Magnesium: Its powers and faults

Magnesium is one of the most important minerals that participates in the body in the more than 300 different chemical reactions that lead to energy production. Magnesium plays an important role in numerous organ systems of the body but primarily in the contraction of skeletal and cardiac muscles, nerve function, neuromuscular coordination, bone health, insulin release from pancreas, glucose metabolism, and many more.

Dietary sources of Magnesium:

The Magnesium is ubiquitous in nature, but the most important dietary source of magnesium remains the green leafy vegetables like spinach where it is contained in the chlorophyll molecule. Additionally, the cereal, unrefined grain, nuts (almonds, cashews, hazelnut), seeds (pumpkins, sunflower and peanuts), legumes (peas and beans), and chocolate (especially dark chocolate) also contain plenty of Magnesium. Other vegetables (Avocado), fruits, meats, and fish have intermediate values. The food processing and cooking can deplete magnesium content and thus by default leading to a reduced Magnesium intake than the daily recommended allowance by a high percentage of the population.

Magnesium dose recommendations:

The daily recommended dietary intake of magnesium is 310 to 360 mg for women and 400 to 420 mg for men but roughly 45-50% of the Americans are consuming lower than the recommended amount. Furthermore, the recommended daily magnesium dose in addition to dietary intake also depends on the condition it is being used as well as the type of formulation that is selected. The safe daily dose range for Magnesium can be 200 to 1000 mg. Normal kidneys can excrete excess magnesium amount as well.

Magnesium deficiency:

Although the low level of magnesium is more common than the high level but overall, magnesium deficiency is uncommon. It is seen in people with type two diabetes mellitus, alcohol dependence, gastrointestinal diseases, and in those with insufficient intake in their diet. Unfortunately, the blood level of Magnesium does not accurately measure the exact amount of total body Magnesium. 

The staggering number of monthly1.5 million searches regarding Magnesium on social media platforms has led to probably overuse of this mineral for almost every imaginable ailment. Low Magnesium level primarily results in the following disorders.

·       Neuromuscular system disorders: Muscle weakness, muscle pain, muscle cramps especially legs, impaired athletic performance, and chronic fatigue syndrome.

·       Nervous system disorders: Convulsions, strokes, exaggerated reflexes, migraine headache, and Alzheimer’s disease.

·       Cardiovascular system disorders: High blood pressure, coronary artery disease, and heart rhythm disorders, and sudden death in athletes.

·       Endocrine disorders: Insulin resistance, Diabetes mellitus, and low vitamin D level

·       Bone disorders: Fractures, osteoporosis, low potassium level, low calcium level, and low vitamin D level

·       Psychiatric disorders: Depression, anxiety, apathy, sleep disorders, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

·       Miscellaneous disorders: Asthma, stomach acid reflux, kidney stones, immunity disorders, and sudden infant death syndrome.

Role of Magnesium in anxiety, depression and sleep disorders:

The magnesium playing any role in the maintenance of sleep and improvement in anxiety and/or depression is yet to be proven but it seems like its effect on short term and mild anxiety, and depression is modest. It certainly is not beneficial in people with panic disorders and generalized anxiety disorder. Magnesium role in sleep is probably inadequate as per the studies so far but then on the other hand, the research does suggest that the people consuming high magnesium diet sleep better in terms of faster sleep induction and quality of sleep, if not the sleep maintenance and quantity. This in turn may very well be since these patients have other helpful habits for sleeping including daily exercise etc. It is reasonable to say that people who are not getting enough magnesium in their diet could experience improved sleep with the magnesium supplements. The fact that most of the physicians do not prescribe magnesium supplements to their patients for sleep issues leads to the unsupervised use of magnesium supplements by the patients.

Magnesium formulations:

• Magnesium Citrate for heart diseases, constipation, gut cleaning as preparation for colonoscopy
• Magnesium Taurate for heart diseases, anxiety, and sleep
• Magnesium Glycinate for anxiety and sleep
• Magnesium Orotate for heart disease
• Magnesium Oxide for migraines

Side effects of Magnesium:

Magnesium has some side-effects like sleepiness and reduction in blood pressure. 

Additionally, the Magnesium has some interaction with other medications like antibiotics, blood pressure medication, stomach acid medications, and the medications used to treat osteoporosis.

Authored by Dr. Suhail Memon, Consultant Internal Medicine