Are You Deficient In The Most Important Mineral In Our Body???

Are You Getting Enough Magnesium? Here are 17 Signs That You're Deficient (And How To Fix It)

MOST people I see are deficient in magnesium.  Why is this important?  Well, it might just be one of the most, if not THE MOST important nutrient in our bodies.  You see, magnesium is needed for more than 300 biochemical processes in your body.  That means, if you don’t have enough magnesium, you are NOT going to feel your best.  

How did so many people become deficient in magnesium in the first place?  A few things contribute to this and they include poor diet, medications, poor gut health and soil depletion. 

So, how do you know if you might be deficient?  Check out these signs and symptoms to see if any apply to you:

1. Muscle cramps and spasms

Charlie horses and muscle cramps are one of the most common signs of a magnesium deficiency.  Most people immediately start to supplement potassium but may forget about adding in magnesium.  Magnesium provides energy for the muscles so you need it too.

Magnesium also helps to relax the muscles so they don’t contract involuntarily.  Remember the uterus is a muscle as well and magnesium is great for menstrual cramps also. 

2. Chocolate cravings

Interestingly, your body tends to crave a food that will provide what it needs. Dark chocolate is high in magnesium, and one square provides about 24% of your daily value of magnesium. I recommend having a good quality dark chocolate handy for cravings and/or dessert.

3. Sluggish thyroid function

Every cell of your body depends on your thyroid hormones, and magnesium is one of the essential nutrients needed to making thyroid hormones! This is often overlooked in many patients. 

4. Anxiety

Anxiety is a common symptom of magnesium deficiency.  Magnesium is a powerful relaxation nutrient and taking magnesium when you feel anxious will help you to relax more. 

5. Trouble sleeping

Millions of Americans have difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. Magnesium plays an important role in the function of your central nervous system. In addition, magnesium levels drop in your body at night, leading to poor quantity and quality of deep REM sleep. Magnesium also helps to produce one of our calming neurotransmitters, GABA. 

6. High blood pressure

Many people with high blood pressure are told to avoid salt, and general table salt definitely should be avoid.  The anti-caking agents and other preservatives have been shown to elevate the blood pressure.  Pure himalayan sea salt, however, has not been shown to do this.  In addition to supplying sodium, it also adds magnesium and other minerals.  This is key for sodium balance for those who suffer from heart disease and high blood pressure.  Magnesium is actually the answer!  Magnesium helps to relax and dilate your blood vessels.  It also helps to balance your electrolytes and all of these actions keep your blood pressure normalized. 

7. Adrenal fatigue

The adrenals are our “fight or flight” glands and serve the important function of keeping us alive in the event of an emergency.  One way they do this is by secreting cortisol, one of our stress hormones. Unfortunately, this system is over-activated in most of us and chronic stress leads to tired adrenals.  Tired adrenals lead to weight gain, especially in your abdomen, brain fog, and fatigue.   Magnesium helps to calm stress and regulate your cortisol levels, and helps to heal the adrenal glands. 

8. Poor memory

Magnesium helps to enhance your brain’s ability to change, heal, and grow new neural pathways.  It helps to regulate your brain receptors, improves learning and helps to clear brain fog. 

9. Irregular heartbeat

Magnesium is one of the most important nutrients for healthy heart function.  The heart is a major muscle and remember, you need magnesium to prevent muscle “cramps” and that includes your heart muscle.  If you are deficient in magnesium, your heart can’t contract properly and this may lead to irregular heartbeats or arrhythmias. Most people who complain of irregular heartbeats are put on medication…perhaps a simple magnesium deficiency was at the root.

10. Constipation 

Yep, another sign of magnesium deficiency is constipation.  Magnesium helps your bowels to relax and also helps to pull water into the stool.  An optimal dose of magnesium taken at night should cause you to have a normal bowel movement by morning, without cramping or diarrhea. 

11. Migraines and headaches

Millions of Americans have a headache and over half have one at least once a month.  Of people diagnosed with migraines, half are magnesium deficient.  Administering magnesium intravenously significantly reduces pain in most patients with a headache within 15 minutes. 

12. Heart problems

Remember I stressed how important magnesium was for your heart muscle??  One research study showed that a lower level of magnesium intake was associated with a 50-80% increased risk of coronary heart disease.  So, lower your risk of heart attack by supplementing magnesium. 

13. Inflammation

One commonality between just about every chronic health problem is inflammation. Inflammation is at the root cause of MOST medical problems, and magnesium helps to lower this. 

14. ADHD

Do you or your children suffer from ADHD?  Well, the good news is that supplementation with 200mg of magnesium daily has been shown to decrease hyperactivity in children. 

15. Asthma

Research suggests people who don't eat enough magnesium-rich foods have a higher rate of asthma and it is thought that magnesium increases bronchodilation. 

16. Metabolic syndrome (pre-diabetes, weight gain, high blood pressure, high cholesterol)

More than 50% of Americans have some form of insulin resistance.  A LOT of people with pre-diabetes have NO idea they have it or their doctor doesn’t know how to recognize and treat it. 

Studies are showing that people who took higher levels of magnesium have a decreased risk of metabolic syndrome, improved triglycerides and better blood pressure control.   

17. Osteopenia and osteoporosis

Magnesium is a key nutrient for strong, healthy bones. Everyone runs to supplement calcium for the bones but forgets about magnesium.  A randomized controlled study found that 300 milligrams of supplemental magnesium increased bone mineral content when taken for a year.

The flip side is true as well.  The worse your magnesium deficiency, the higher your risk of fracture. 

Okay, so now you know how important magnesium is for MOST of your bodily functions. Do any of these signs or symptoms apply to you?  If so, this is how you proceed:

1) Get your levels tested.  What does this mean?  It means you will need to have advanced nutrient testing done, ideally by a functional medicine provider.  Your average blood test may not do. 

2) Add more magnesium rich foods into your diet.  These include dark leafy greens like spinach, nuts and seeds like pumpkin seeds and almonds, avocados, fish, and kefir.  1 cup of spinach gives you about 150mg of magnesium, 1 square of dark chocolate gives 95 and 1 salmon filet gives you 50mg.  

3) Add a supplement if you can’t get enough magnesium through your diet.  Most people need around 400-800mg per day.  I recommend taking it at night for the relaxation as well as to help with constipation.  

There are many different formulations of magnesium.  I recommend trying magnesium citrate.  However, you can also try magnesium glycinate or magnesium oxide as well. 

Let me know if you have incorporated magnesium into your daily regimen and if now, get started today!!