Signs of magnesium deficiency are everywhere if you know what to look for. Unfortunately, the symptoms are so incredibly common that they constantly slip under the radar.
What exactly is magnesium?
Magnesium is life.
It is the 4th most abundant mineral in the body, right next to sulfur (which is JUST as important).
Along with being a mineral, magnesium is also an electrolyte. “Sports drinks” contain electrolytes such as magnesium, potassium, and sodium because these important nutrients are sweat out during exercise, and their deficiency is what leads to the common problems athletes face such as muscle cramping! But believe me – electrolytes (especially magnesium) do so much more than treat and prevent muscle cramps.
First off, electrolytes are what allow us to be living, electrical beings. They are responsible for all electrical activity (and thus brain conductivity) in the body. Without electrolytes like magnesium, muscles can’t fire, your heart cannot beat, and your brain doesn’t receive any signals. We need magnesium to stay alive, point blank. As soon as we don’t have enough of it, we start to loose the energy and conductivity that keeps us going (not to mention the aches and pains that can come along with deficiency).
Magnesium is a cofactor in over three hundred reactions in the body, necessary for transmission of nerve impulses, temperature regulation, detoxification in the liver and formation of bones and teeth. However, magnesium shows its true power in cardiovascular health.
So many of us have signs of magnesium deficiency without even realizing it:
Symptoms can include:
- Constipation
- Hypertension
- High blood pressure
- Anxiety and melancholy
- Insomnia
- Behavioral disturbances
- Lethargy
- Impaired memory/thinking
- Fatigue
- Sleep disturbances
- Pain
- Muscle cramps
- Chronic back pain
- Headaches
- Migraines
- Muscular pain
- Tendonitis
Anything that makes you tense and tight could potentially be due to magnesium deficiency. If you can’t relax or you can’t stop — think magnesium!
Similarly, patients with diagnoses of depression, epilepsy, diabetes mellitus, tremor, Parkinsonism, arrhythmias, circulatory disturbances (stroke, cardiac infarction, arteriosclerosis), hypertension, migraine, cluster headache, cramps, neuro-vegetative disorders, abdominal pain, osteoporosis, asthma, stress dependent disorders, tinnitus, ataxia, confusion, preeclampsia, weakness, might also be consequences of the magnesium deficiency syndrome.”
– Journal of the American College of Nutrition
Magnesium is associated with so many disorders that Dr. Carolyn Dean of the Nutritional Magnesium Association has devoted an entire book to how she has treated thousands of patients for wide arrays of diseases with magnesium as the primary component. Her book, The Magnesium Miracle is a must read if you have any of the magnesium deficiency symptoms above, or any health problems in general – as there is likely a magnesium component to everything.
Why don’t doctors find more magnesium deficiency via lab work?
Unfortunately, blood tests do not yield much helpful information about magnesium… why? Because the body controls the levels of blood magnesium very tightly. If the magnesium in the blood drops just a little bit, things could get rocky fast. So to prevent this, the body will pull from all of the cells, tissues and the bones in order to keep the blood constant. 99% of the magnesium in the body is stored in your cells, while only a mere 1% of your the body’s total magnesium is in your blood.
“A serum test for magnesium is actually worse than ineffective, because a test result that is within normal limits lends a false sense of security about the status of the mineral in the body. It also explains why doctors don’t recognize magnesium deficiency; they assume serum magnesium levels are an accurate measure of all the magnesium in the body.” – Dr. Carolyn Dean, The Magnesium Miracle.
The best ways to get magnesium
1. Eat magnesium rich foods grown on organic soil.
2. UPDATE: Take ionic magnesium drops. This is my new favorite method, which I’ve learned from The Magnesium Miracle.
3. Apply magnesium oil to your skin! This is the second best way to raise your levels.
4. Soak in epsom salt baths. This will provide not only magnesium, but sulfur for your liver as well.
5. Take Magnesium CALM orally. I take this before bed if I don’t have a chance to soak in epsom salt. Do not use this option if you have low stomach acid.
Additional References (not linked in the article)
Oxford Journals – Magnesium Basics: http://ckj.oxfordjournals.org/content/5/Suppl_1/i3.full
Dr. Carolyn Dean, MD: http://drcarolyndean.com/magnesium_miracle/
