Why 80% of Us Are Magnesium Deficient and What to Do About It

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Did you know that up to 80% of us are deficient of the most vital mineral, and we aren’t even aware of it? Oxygen, water and food are closely followed by magnesium in importance for survival, and yet it’s an element that is being entirely overlooked by modern health checks.

Magnesium is such an essential mineral that offers incredible health benefits, and a deficiency can lead to stress, fatigue, hypertension, heart disease, insomnia, digestive disorders, painful muscles, inflammation and a host of other diseases.

While many of us are blindly trying to micromanage the symptoms of a deficiency with expensive drugs and complicated supplements, what we really need to do is filter for how much magnesium our diets offer, and if it’s less than the recommended 310-400 milligrams per day, for women and men respectively, magnesium supplementation is necessary.

Why Is Magnesium Deficiency Undetected?

Only 1% of magnesium is stored in our blood, which means that no amount of blood tests and complicated scans will be able to detect a deficiency.

This makes it crucial to educate yourself about the signs and symptoms of a magnesium deficiency, as this will help you and your health practitioner to understand the bigger picture. As important as it is to monitor one’s own level of thirst and hunger, so is it important to monitor the symptoms associated with chronic magnesium deficiency, and to take corrective action.

What Does Magnesium Do for Our Health?

Magnesium plays an enormous role in our physical body, being responsible for more than 300 biochemical reactions.

It helps to promote better digestion, improves nerve health, fires up metabolism, increases calcium absorption for stronger teeth and bones, reduces inflammation, lowers blood pressure, balances blood sugar, prevents depression, promotes better sleep, fights fatigue and alkalizes our entire body.

By ensuring that you get your daily recommended amount of magnesium you actively improve and maintain excellent health as it affects every vital system in your body.

Dr Norman Shealy highlights the importance of magnesium in his statement: “Every known illness is associated with a magnesium deficiency. It is the most critical mineral required for electrical stability of every cell in the body. A magnesium deficiency may be responsible for more diseases than any other nutrient.”

What are the Signs and Symptoms of a Deficiency?

It’s amazing how many systems a magnesium deficiency affects. Here are some of the most common signs and symptoms that you need to up your intake:

  • Constipation
  • Muscle Cramps
  • Fatigue
  • Irritability
  • Frequent Migraine Headaches
  • Weakness
  • Insomnia
  • Abnormal Heart Rhythm
  • Tooth Decay
  • Hypertension
  • Panic attacks
  • Imbalanced Fluid Levels

Severe magnesium deficiency includes symptoms of extreme thirst, extreme hunger, bruises that heal slowly, weight loss, tingling in hands and feet and regular yeast infections. In periods of increased stress levels it is important to supplement with magnesium as it gets depleted by stress hormones and the symptoms associated with high levels of stress.

How Do We Correct a Deficiency?

Dietary supplementation can easily correct a magnesium deficiency, and foods that are highest in magnesium concentration include:

  • Spinach: 2 Cups= 80% of your daily requirement
  • Pumpkin Seeds: ½ Cup= 92% of the daily required amount
  • Bananas: 8% RDA per banana
  • Nuts: 20% of the daily requirement per 30 gram serving
  • Black Beans: 1 Cup= 30% of the daily required amount
  • Yoghurt: 13% of the daily amount per cup

Just two cups of leafy greens a day and a handful of nuts can help you to meet your daily magnesium requirement. In the early stages of deficiency detection, it is advisable to supplement with magnesium to boost depleted levels.

 

Men require an average of 400 milligrams per day, and women require 320 milligrams per day.

What Happens If We Don’t Correct it?

Uncorrected chronic magnesium deficiency leads to brittle bones, poor digestion, diabetes, heart disease and chronic inflammation, which can eventually increase mortality.

By monitoring and correcting early signs and symptoms, and making sure that you get sufficient intake of this essential mineral, you will be improving your health dramatically.

Sources:

 

http://healthyhubb.com/10-magnificent-health-benefits-of-magnesium/

https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium-Consumer/

http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/magnesium

 

Also Read:

10 Wonderful Health Benefits of Raspberries

10 Fantastic Reasons Why You Should Eat Some Chocolate Today!

Sophie Robinson
Sophie growing up was told by multiple doctors her chronic sinusitis would never subside. Healthy eating, daily exercise and yoga completely cured her and transformed her life. Sophie is now extremely passionate about all things related to health and fitness. She is a fulltime blogger and content contributor at HealthyHubb.com