6 Telltale Signs You May Be Suffering from a Magnesium Deficiency

How can one mineral cause so many issues?

Magnesium is essential for more than 300 different enzymatic processes in the body. It has a role in countless body functions such as your heartbeat, muscle movement, and the production of hormones.

A magnesium deficiency contributes to issues for half of Americans that do not consume enough magnesium.  Unfortunately, most of these people are completely unaware that they have a magnesium deficiency.  The good news is magnesium deficiencies can be easily fixed and may alleviate many issues that are affecting your quality of life.

6 Common Deficiency Signs:

1. Muscle Cramps & Spasms

Although the exact cause of muscle cramps and spasms isn’t yet known, many think a lack of minerals is to blame. Specifically, being low in potassium, calcium, or magnesium is thought to cause cramps.

This issue is very common thanks to our coffee-addicted society.  Beverages such as coffee, tea, or even blood pressure medications are considered diuretics and can quickly deplete our mineral stores.  When we urinate, minerals leave our bodies. If you frequently drink coffee or take a diuretic medication, you may want to consider a multi-mineral supplement like Maximum Living’s MineralRich.

Magnesium helps with muscle relaxation. When magnesium deficient, your muscles can involuntarily contract which can cause painful spasms.

2. Anxiety/Depression

Do you feel anxious on a normal basis? Anxiety is one of the most common mental illnesses in America.

Research points to magnesium deficiencies as a potential causative factor in mood disorders, anxiety, and stress-related conditions.  Recent research suggests that magnesium supplementation can be beneficial for these conditions.

While magnesium may not be the cure for anxiety caused by other factors, you will want to seriously consider it if you experience anxiety in addition to any of these other symptoms listed in this article.

3. Insomnia or Trouble Sleeping

If you have trouble sleeping, staying asleep, or are an insomniac, you may be deficient in magnesium. Even a small lack of magnesium can prevent the brain from relaxing at night.

Magnesium plays a key role in your central nervous system.  Since magnesium is also known to promote relaxation, it is recommended that if you take a magnesium supplement, you should take it at night to take advantage of this trait.  Restoring your magnesium levels can help you get a restful night’s sleep.

4. Constipation

The relaxing effect of magnesium also applies to your digestive tract.  Low magnesium can cause your intestines to contract more resulting in constipation.  Magnesium isn’t only important for the relaxation of the intestines, it also pulls water into you’re your intestines which allows waste to move along easier.

5. High Blood Pressure/Hypertension

Magnesium helps to dilate and relax your blood vessels.  Since magnesium helps to relax our blood vessels, it does the opposite when we are deficient in magnesium. In other words, magnesium deficiency can cause high blood pressure by increasing blood vessel constriction.

If you experience difficulties with high blood pressure, you may want to consider supplementing with magnesium.

6. Headaches and Migraines

Migraines are the result of constriction or tenseness. Tension headaches, for example, are the result of tense muscles in the upper back, shoulders, or neck–these are often perceived as migraines.

Studies have shown that people who experience migraines often have lower levels of magnesium compared to those who do not experience migraines.  Restoring your magnesium levels and adding an adequate source of magnesium in your diet may result in long-term relief from migraines or headaches.

You Think You’re Deficient in Magnesium.  Now What?

The most obvious answer is that you need to replenish your body’s magnesium levels.

The more symptoms you experience, the greater the chance you have a magnesium deficiency. If you only experience one of the listed symptoms of a magnesium deficiency, it may be that your issues are caused by something else. Most people are deficient in magnesium anyway, so it’s a good idea to supplement more magnesium in your diet.

There are two ways you can get magnesium into your body to alleviate the symptoms of a magnesium deficiency: through your diet and with supplementation.

Getting Magnesium into Your Diet

If you are aware of the foods that are high in magnesium, you can easily sprinkle them into our diet. Magnesium can surprisingly be found in a wide range of foods. Typically green leafy vegetables, nuts & seeds, and whole grains contain magnesium. Check out this info-graph from Dr. Axe.

For some people, simply eating foods with magnesium will be enough to make you feel better. In cases of a more extreme magnesium deficiency, a supplement may be a better option.

Supplementing with Magnesium

The RDA for magnesium (daily minimum needed) is around 310 mg a day for females and 400 mg a day for males. When you look at a magnesium supplement, consider these numbers.

Magnesium is not the only essential mineral that our body needs. Many of us take a multi-vitamin to make up for vitamins we may be missing out on through our diet; multi-mineral supplements can do the same. 

MineralRich & MineralRich plus Aloe

MineralRich is a multi-mineral/magnesium supplement that offers an array of trace minerals and magnesium the body needs. Maximum Living’s MineralRich is an optimal choice providing 100mg of magnesium as opposed to the general 300mg RDA recommendation.  When a supplement contains too much magnesium, it becomes easy to get too much magnesium in your body because most of us get varying amounts of magnesium through our diet. It’s a nice and safe starting point for a magnesium supplement. The trace mineral and macromineral blend in MineralRich is accompanied by two essential vitamins, B-12, and biotin.  These vitamins work along with the mineral blend to address common deficiencies that can cause the body to be “out of balance”.  When the body is out of balance, we can experience several issues that may be alleviated with supplementation.

MineralRich with Aloe is also an option.  It is the same great MineralRich formula with added Aloe that can help soothe digestion.

The Bottom Line

Most people get far less magnesium than what their body needs. The longer you go on with a magnesium deficiency, the more symptoms you will likely experience. If you or someone you know may have a magnesium deficiency, do them a favor and tell them about it (or send this article to them).

If you add magnesium to your diet or take a magnesium supplement, do not expect results instantly. The time it takes to completely restore your magnesium levels depends on how deficient in magnesium you are.