Magnesium is a macronutrient that is essential in humans – which means it is found in large quantities in your body unlike micronutrients like vitamins and certain minerals like zinc & copper, and it also means that your diet should supply it regularly. Magnesium’s large presence in the body is because it is involved in over 300 biochemical reactions in the body, spanning heart, muscles, nerves, bones, immunity, blood sugar regulation, energy production, stress response and more.
As a doctor, I consider magnesium as the life mineral as it is essential for peak performance and a successful life, through its numerous roles, especially as nature’s best gift to your heart and brain. Is deficiency of magnesium common? This is a tricky question and depends on which magnesium level you are testing. The widely available test checks its level in the blood, whereas the bulk of the magnesium in the body resides inside the cells. There is a test for this intracellular magnesium, but this being expensive, is not widely available yet.
Magnesium deficiency in blood is serious and is more commonly found in those with diabetes, alcoholism, and those on some BP medicines. Lower than desirable blood levels, called hypomagnesemia, is defined as a serum magnesium level less than 1.8 mg / dl ( < 0.74 mmol/L). Since only some segments of the population, as mentioned above, usually test positive for low blood magnesium, it was thought in earlier days that magnesium deficiency is uncommon.
However, when the importance of intracellular magnesium became known more deeply in recent years, it is now estimated that many more people are suffering from magnesium deficiency. Unfortunately, there is no affordable test yet to know this easily, and we have to keep a watch on the following 6 signs of magnesium deficiency. The preventive dosage per day for adults is 300 – 800 mg for most issues described here. Therapeutic doses are usually higher, and must be taken after consulting with your physician.
1) Low appetite
Magnesium deficiency causes low appetite by disrupting the production of CCK, a hormone that signals satiety and thus makes your stomach feel full even when you haven’t eaten much. At the same time, magnesium deficiency can cause cravings for sweets. This dual phenomenon is risky, as it discourages the very means of getting enough magnesium, by eating magnesium rich foods! Fortunately, there are supplements, especially in the form of Magnesium Citrate which is highly absorbed.
2) Fatigue and depression
Magnesium is crucial for energy production within the body, acting as a cofactor in the process that converts food into usable energy (ATP), so when magnesium levels are low, the body struggles to generate energy, resulting in fatigue. Secondly, magnesium deficiency can cause insulin resistance and high blood sugar, thereby impacting energy levels. Its deficiency also causes depression by affecting the balance of neurotransmitters and stress hormones that are essential to remain happy, calm and without sleep issues. Magnesium deficiency is also known to contribute to hyperactivity, excessive talkativeness, neurotic behaviour, suicidal ideation, addictive cravings like for cigarettes etc. It can also cause loss in IQ and short-term memory.
3) Frequent headaches
Magnesium deficiency can cause different kinds of headaches. It can trigger migraine headaches by constricting blood vessels and by platelet hyper-aggregation. It can cause tension headaches too by making the nerve and muscle fibres hyper excited. Magnesium deficiency is also a factor causing pre-migraine auras by triggering a phenomenon called cortical spreading depression (CSD).
4) Nausea and vomiting
Magnesium deficiency causes irregular muscular and nervous action in the gut, making a deficient person vomit or nauseous. This is another peculiar symptom of magnesium deficiency that is highly problematic, as it discourages the intake of magnesium rich foods like fruits, leafy greens, legumes & nuts.
5) Muscle spasms or tremors
Magnesium has a complex interconnection with calcium absorption and usage. For instance, calcification or calcium accumulation in arteries is mainly caused by magnesium deficiency. Magnesium helps control the flow of calcium into muscle cells, which is critical for muscle contraction. Magnesium is also essential for the proper balance of electrolytes needed for nerve signal transmission and the resulting precise muscle contractions. Its deficiency therefore causes nerves to become overly sensitive, causing muscles to twitch and spasm readily. Magnesium deficiency can also cause cold hands and feet in some people.
6) Abnormal heart rhythms
This is without doubt the most serious warning sign of magnesium deficiency. Arrhythmias like atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia, especially its most dangerous form called torsades de pointes can result. However, these arrhythmias are multifactorial, including genetic roots.
Dr. Sujith SR, Senior Medical Officer, Vieroots Biohack Centre