting your health negatively? Let’s take a closer look at the signs of magnesium deficiency and effective ways to add more in your diet.
According to American neurosurgeon Norman Shealy, MD, Ph.D., almost every known disease is associated with a magnesium deficiency. This may be hard to believe. However, since it is involved in so many processes, it makes sense. It also points to the reasons why there is such an array of symptoms that occur due to a magnesium deficiency.
Read on to learn more about the top signs that you may have a magnesium deficiency.
1. Fatigue
Magnesium is highly involved with energy production. The mitochondria in your cells rely on magnesium to produce energy. Your mitochondrial function primarily determines your energy levels. In addition, magnesium supports the adrenal glands which participate in energy production as well.
Because magnesium is involved in many enzymatic processes, a deficiency will make it harder to perform over 300 normal processes. This creates a chronic stressor on your body and drains your energy.
If you are continuously fatigued, you may have a magnesium deficiency and increasing your magnesium intake may improve your energy levels drastically.
2. Insomnia
Magnesium is involved in the production of GABA in the brain. GABA is what is known as an inhibitory neurotransmitter. This is a chemical that promotes relaxation. If you don’t have enough magnesium to produce adequate amounts of GABA, your sleep will likely suffer. Although there are other nutrients involved with GABA production, magnesium is a critical factor that will heavily determine your sleep quality.
3. Muscle spasms & cramping
Because magnesium is so important for proper nerve transmission, it plays a vital role in muscle contraction. When magnesium is depleted, muscle contractions can become weak and uncoordinated, leading to involuntary spasms and painful cramps.
This is a common early sign of magnesium deficiency. Spasms typically occur in the legs, feet, and sometimes even in places like the eyelids. If you are a woman, you may also experience worsened PMS-related cramping when magnesium stores are low.
4. Poor cognitive processing
If you experienced brain fog, poor concentration, or constant memory issues, you may have a magnesium deficiency. Structures within every cell of the body, called mitochondria, are responsible for producing the energy that the body uses for everything.
The brain contains the highest concentration of mitochondria in the male body while females have higher concentrations in the ovaries. Mitochondria rely on magnesium for energy production so a deficiency can hamper your brain performance significantly. Supplemental magnesium has been shown to improve learning and memory.
5. Headaches & chronic migraines
Those who experience chronic migraines often have lower levels of magnesium in their bodies. Magnesium also plays the additional key role of regulating neurotransmitter production, which can also influence migraines.
Supplemental magnesium taken on a regular basis has been shown to decrease both the frequency and intensity of migraine headaches. In addition, magnesium has been shown to have the same effect on non-migraine headaches as well.
This is because magnesium helps regulate the calcium balance within neuronal cells. Excessive calcium can lead to neurotoxic effects where the brain cells are overstimulated and this is a major factor in headaches and migraine formation.
6. Constipation & IBS
Adequate magnesium intake actually softens stools by drawing water into the bowels, supporting healthy elimination. If stools become too hard, they move more slowly through the colon and become a problem.
Magnesium also plays a role in regulating muscle contractions in the intestines and this is why a magnesium deficiency often results in constipation. Magnesium can also be very helpful in relieving discomfort and cramping due to IBS or other similar conditions.
7. Chronic pain & fibromyalgia
Chronic pain and related conditions like fibromyalgia are linked to tension carried in the body. This tension can be purely physical, but can also be aggravated by emotional stress as well. Emotions such as anxiety, anger, and worry all contribute to physical tension. Over time this chronic tension leads to pain.
When magnesium stores are low in the body, the nervous system can become easily overstimulated, which can increase muscle tension. Magnesium can help elicit an overall calming effect on the mind and body while soothing and relaxing the muscles.
8. Heart arrhythmia
The heart is a muscle that constantly contracts inside our bodies without needing to be consciously controlled. The heart relies heavily on magnesium for proper contractility. This is due to its role in regulating calcium and potassium concentrations in the muscle tissue.
If you notice that your heart beats irregularly, magnesium may be something to address. This includes rapid heartbeats, slow heartbeats, and sudden changes in heart rhythm for no apparent reason.
9. Numbness and tingling
If you often feel numbness or tingling sensations in the hands and feet, this is likely due to a change in nerve activity. For example, peripheral neuropathy is characterized by these sensations.
Because of its role in healthy nerve transmission, magnesium deficiency may play a role here. Limited research has been performed on this mechanism specifically, but some studies have shown that magnesium may be able to relieve or prevent numbness and tingling in the extremities.
10. Mood disorders
Magnesium plays a crucial role in regulating neurotransmitter balance. Neurotransmitters are chemicals in the brain that regulate thought patterns and behaviors ranging from motivation to sleep to focus. Magnesium is particularly involved in GABA production in the brain, which is a calming neurotransmitter.
A poor ability to produce adequate GABA in the brain results in conditions such as ADD/ADHD, anxiety, irritability, and general mood imbalances. If you identify with these feelings on a regular basis, you should consider increasing your daily magnesium intake.
3 Strategies to Support Magnesium Levels
Follow these 3 strategies to boost your magnesium levels and improve your overall well-being.
1. Magnesium rich foods
There are plenty of great food sources of magnesium that are easy to incorporate into your daily life including avocados, leafy green vegetables, and raw chocolate. Pick a few high-magnesium foods and consume them on a regular basis.
2. Epsom salt baths
Perhaps one of the most relaxing ways to get more magnesium into your body is by taking an Epsom salt bath. Epsom salts are actually a form of magnesium that can absorb into the body through the skin while you soak.
While traditional Epsom salts are made of magnesium sulfate, there are also newer forms of magnesium flakes that are made of magnesium chloride. Both types of salts provide benefits for the body, however, magnesium chloride may be able to provide longer-lasting benefits. This is because magnesium chloride is both easier to absorb and slower to be excreted from the body.
3. Supplemental magnesium
Industrialization and poor attention to soil quality have depleted our soil of vital nutrients that used to be passed into the food we ate. Framing conditions are beginning to catch up, however, you may still need a supplement. It is just so critically important to make sure you get enough magnesium in your diet that even I supplement with it every day.
Transdermal magnesium comes in a lotion that can be applied to the abdomen or areas of pain for quick absorption that bypasses the digestive tract. This is important especially in cases where the digestive tract is damaged or compromised and cannot absorb magnesium properly (such as leaky gut). If you are looking for a powdered magnesium look for a combination that includes magnesium L-threonate. The L-threonate form of magnesium is the only form of magnesium proven to cross the blood-brain barrier and provide greater neurological benefits.
Final thoughts
You can see how important magnesium is for the human body. Even if you do not have any of the common symptoms of magnesium deficiency listed above, you may still benefit from additional magnesium in the diet.
Use magnesium every day to help keep your mind at ease and your energy levels balanced. It also has the cool effect of acting as an adaptogen by improving your body’s ability to adapt to everyday stressors. It is too important to the human body to allow a magnesium deficiency to continue.