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Magnesium is an essential nutrient which offers a lot of advantages and helps the body with many major functions. It is a nutrient that is lacking from many diets, and a magnesium deficiency certainly shouldn’t be taken lightly. Magnesium is used for over 300 biochemical reactions throughout the human body and helps with maintaining nerve function, muscle health and your immune system.
As well as this, it plays a role in ensuring bones are strong, and your heartbeat is steady. It is recommended that adult males get 420 milligrams of magnesium a day, while for adult females 320 milligrams is recommended. But how do you know if you are getting enough magnesium?
Signs And Symptoms Of A Magnesium Deficiency
A magnesium deficiency is also known as hypomagnesemia and is sometimes difficult to spot. Because magnesium helps with so many vital processes within the body, knowing which symptoms are a sign of a deficiency is often confusing. While many people might not be meeting their daily recommended intake of magnesium, that doesn’t mean they have a deficiency.
For some cases, a deficiency can go ignored because signs and symptoms don’t appear until levels drop dangerously low. Some of the main signs and symptoms of a magnesium deficiency include;
Muscle Cramps And Twitches
Muscle spasms, tremors and cramps are common signs of body not getting enough magnesium. In very severe cases, this can even lead to convulsions or seizures, although this is rare. It is thought that when there is a lack of magnesium in the body, there is a greater flow of calcium into the nerve cells. This can overexcite and hyperstimulate the muscle nerves, causing the tremors. You should bear in mind that muscle twitches can be caused by many other things, such as too much caffeine, stress or medication side effects.
Osteoporosis
This common disorder is characterised by weak bones which leads to an increased risk of fractures. While there are many causes of osteoporosis, a lack of magnesium in the body is one of them. It can also be caused by lack of exercise, old age and a lack of vitamins D and K. A deficiency in magnesium can directly weaken the bones, while also lower the blood levels of calcium which is used to build strong bones.
Muscle Weakness And Fatigue
Fatigue is another symptom of magnesium deficiency and causes physical and mental exhaustion. While everyone can experience fatigue occasionally, severe or persistent fatigue can be an indication that something is wrong. As well as fatigue, a lack of magnesium can also cause muscle weakness or myasthenia. It is thought that this weakness is caused by the muscle cells losing potassium which is associated with low magnesium levels.
Irregular Heartbeat
One of the more serious symptoms that can be caused by a magnesium deficiency is an irregular heartbeat or heart arrhythmia. In most cases, this is mild and for some people has no symptoms at all. Those who do experience symptoms can experience shortness of breath, light-headedness, chest pain, fainting or heart palpitations. This irregular heartbeat is sometimes caused by potassium levels inside and outside the heart being imbalanced, caused by not enough magnesium in the body.
How To Get Enough Magnesium In Your Diet?
Incorporating magnesium into the diet isn’t too difficult as there are many common foods which are high in the nutrient. It is found widely in plant-based foods, with the best sources of magnesium being nuts, seeds, whole grains and leafy green vegetables. Some of the best foods for magnesium are:
- Almonds: Containing around 270mg of magnesium in 100 grams.
- Pumpkin Seeds: Containing around 260mg of magnesium in 100 grams.
- Dark Chocolate: Containing around 170mg of magnesium in 100 grams.
- Peanuts: Containing around 160mg of magnesium in 100 grams.
- Popcorn: Containing around 150mg of magnesium in 100 grams.
Other excellent sources of magnesium include sunflower seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds, cashew nuts, hazelnuts, coffee and oats.
There are also supplements and vitamins that can be taken daily to ensure magnesium levels stay high no matter your diet. Ocean Mag powder provides the perfect balance as it offers a high level of magnesium and is 50% more soluble than magnesium oxide in water. It allows excellent absorption into the bloodstream, and we recommend taking before bed for optimal absorption and to improve your sleep. The magnesium used is extracted from seawater from the west coast of Ireland. The magnesium is carefully analysed for environmental pollutants such as heavy metals to ensure the magnesium powder is as pure and clean as possible.
