Who gets magnesium deficiency?
Magnesium Deficiency? Most people should be able to get all the magnesium they need from a healthy balanced diet, but let’s be honest, how many of us actually have that ‘perfect diet’?!?
Magnesium deficiency at a severe level is uncommon but can sometimes happen in older people, those with diseases such as kidney or Crohn’s disease, or thyroid issues. Certain medications may also affect magnesium metabolism and cause a deficiency to arise.
Symptoms of magnesium deficiency
There are a few early signs of magnesium deficiency that you may notice: headaches and nausea, and particularly feelings of tiredness and/or weakness. Those in later stages may suffer from muscle cramps (including of the heart muscle) and seizures.
In fact, it has been shown that almost 80% of those in the USA are magnesium deficient! You can read the article by Dr Mercola here
How do I increase my magnesium intake?
You can increase your magnesium intake through diet by eating the following foods which are rich in it: leafy green vegetables such as spinach, oily fish (for example herring etc.), nuts and cereals (wholegrain is best). Whole foods are always best because magnesium can be lost during food processing procedures. It’s advised to take, daily, 300mg (milligrams) if you are a man and 270mg if you are a woman.
This can also be taken in other ways – via a magnesium supplement; and by using an Epsom salt bath. If you use an Epsom salt bath make sure you put a good few handfuls of the salts into warm water, and stay in at least 20 minutes so your body can absorb it through the skin.
How might magnesium supplements help me?
There have been studies that suggest that those people who take sufficient magnesium in through their diet are 50% less likely to suffer from diabetes than people who didn’t take in enough magnesium. It has also been shown that supplementing with it may aid overweight people with insulin resistance in avoiding diabetes (type 2)! It reduces blood sugar levels and helps increase insulin sensitivity to a healthier level.
However, overall, Diabetes UK advise that those diabetics without professionally diagnosed deficiencies do not need supplemental magnesium. You can read more about this here . In addition, if you take supplements be careful as taking more than 400mg of magnesium can cause diarrhoea, and magnesium supplements may not be safe for people who take certain medications The official advice is that a daily magnesium supplement of 400mg or less is unlikely to cause any harm but you should take your medical doctor’s advice regarding supplement use.
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