KenDBerryMD - 9 Signs of Magnesium Deficiency You Should Never Ignore

Short Summary

Main recommendation: If you have any of the signs of magnesium deficiency Dr. Berry lists, eat more magnesium-rich foods or take a magnesium supplement, and see your doctor for any symptom that could have other causes. He argues that serum magnesium blood tests often look normal even when cells and bones are depleted, so symptoms matter more than a single normal result. He says over 50 percent of the US population may be deficient to some degree.

Key Points

• A normal serum magnesium test does not rule out deficiency, because the body keeps blood levels tightly regulated by pulling magnesium from cells, bones, and organs.
• Magnesium is involved in over 400 biochemical reactions and is needed for ATP (energy) production; the body cannot make elements, so it must be ingested.
• Signs of possible deficiency he lists: low energy, fast heart rate (tachycardia), numbness or tingling in fingers and toes, muscle cramps or twitches, constipation, insomnia, osteoporosis or osteopenia, high blood pressure, arrhythmias including atrial fibrillation (AFib), and severe morning sickness in pregnancy.
• He says checking RBC (red blood cell) magnesium has not been very helpful in his experience.

Details Worth Noting

• Concrete instructions: Eat more magnesium-rich foods, or take a magnesium supplement, or both. For sleep, he suggests taking 400 to 800 milligrams of magnesium at bedtime, plus or minus a little melatonin. For high blood pressure, he advises 400 to 800 milligrams at bedtime every night even if taking blood pressure medication, and notes this may let you need less prescription medication (he says not to change medication without your doctor).
• For supplement dosing, if you get diarrhea, that signals too much magnesium; reduce the dose by about 10 to 20 percent until the diarrhea stops, which he calls the right dose for you.
• See your doctor for symptoms such as low energy, tingling, fast heart rate, arrhythmias, or osteoporosis, since these can have other causes; he says magnesium may help but may not cure them.
• He says magnesium is not habit-forming and is an inexpensive, safe supplement, but he does not describe specific product types or forms.
• He notes that a few studies suggest magnesium supplementation can make severe morning sickness less severe.
• He mentions that over half of people arriving at the emergency room with an acute heart attack may be magnesium deficient, and that this correlates strongly with heart disease.

Bottom Line

Magnesium deficiency can hide behind a normal blood test and show up as a cluster of everyday symptoms, so paying attention to those signs and discussing them with your doctor is the practical step.