Magnesium - An Important Mineral

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 you body use magnesium. Magnesium keeps bones strong, helps maintain nerve and muscle functioning, and, perhaps most important, keeps the heart beating steadily. It's easy to see why a deficiency of this mineral is dangerous to your health. Magnesium can be found in naturally in green leafy vegetables, nuts, seed, and some whole grains.

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

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

To find out what the recommended daily amount of magnesium is you can ask your doctor or nutritionist. There are also many books and websites that can help you determine how much magnesium you should be consuming each day. This number differs for men, women, different age groups, pregnant women, and lactating women. Knowing how much magnesium you should be taking, and how much is in certain foods, is a great way to prevent any deficiencies.

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

If you find yourself relying on multi vitamins for all your dietary needs you should consider some drastic changes in your eating habits. There are a number of conditions that could require you to take a magnesium supplement. For example if you have chronic malabsorption you may need to take a supplement to ensure you have enough magnesium in your diet.

Studies indicate that magnesium can be useful in lowering high blood pressure or hypertension. While there is no definitive proof, it certainly cannot hurt to increase the number of vegetables and fruits you eat each day. Magnesium deficiencies are also linked to metabolic changes that can result in heart attacks or strokes. As you can see, magnesium is an essential 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.