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Are You Magnesium Deficient?
Magnesium is the 4th most abundant mineral in the human body and a vital element that many are deficient in.
To give you some idea about how vital magnesium is for biochemical processes, more than 300 different enzymes in the human body rely on magnesium to function.
Magnesium Helps To Regulate:
- Over 300 enzymes in the human body
- Creation of ATP (adenosine triphospate). The energy from ATP runs all biological processes.
- Relaxation of blood vessels
- Muscle and nerve function, including the contraction of your heart muscle
- Proper formation of bones and teeth
- Regulation of blood sugar and insulin sensitivity
A magnesium deficiency can lead to the lack of proper cell function. Cardiovascular disease, fibromyalgia, toxic buildup, cancer, headaches, anxiety and depression, have all been linked to a possible magnesium deficiency. A low magnesium level can also result in a sub-optimal physical performance for athletes.
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Soil used to be richer in magnesium a century ago. The average consumption of magnesium from diet alone, used to be about 500 milligrams a day. Today, estimates suggest we're only getting 150 to 300 mg a day from our food.
Organic unprocessed foods tend to be your best bet, but since the magnesium content of your food depends on the richness of magnesium in the soil in which the plant was grown, even eating strictly organic produce, does not guarantee that you're getting a high magnesium content.
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The recommended daily allowance for magnesium ranges from 300 to 600 mg per day.
A good strategy to see how much magnesium you need to take is to start out by taking 200 mg of oral magnesium citrate per day and gradually increase your dose until you develop slightly loose stools (for this reason, magnesium can be a great natural laxitive). You can then back off slightly until you have normal stools. When your body has too much magnesium it flushes it out the other end, so in this way you can determine your own individual cutoff point. It's also better to divide your dose and take it two or three times a day instead of one large dose.
The best way to maintain healthy magnesium levels is to make sure you're eating plenty of dark-green leafy vegetables. Magnesium is in the center of chlorophyll molecules, so any green plant contains magnesium. Spinach, kale, collard greens, beet greens, broccoli and bok choy are all rich in magnesium.