28/07/2020
Even with a healthy diet, a person may lack magnesium, which is an essential element for people.
According to the percentage of other metals, magnesium occupies the fourth place in our body. Nature believed that people would get magnesium with food, but today people often do not get even half the required amount of this metal.
Of the total amount of magnesium in the body, 60% of it is found in bones, and the remaining 40% – in muscles, soft tissues, blood and other fluids.
Magnesium is necessary for almost all cells. Without it, the body cannot normally process biochemical reactions and a number of processes are disrupted, such as:
- digestion;
- protein synthesis from amino acids;
- protection against DNA and RNA damage;
- muscle contraction and relaxation;
- nerve impulse transmission.
Magnesium deficiency: symptoms
It is not easy to determine magnesium deficiency, and many people do not notice it. A blood test may show normal concentration of the element, but tissues will experience lack of it, so there is almost no informative analysis for magnesium.
However, there are some specific symptoms of magnesium deficiency that you need to pay attention to.
Spasms and muscle pain
Muscle or joint pain, tremors, and convulsions are the most common symptoms of magnesium deficiency.
Magnesium regulates the transmission of nerve impulses to the muscles. Lack of magnesium leads to involuntary muscle contractions, spasms when the muscles are strained and the facial nerve tics. Leg cramps prevent you from falling asleep: in medicine it is called “restless leg syndrome”.
In addition, magnesium interacts with many elements in the body. For example, it is involved in the exchange of calcium and when taking high doses of calcium, there is a deficiency of magnesium and painful cramps.
Fatigue
Lack of magnesium causes symptoms of physical and mental fatigue, lack of concentration and memory loss.
Normal levels of magnesium contribute to a sound night’s sleep and its deficiency leads to general weakness and a feeling of sleep deficiency even after a full-time sleep.
Moreover, the lack of this mineral does not allow you to activate the amount of energy that is necessary for any type of activity (daily household chores, simple reading, walking or sports).
Depression symptoms
Symptoms of magnesium deficiency also affect the psychoemotional sphere. Since its effect is to maintain the balance of brain function and trigger relaxation, if this balance is not present, anxiety, depression or nervousness will increase.
Cardiovascular diseases
Magnesium regulates heart activity: rhythm, heart rate, and blood pressure. Cardiovascular disorders from the element’s deficiency can be different: usually there is tachycardia and, as a result, increased blood pressure. Isolated arrhythmias occur or last for several minutes.
Premenstrual syndrome intensification
Often, if we suffer from premenstrual syndrome, we are recommended to take magnesium. Magnesium acts as a calming agent, both from the mental point of view, giving a sense of relaxation and reducing stress, and from the physical point of view, reducing the contraction of the uterus muscles and feeling tired.
Osteoporosis
Most of the magnesium is found in bones. When paired with calcium, another fundamental component of this tissue, it promotes bone mineralization and provides greater strength and resistance to the skeleton.