Magnesium: Why You May Be Lacking And How To Avoid It

The importance of magnesium is indisputable if one takes into account that it is distributed throughout the human body.

70% is found in the bones combined with calcium and phosphorus, and the remaining 30% is distributed between soft tissues and the internal environment, with high concentrations in cartilage, muscles and red blood cells.

• Magnesium benefits
• How much magnesium do you need per day?
• Why is low magnesium common?
• What symptoms can a lack of magnesium cause?
• How does magnesium protect cardiovascular health?
• Magnesium and calcium: what is their relationship?
• How does magnesium protect against stress?
• What foods are rich in magnesium?

Magnesium benefits

Magnesium helps calm the nervous system and relax the muscles, helping to reduce the typical muscle stiffness and tension caused by stress. It is vital for nerve impulse transmission, heart muscle function, muscle relaxation, and most cellular exchanges.

It is involved in numerous metabolic processes and in the production of energy. It is also necessary for the fixation of calcium in the bones and for the synthesis of collagen.

It is also involved in the formation of all the body’s proteins : neurotransmitters, antibodies, enzymes, hormones, and collagen.

If you want to know more about the benefits of magnesium in the body, you can also read this article by nutritionist Lucía Martínez.

How much magnesium do you need per day?

About 350 mg a day.

This amount increases if you consume a lot of refined sugar, foods rich in potassium, a lot of protein or calcium supplements .

It is important to know that the main magnesium thief in the body is refined sugar, since it increases its elimination through the urine.

Why is low magnesium common?

There are several factors that contribute to magnesium deficiency.

On the one hand, a refined diet rich in meat and poor in vegetables favors magnesium deficiency, since vegetable products are the richest in this mineral. In addition to the excessive consumption of proteins and fats, the levels of magnesium in the body are decompensated.

This impoverishment of the diet in magnesium is also due in part to the lower magnesium intake of many foods as a result of intensive agriculture, since chemical fertilizers impoverish magnesium soils. To compensate for this mineral mismatch, it is important to bet on organic farming.

By improving the quality of cultivated soils, organic farming offers food with an optimal proportion of magnesium for the body.

In cereals, it is convenient to know that magnesium is found in greater quantities in the casing that is discarded with refining; Hence, it is more advisable, among other reasons, its integral consumption.

What symptoms can a lack of magnesium cause?

Magnesium deficiency is one of the causes of the appearance of chronic stress, since it is related to the hormones produced by the adrenal glands.

The magnesium deficiency in the body can lead to very diverse symptoms : from insomnia, tremors or headaches to chest tightness, nervousness, dizziness, cramps, contractions, fatigue, paleness and fragility of nails, hair and teeth.

The magnesium deficiency can also promote anxiety, insomnia and irritability.

How does magnesium protect cardiovascular health?

Thanks to magnesium, potassium can enter the cell and contribute to the ionic balance necessary for the chemical reactions that allow the heart muscle to function properly.

For this reason, the magnesium deficiency can lead to the appearance of tachycardias, palpitations, pain near the heart and lipothymias.

Tachycardias, palpitations, and lipothymias can indicate low magnesium levels.

Magnesium and calcium: what is their relationship?

Magnesium must be in an adequate balance with calcium. A correct relationship between calcium and magnesium promotes healthy bones and protects the nervous system.

Today it is easy to break this balance by eating a diet high in calcium and low in magnesium. It is recommended to take twice as much calcium as magnesium, but not more.

But when the balance is thrown out of balance in favor of calcium, arteries, lungs, and kidneys calcify, which can lead to arteriosclerosis, kidney failure, and oxalate stones ; and memory, vision or hearing loss may appear.

How does magnesium protect against stress?

Magnesium relaxes the nervous system and influences hormones produced by the adrenal glands, thereby reducing chronic stress exhaustion.

In addition, a magnesium deficiency leads to the production of excess aldosterone, a stress-induced hormone that increases cardiovascular risk.

What foods are rich in magnesium?

In general, plant foods offer the highest magnesium intake.

A diet based on organic foods, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds and algae will provide the necessary doses.

Among the best sources of magnesium are spinach, cabbage, soybeans, oats, wheat germ, almonds, dates, sesame, and brewer’s yeast.

• Pumpkin seeds: 535 mg
• Cocoa: 500 mg
• Sunflower seeds: 420 mg
• Sesame: 347 mg
• Wheat germ: 327 mg
• Cashew: 292 mg
• Soy: 250 mg
• Brewer’s yeast: 230 mg
• Dried beans: 201 mg
• Almonds: 170 mg
• Millet: 170 mg
• Brown rice: 157 mg
• Purslane: 151 mg
• Whole wheat flour: 140 mg
• Flaked oats: 140 mg
• Walnuts: 135 mg
• Beans: 130 mg
• Dried corn: 120 mg
• Chickpeas: 108 mg
• Whole wheat bread: 92 mg
• Buckwheat: 85 mg
• Lentils: 77 mg
• Dried fig: 68 mg
• White rice: 63 mg
• Fresh spinach: 58 mg
• Dried apricot: 50 mg
• Fennel: 49 mg
• Frozen spinach: 46 mg
• Sweet corn: 43 mg
• Banana: 36 mg
• Green cabbage: 34 mg