What to do if you have low magnesium

Magnesium deficiency is a very common condition among people and mostly women. Here are its symptoms and how to tackle them with the right foods.

Many studies show the importance of magnesium for the vitality of the body. This mineral, indeed, is needed to make three hundreds and fifty enzymes work, presides over the functions of other minerals, fights physical and mental fatigue. We need to take appropriate amounts of magnesium but the modern diet cause more and more people to have a shortage of this mineral. The causes include: industrial agriculture and food processing (especially baking and refining) because they have dramatically lowered the levels of magnesium in the food we eat; chemical fertilisers, pesticides and acid rain, which take away magnesium from the soil and, as a consequence, from growing vegetables; the large amount of additives in foods that capture the mineral and block its functions.

 

magnesium foods
Legumes, almonds and lentils are rich in magnesium

 

For these reasons magnesium deficiency is so frequent. One of its more visible symptoms are the proneness to feel fatigued and nervous that triggers a vicious circle: the more one is stressed, the more the adrenal glands produce adrenaline and the more quickly magnesium is eliminated. Other symptoms of magnesium deficiency are excessive sensitivity, globus sensation (sensation of a foreign body in the pharynx), tachycardia, fatigue, tremors, muscle twitching, premenstrual syndrome and dysmenorrhea.

 

magnesium sport women
People who practice physical activity need larger amounts of magnesium

 

Women require larger amounts of this mineral, especially when pregnant, nursing or when they’re taking birth control pills. Growing children, the elderly and people who practice endurance sports, in conditions of extreme heat or cold similarly need large amounts of magnesium.

 

Natural sources of magnesium

Whole grains, legumes, soy flour, green vegetables, cocoa, almonds, figs, bananas, shellfish, mineral water containing more than 100 mg of magnesium per litre. Vitamin D promotes its absorption.

 

magnesium spelt whole cereals
Whole cereals are rich in magnesium

 

What to avoid

Meals rich in fats, sweets, alcoholic beverages, excessive consumption of animal protein that inhibit its absorption.

 

Cover image © https://thrivemarket.com

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