Perhaps calling it a trick is a bit misleading. Sorry, but not sorry. I needed you to read this.
In an article I wrote recently, I discussed the importance of magnesium. If you’ll recall, I called it the most important nutrient. I still stand by that claim. It really is that important. If for any reason you never got any magnesium in your diet again, I guarantee you’d experience some pretty awful health problems.
That’s why if you get the right amount you’ll be able to reverse many of the diseases and conditions that are presented when magnesium deficiencies abound.
As I also mentioned, there’s no sure-fire way to test magnesium deficiency with a blood test, so you’ve got to observe whether or not you’re deficient in this mineral.
You can assume if you have a Standard American Diet the odds you’re at least partially deficient are pretty high. In the next few minutes, I’ll be covering the symptoms and supplementation for magnesium deficiency.
So, let’s get into this.
Telltale Signs You’re Deficient in Magnesium
The thing about magnesium is, it’s so important to a wide variety of bodily functions, if you’re deficient you’re likely to display multiple symptoms at the same time.
Since magnesium is extremely important in muscle function, you might see the following present themselves all at once as a result of muscle tissue not getting the magnesium it needs.
- Loss of appetite
- Nausea
- Fatigue
- Numbness
- Tingling in the body
- Abnormal heart rhythms
- Spasms in the heart (along with abnormal heart beat)
- General weakness
- Cramps in the legs
- Pain in the hands and feet
- Twitchy muscles
- Neck pain
- Pain in the back
- Constant tension headaches
- General sense of tightness in the chest
- Feelings of not being able to breath
You see, magnesium is stored in the tissue.
That means if it disappears from your body, your body’s tissue (i.e. muscle) is going to be the one to serve as a general indicator of lack. Kind of like what happens when your kids haven’t eaten in a while. They’ll let you know there’s not enough food in their belly, that’s for sure. You won’t have to try and figure it out on your own.
Another area affected by magnesium is the Central Nervous System.
Magnesium is important in cell-signaling. It serves to maintain electrical connections in the body. If your body isn’t able to transfer information because of a lack of magnesium, corresponding symptoms might show themselves.
These include, but are not limited to:
- General feelings of nervousness
- Panic attacks
- Agoraphobia
- Hyperactivity
- Inability to sleep (insomnia)
- General restlessness even with movement
- Tingling
Along with that is how the brain is affected. Remember, the brain is where the majority of your inner electrical “wiring” has been laid. Meaning, your brain needs magnesium in a really big way. So, if you’re not getting enough, you might suffer from brain fog, labored and confused thinking, low mood and in some cases, hallucinations.
And as you might remember from my last article, there should be more magnesium in the left ventricle of your heart than anywhere else. So, if your magnesium levels are low, your heart is bound to be affected.
Here’s a list of possible conditions resulting from low magnesium.
- Angina
- Palpitations
- Arrhythmias
- Elevated blood pressure
- Mitral valve prolapse (when the valve between the upper and lower chamber in the heart doesn’t close)
Other general symptoms include breast tenderness, carb and salt cravings, and the feeling of being uptight.
It’s a rather exhaustive list to be sure. And, remember, noticing a few of these appearing in conjunction with each other is enough to signal there’s a magnesium deficiency afoot.
Magnesium is so important for vital health, your body “thirsts for magnesium.” That’s why you might experience cravings, and why there are so many different symptoms.
It’s your body’s way of saying, “you need to fix this now!”
What happens if you don’t fix your deficiency?
Here’s a small list of conditions that could very well beset themselves upon you ( I don’t think I’ve ever said beset before).
- Poor Bone Health
- Poor Heart Health
- Diabetes
- Poor Neurological function
- Muscular weakness
So how do you fix it?
Do you just need to take a supplement and call it a day?
Let me show you what to do.
The Easy Ways To Balance Out Magnesium Ratios
My first recommendation is for you to do this naturally through your diet. But, there’s a caveat to that recommendation.
The problem with food nowadays is most of it doesn’t have enough magnesium in it because soil has been depleted of magnesium.
So, if you’re to get it from your diet, you need to eat foods that weren’t grown in conventional farms. So opt to eat organic or locally-grown foods where the ground hasn’t been subjected to an over-treatment of chemicals and pesticides.
These foods include:
- Pumpkin seeds
- Sunflower seeds
- Mackerel (wild caught)
- Brown Rice
- Avocados
- Chocolate
- Cashews
- Spinach
- Squash
- Sesame seeds
- Almonds
- Okra
Then, of course, there are supplemental forms.
One of the unique aspects of magnesium is it needs to be bonded to another element in order for it to be encapsulated and taken orally.
The same holds true of magnesium that can be absorbed through the skin (as is the case with epsom salt baths).
The list of the following magnesium supplements has been provided by Dr. Mercola and goes through the makeup of many different kinds of magnesium.
Magnesium glycinate/aspartate is a chelated form of magnesium that tends to provide the highest levels of absorption and bioavailability and is typically considered ideal for those who are trying to correct a deficiency.
Magnesium oxide is a non-chelated type of magnesium, bound to an organic acid or a fatty acid. Contains 60 percent magnesium and has stool softening properties.
Magnesium chloride / Magnesium lactate contains only 12 percent magnesium, but has better absorption than others, such as magnesium oxide, which contains five times more magnesium.
Magnesium sulfate / Magnesium hydroxide (milk of magnesia) are typically used as a laxative. Be aware that it’s easy to overdose on these, so ONLY take as directed.
Magnesium carbonate, which has antacid properties, contains 45 percent magnesium.
Magnesium taurate contains a combination of magnesium and taurine, an amino acid. Together, they tend to provide a calming effect on your body and mind.
Magnesium citrate is magnesium with citric acid, which has laxative properties.
Magnesium threonate is a newer, emerging type of magnesium supplement that appears promising, primarily due to its superior ability to penetrate the mitochondrial membrane.
Out of all of those which one’s the best to take?
Magnesium citrate is one of the best absorbed by the body.
But, it’s advisable to take a broad-spectrum of magnesium supplements to get their full effects. I would recommend Magnesium glycinate, citrate and aspartate as a good place to start. You can find many blended magnesium supplements.
The good news is it’s very difficult overdose on magnesium, but you can, so only start taking this in conjunction with your doctor’s recommendation.
…Because you likely need it.
You need to have enough magnesium in your body so that everyday is a good day.
Well, magnesium can’t guarantee everyday is a good day.
But, taking it will definitely increase your chances of living a life free of magnesium-deficiency-related symptoms, so at least you have that going for you.
