The Importance of Magnesium

Magnesium is a necessary mineral that not many people think about. However, magnesium is an extremely important component of our diet. Deficiencies of magnesium can be quite dangerous to your health. It's essential to eat a healthy and balanced diet, but it is also important to know which vitamins and minerals should be included in our diet.

All the cells in your body use Magnesium. It helps maintain nerve and muscle functioning, keep bones strong, and keeps the heart rhythmic and steady. Hence, you can see why deficiency of this mineral can be dangerous. Magnesium is found in nuts, green leafy vegetables, seed, and some whole grains.

While your body only needs a small amount of magnesium there is also only a small amount found in most of the foods listed above. This is why it is imperative to eat a balanced diet full of healthy and nutritious foods.

The symptoms of Magnesium deficiency include disorientation, confusion, depression, abnormal heartbeat, loss of appetite, cramps, numbness, and seizures. Magnesium deficiency is fairly uncommon. Magnesium deficiencies has been linked to over-consumption of alcohol. Magnesium is often depleted though the urine and magnesium deficiencies.

You can ask your doctor or nutritionist as to what the recommended daily amount of magnesium is. Many books and websites can help you determine how much magnesium you should be consuming each day. This number varies for men, women, different age groups, pregnant women, and lactating women. A great way to prevent any deficiencies is by knowing how much magnesium you should be taking, and how much is in certain foods.

If you do not think you are getting enough magnesium in your diet consider taking a supplement. You can take magnesium supplements or multi vitamins. If you are not getting enough magnesium you probably are not getting enough of other vitamins and minerals as well. The best source for all vitamins and minerals is fresh and healthy foods, but the next best thing is a multi vitamin.

Drastic changes in your eating habits should be considered if you find yourself relying on multi vitamins for all your dietary needs. There are a number of reasons that could require you to take a magnesium supplement. For example you may need to take a supplement to ensure you have enough magnesium in your diet if you have chronic mal-absorption.

Some studies have shown that magnesium helps to lower high blood pressure or hypertension. Whether or not this is true it cannot hurt to increase the number of vegetables and fruits you eat each day. Magnesium deficiencies have been linked to metabolic changes that may cause heart attacks or strokes. As you can see, magnesium is a very important mineral to have in your diet.

Be wary of taking too many supplements, laxatives, and antacids. There is the danger of too much magnesium. There is little risk of any overdose if you are getting magnesium through your diet. However if you take too many supplements there is the danger of magnesium toxicity. The symptoms of too much magnesium are very similar to those of magnesium deficiencies.

Magnesium is a very important mineral, and you should be very careful to make sure you are getting the proper amounts of fruits and vegetables each day. If you eat a balanced diet then you probably never need to worry about a magnesium deficiency.

Article Source: http://www.articlemonk.com

Frank Landrens is the webmaster for BHP Magnesium, the #1 source on the internet for information about magnesium, For questions or comments about this article visit: www.bhpmagnesium.com/articles
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