The Power of Magnesium

Because magnesium is involved in many regulatory reactions in the body, its deficiency is associated with associated with a variety of symptoms ranging from cardiovascular to urological. Hypomagnesia can result from poor diet, increased phytates or oxalates in the diet, chronic vomiting or diarrhea, alcohol abuse, uncontrolled diabetes, chronic stress, or pharmaceutical drugs.

Mild to moderate hypomagnesia is characterized by anxiety, depression, fatigue, insomnia, irritability, panic attacks, muscle cramps and twitches, chest tightness, hyperventilation, faintness, lack of concentration, memory loss, confusion, nuchal pain, headaches, intestinal discomfort, muscle tremors, heart palpitations, and cardiac arrhythmia.. These symptoms may often be confused with those of a mitral valve prolapse or hyperventilation syndrome.

Severe magnesium deficiency manifests in abnormal gait, muscle weakness, vertigo, seizures, hallucinations, hypokalemia, hypocalcemia, anorexia, athetoid or choreiform movements, myoclonic jerks, nystagmus, stupor and coma.

You can get magnesium from beans, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and green leafy vegetables. This is also a great reason to pick up some dark chocolate, because that's high in magnesium, too! So enjoy a big bowl of yogurt topped with bananas and sprinkled with dark chocolate, and know that you are doing your part to get plenty of magnesium!

One of my favorite magnesium supplements to recommend is Natural Calm. If you're under a lot of stress or aren't sleeping well, a spoonful of Calm before bed really helps get your back in balance. I've seen canisters and packets of Calm at most grocery stores, but you can also pick it up here.

Gaby, A. (2011). Nutritional medicine (pp. 134 - 136). Concord, N.H: Fritz Perlberg Publishing.

Swaminathan, R. (2003). Magnesium Metabolism and its Disorders. The Clinical Biochemist Reviews, 24(2), 47. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1855626/