Magnesium deficiency keeing you awake?

Magnesium Deficiency – What are the Signs?

A magnesium deficiency is very hard to detect without a visit to the doctor for an actual test of your blood levels. However, there are some factors in your life that may suggest deficiency in magnesium that are worth looking at first. These factors fall into two categories:

1- Symptoms of magnesium deficiency
2- Things you are doing or drinking that leach magnesium from your body

Let’s look at the symptoms first, varied as they are:

Insomnia-
Tiredness and insomnia (funny how there go hand in hand) are the earliest signs of a deficiency. You are restless at night, and may wake up frequently. During the day, you’re just tired. Any reason for this? It could be stress, yet stress itself is know to use up the body’s magnesium.

Nausea and vomiting, with loss of appetite-
Another early sign.

Later stage signs of numbness, muscle twitching, irregular heartbeat and coronary spasms-
These are scarier. Nothing like laying awake at night with insomnia, and feeling your heart struggle. It certainly was enough for me to start looking at sources of magnesium in food.

Headaches-

These are frequently reported, and I have personally heard from people who have stopped chronic headaches that they have suffered for as long as 2 years by simply upping their consumption of foods high in magnesium. Others have supplemented the foods with magnesium “oil,” a topical application.

There are numerous other signs that cover just about everything you can imagine, including depression (insufficient magnesium lowers the body’s production of the neurochemical serotonin), mood swings, jumpiness and more.

Remember, even before you consult with a doctor, there is no harm in increasing your natural intake of magnesium. It is only with supplements that you need to be careful of dosage.

Now…take the symptoms above and consider what you are doing to your body that might be draining you of magnesium.

Stress, both mental and physical, excess coffee, sugar, salt, alcohol and sweetened sodas all have an effect. So does tobacco and excess sweating. Various medications are also know to deplete the magnesium in your body.

Moreover, there’s the big issue of excess calcium. Yes, it’s possible to take in too much calcium, which ironically has the effect of making your bones weaker. Excess calcium depletes your magnesium. Osteoporosis and fragile bones can actually be caused by calcium rather than prevented.

On the other hand, too much magnesium is simply not possible when you source it naturally from food.

If you can identify with some of the signs above, it’s a very good idea to start increasing your magnesium intake immediately. Follow the links above to see what foods you need, and get ahead of any magnesium deficiency that may be dragging you down in every area of your life and health.

USA                             Canada

Infants up to 3 years old:         40-80 mg                20–50 mg
Children 4 to 6 years old:         120 mg                    65mg
Children 7 to 10 years old:      170 mg                    100–135 mg
Adolescent to adult males:      270–400 mg        130–250 mg
Adolescent to adult females:   280–300 mg        135–210 mg
Pregnant females:                        320 mg                    195–245 mg
Breast-feeding females:             340–355 mg         245–265 mg

This chart is for “normal” people. If your body is expelling more magnesium than it should, you will need higher doses.

But taking supplements, you should consult a doctor. It is possible to get too much magnesium when you are using most supplements. Also, if you are taking any medication at all, you should confirm with your doctor that magnesium supplements with not interfere with them. If you have heart disease or kidney problems, check with your doctor as well about these.

With that in mind, lets look at how to add magnesium to your body.

First off, most magnesium supplements can be enhanced by taking additional vitamins that aid in magnesium absorption. Starting with chelated magnesium (the kind that is best absorbed by the body) you can aid your magnesium supplements by the following:

? Calcium (one or two parts calcium for one part magnesium)
? Vitamin C (helps your body utilize magnesium)
? Take your supplements with food
? Avoid taking vitamin D, which can interfere with magnesium

If you miss a does of magnesium, take it as soon as possible. However, if it is almost time for your next dose, just skip the missed does. In other words, do not double dose.

Next up….which supplements to take?

This is where I get a bot stuck. The fact is, oral supplements do not absorb well. On top of that, they affect the digestive tract and could increase the chance of diarrhea. For some things, oral supplements, but for magnesium I highly doubt their efficacy.

On the other hand, the effectiveness of epsom salt baths are well established. Going on this, I tend to believe that transdermal (absorbed through the skin) supplements may be the way to go. I put a banner on the front page, just above the list, and also provide a link here to what may be the best option so far as this goes – from a distributor called Ancient Minerals.

I am still open to hearing more, and encourage comments from other people who have tried magnesium oils for skin applications. So far, they seem far superior to magnesium supplements.