Low magnesium intake is WAY too common. Learn about the signs and symptoms of low magnesium, and the reasons why it happens. Because when you know why it happens, you can do something about it!
Who’s at risk of having low magnesium turns out the majority of us here are seven reasons why what does a flammable metal that’s used in laptops cars and even napalm have to do with the heart diabetes or pregnancy magnesium the fourth most common element on planet earth is also the fourth most abundant essential mineral in the body and on a microscopic level cells
Depend on magnesium for things like making dna or proper function of mitochondria the power plants of our cells but it’s also involved in different medical conditions that affect the heart and the brain it’s been linked to diabetes and it’s even a crucial treatment for certain pregnancy complications i’m zane a board certified primary care doctor and in this video
We’ll go over seven causes of magnesium deficiency including the number one cause in the united states but first we’ll talk about what magnesium actually does in the body and what happens when it’s too low magnesium’s effects on the body lie on kind of a spectrum in general it has a calming and slowing effect when people have too much magnesium in their body it
Can slow the heart rate and breathing make people sleepy and even cause death in rare cases on the opposite end of the spectrum low levels of magnesium in the body which is much more common can lead to hyperactivity of different organs like rapid and sometimes fatal heart rhythms as well as something called neuromuscular hyperexcitability in the brain and the
Nervous system which as the name suggests makes neurons more likely to fire this causes things like muscle spasms overactive reflexes and chronic pain in the body and insomnia and mood changes in the brain in some cases if mag levels fall low enough it leads to such extreme hyper-excitability in the brain that it causes seizures which are kind of like electrical
Storms of neurons firing on that note magnesium plays a huge role in the nervous system and it’s pretty interesting the body actively works to pump magnesium from the blood into the cerebrospinal fluid the fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord there’s a good reason why magnesium is a cofactor for hundreds of enzymes which basically means that a lot of the
Biochemical reactions in our body need magnesium to happen and a lot of them are very important for the nervous system magnesium is essential for enzymes and cell membranes to function properly and when they don’t things like tremors muscle twitching vertigo and seizures can happen psychologically low magnesium can manifest as depressed or anxious moods in the lungs
Magnesium deficiency can worsen asthma because the muscles around the airways squeeze shut during asthma attacks similar to how magnesium deficiency makes muscles twitch and cramp up and infusions of magnesium are sometimes used in the hospital as additional asthma treatment in some people low magnesium may be involved in the development of chronic pain headaches
Fatigue insomnia anxiety depression and fibromyalgia which is a disease that can involve all of these symptoms for migraine headaches specifically magnesium deficiency is related to the release of certain neurotransmitters and constriction of blood vessels two factors that promote headaches the american academy of neurology concluded that magnesium therapy is
Probably effective for migraine prevention but this should be done under the guidance of a healthcare provider not getting enough magnesium in the diet can lead to insomnia but can magnesium supplements help you sleep there isn’t a lot of great evidence at the time of this video that proves magnesium supplementation can treat insomnia in people with normal levels
But because it’s low risk for most people when taken in limited amounts it might be worth asking a healthcare provider about taking a supplement for sleep magnesium has been linked to neurotransmitters or brain chemicals like noradrenaline dopamine and serotonin the happy chemical that improves anxiety and depression people with low serotonin levels are also more
Likely to have low magnesium levels when added to other forms of treatment by a healthcare provider magnesium intake might help depression interaction between stress and magnesium goes both ways though stressful emotional states and activities can lead to lower magnesium levels too maintaining healthy levels of magnesium can protect the body against emotional and
Physical stress by reducing the production of stress hormones and the body’s response to them but over time low magnesium is linked to reactive oxygen species oxidative stress and inflammation people with diabetes tend to have higher levels of inflammation and lower levels of magnesium and as we’re seeing low mag levels are common in a few different conditions
Magnesium helps suppress excitability and overactivity in nerves muscles and the heart but at the same time it’s necessary for managing energy inside the body at multiple levels it helps process blood sugar and supports energy production in the mitochondria inside cells and magnesium helps maintain insulin sensitivity the body’s ability to extract glucose out of
The blood effectively when this starts to fail diabetes happens which is when too much glucose hangs around the bloodstream and causes health conditions like cardiovascular disease as to whether or not magnesium supplements can help though there are some studies out there that suggest that they can help diabetes but more research needs to be done regardless of
Whether supplements help diets that contain more magnesium like ones that we’ll talk about here in a second are a great place to start because they’re associated with lower risk of diabetes among other health benefits like better heart health we know magnesium is related to the heart but to what extent really low magnesium can cause torso dupont and i’m sure i’m
Butchering the name but it’s a fatal irregular heart rhythm that’s treated directly with magnesium over time though magnesium that’s low but not low enough to cause an arrhythmia can still affect our long-term heart health there are some claims that taking magnesium can improve blood pressure but is it true the dash diet which i talked about in another one of my
Videos that i’ll link to down below provides a lot of magnesium through lots of fruits and vegetables and it’s been shown to lower blood pressure it also includes potassium and calcium both of which are also associated with better blood pressure so it’s hard to tell exactly how much magnesium directly contributes to blood pressure improvement more and higher quality
Research is needed to really determine if and what forms of magnesium can improve blood pressure at the end of the day though we know that the dash diet and the mediterranean diet can help you live longer and a lot of that has to do with the large amounts of vitamins and minerals they contain in 2022 the fda let companies claim that magnesium containing foods and
Supplements might reduce blood pressure but only if they contain above a certain amount of it and they have to say that the evidence is inconsistent and inconclusive part of that might be because diets high in magnesium also have a lot of other heart-healthy nutrients and foods rich in magnesium like nuts and beans are often lower in salt and high in fiber which
We know can help blood pressure too in reality too much sodium probably affects blood pressure more than low levels of magnesium does i talk more about this in one of my other videos i’ll link to low magnesium levels have been linked to strokes and coronary artery disease both caused by clogged arteries in the brain and the heart respectively it’s possible that
Magnesium helps blood vessels from narrowing and becoming blocked along with the vast amounts of research on the dash and mediterranean diets research suggests that getting enough magnesium through fruits and vegetables is an excellent way of helping to prevent cardiovascular disease partly through improving blood pressure lowering inflammation and improving risk
Factors like diabetes and excess weight magnesium helps manage potassium and calcium levels in the body and really low levels of magnesium can cause low levels of the other two electrolytes as well that’s interesting because all three are related to heart muscle and bone health and they’re all found together in healthy diets as well and all three are next to
Each other on the periodic table coincidence in pregnancy infusions of magnesium into the bloodstream are used to prevent eclampsia a potentially fatal condition that can cause seizures and dysfunction of other organs now that we know what magnesium does in the body and what happens when it’s low who’s at risk of having low magnesium turns out the majority of
Us here are seven reasons why the most common cause of low magnesium is not getting enough magnesium through the diet dietary magnesium deficiency may be one of the most under-recognized conditions in modern times here in the united states more than two-thirds of american adults don’t get enough magnesium in the diet and about one-fifth of people get less than
Half the recommended daily allowance of magnesium why the mineral content of magnesium and food sources is declining and a lot of it has to do with the increased amounts of processed and refined foods so eating diets like the dash and mediterranean diets high in fruits and vegetables can help people get the recommended amounts of magnesium and other vitamins and
Minerals there are also certain groups of people who are even more prone to magnesium deficiency like these next six magnesium intake is related to total calorie intake so people like athletes who tend to eat a lot more calories rarely have magnesium deficiencies women however are statistically more likely to have low magnesium in older adults metabolism changes
With age but a large part of why they’re low in magnesium is because they’re more likely to consume less calories than younger people older adults consume less calories partly because of things like having less of an appetite less interest in food because of loss of taste and smell difficulty with dentures and trouble shopping for and preparing meals it’s not a
Bad idea checking with any older adults in your life for these barriers to proper nutrition and intervene if necessary you never know you might change someone’s life with a phone call or a home visit we know diabetes is associated with low magnesium part of that might be related to low amounts in the diet but complications of diabetes can cause the body to get
Rid of magnesium as well when blood sugar stays too high the kidneys try to get rid of it by producing more urine which carries away extra sugar but magnesium goes along with it lowering the overall level in the body diseases that make it hard for people to absorb nutrients in the gi tract like crohn’s disease or celiac disease can lead to low levels of vitamins
And minerals one of which can be magnesium a lot of important life-saving drugs like diuretics antibiotics and proton pump inhibitors or ppis can lead to low magnesium ppis like nexium or prevacid are a class of medications that are necessary for certain gastrointestinal conditions but when taken consistently for long periods of time typically for over a year they
Can cause low magnesium levels by interfering with the absorption of magnesium and about a quarter of people taking a magnesium supplement doesn’t improve their levels and they have to stop the ppi medicine altogether that’s one of the reasons why people who are on ppis long term should see a doctor both to discuss checking magnesium levels and to investigate what’s
Happening in their body that’s making them need this medicine for so long in the first place oh and pro tip if the generic name of the drug ends in praisal it’s probably a proton pump inhibitor while diseases involving the gi tract can cause low mag levels magnesium is actually used to treat gi symptoms like upset stomach and constipation and it’s one of the main
Ingredients in over-the-counter medicines like malox milk of magnesia and magnesium citrate over-the-counter medicines like these are actually a huge cause of magnesium toxicity but it’s more common to have low levels from the causes in this video than to have too much calcium is regulated through vitamin d a crucial vitamin necessary for bone health and immune
Function with the close relationship between magnesium and calcium it makes sense that low vitamin d can lead to low magnesium levels as well excess alcohol intake both reduces the amount and nutritional quality of food which as we know can cause magnesium deficiency but it also causes diarrhea and affects how the kidneys process magnesium which further deplete
The body of magnesium if any of these sound like you or you have concerns about your magnesium levels be sure to check in with a healthcare provider a good place to start is by eating a healthy diet something that i talk about in this video over here if you found this video helpful you might like this one too peace and see in the next one
Transcribed from video
Why you (probably) need more Magnesium By Dr. Zain MD
