The daily amount of magnesium most people require is usually met by a healthy diet. However, if your health should suffer in some way, a magnesium deficiency can occur. The consequences can be quite severe because of the ubiquitous and essential role this mineral plays in the body. For individuals with magnesium deficiency, taking oral supplements can restore the balance of this and other minerals in the body.
An Essential Nutrient
Magnesium is an element found in the natural world, says the Weston A. Price Foundation, a nutrition and information charity. Magnesium can be found in one of several natural forms, but the body processes the salt and chelated forms most effectively. A salt form is where another element is chemically bonded to a magnesium atom, like chloride, resulting in magnesium chloride. A chelated form is where magnesium is held by an organic molecule like an amino acid.
Magnesium and the Body
The Office of Dietary Supplements says that the body absorbs over a third of magnesium ingested, while the rest is excreted. Bones contain about half of the body's stores of magnesium, and the rest is available to cells. Magnesium is needed to help make energy and to synthesize proteins. It is such an important nutrient that the human body has developed specific processes to insure magnesium concentrations are maintained throughout the tissues, including the blood stream. Tight controls are essential because of the key roles magnesium has in hundreds of processes in cells. For example, it is an absolute requirement for nerve and muscle cells to function properly. It also maintains a normal heart rhythm and helps to keep immune function healthy.
Deficiency
Magnesium deficiency, also called hypomagnesemia, is uncommon in normal individuals who eat a healthy diet. However when it occurs, magnesium deficiency can be serious, says Magnesium Online Library, an online technical library. Hypomagnesemia occurs either because the body is not getting enough or it excretes too much magnesium. Magnesium insufficiency can occur with poor diet or with malabsorption whereby the intestines poorly absorb nutrients, as occurs with infections. Magnesium deficiency by excessive excretion can result from kidney malfunction, as with chronic renal disease. Alcoholism is one of the main causes of hypomagnesemia, says Magnesium Online. Any of these deficiency mechanisms can result in symptoms such as irritability, lethargy, anorexia, nausea, muscle twitches seizures, and personality changes.
Magnesium Rich Foods
As detailed by Botanical-Online, a website for nutritional information, nuts, grains and seeds are good sources of magnesium. Cottonseed meal, soybean flour, pumpkin, sunflower and sesame seeds are all rich in magnesium. Nuts high in magnesium are almonds, cashews, pinions and Brazil nuts. Grains highest in magnesium include oats, amaranth, rice and barley. Green leafy vegetables, such as parsley and spinach, are generally excellent sources of magnesium. Animal products are not as abundant in magnesium as plants, with the exception of caviar and snails. According to the Institute of Medicine, the adult Recommended Dietary Allowance of magnesium is 310 mg to 320 mg for females and 400 mg to 420 mg for males.
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