Key Signs and Symptoms of Magnesium Deficiency: What to Look for
Why are low magnesium levels so often overlooked?
Magnesium is an essential mineral and cofactor of over 350+ enzymatic processes in our body and plays a vital role in energy production. (1-3)Yet this master mineral can fly under the radar and become surprisingly low in some individuals. There are 2 main reasons that low magnesium levels may go undetected:
Signs and symptoms of low magnesium are nonspecific and easy to miss
Inadequate methods of testing magnesium
Let’s start with signs and symptoms.
The signs and symptoms of low magnesium levels may actually be harder to pinpoint than you think.
Why is that?
One primary reason is that many early-stage, and even mid-stage, signs and symptoms are nonspecific; they can be, therefore, easily brushed off as life issues and/or general health conditions.
They may seem obvious in hindsight but are not really that obvious when occurring. Ever felt irritable? Fatigued? Nauseated?
Irritability?
…Oh, come on, who hasn’t had a bad day… EVERYDAY, especially during these ‘uncertain times’? And besides everyone LOVES biting, snarky responses, don’t they?
Fatigue?
… Of course, after a long, grueling, hanging-on-my-last-eyelash week, who wouldn’t be a little bit tired?
Nausea?
…OK, Ok, Ok, perhaps my home cooking isn’t where it needs to be… a little more practice maybe?
It is quite easy to excuse away and overlook a possible case of lower-than-normal magnesium levels. Even though there are several symptoms and stages of magnesium deficiency, some to be aware of include:
Early stages of magnesium deficiency (1-10):
Low energy
Uptightness
Nausea/vomiting
Fatigue
Weakness
Headache
Eye Twitches
As the condition of below normal magnesium levels persists, you may begin to experience neuromuscular symptoms
Moderate stages of magnesium deficiency (1-10):
Twitching muscles
Muscle spasms and cramps
Numbness and tingling
Joint pains
Insomnia
Poor memory
Severe (1-10)
When signs and symptoms become severe, they can lead to life-threatening conditions and can be associated with chronic inflammatory diseases.
You can see from the table above a possible progression of health conditions as low magnesium persists over time; severe chronic low magnesium levels can become associated with diseases and conditions, such as (1-10):
Heart Disease
Seizures
Alzheimer’s
Diabetes
Osteoporosis
Migraines
TMJ
Depression
Testing for Magnesium Deficiency (1-3,5,6,8,10)
The second major reason why magnesium deficiency is not identified quicker in individuals is that currently there are inadequate methods of testing magnesium. The present testing of choice is just not reliable (3,5,6) and can be inaccurate. With the current testing methods results tend to underestimate the magnesium level within the whole body.
Magnesium levels are tested by the amount found in the blood serum. Normal magnesium levels, based on the serum testing, are in the range of 0.75 to 0.95 mmol/L. Studies have indicated, though, that those individuals with normal test results of 0.75 mmol/L most likely are magnesium deficient.
Also, only <1% of total body magnesium is present in the blood serum. (1-3) The remaining 99% is intracellular in the skeletal bones, teeth, and soft tissue. How can such a small percentage in the blood serum predict magnesium level throughout the entire body?
When an individual has chronic latent low levels, magnesium will move extracellularly into the serum to satisfy the blood serum requirements. This flow of magnesium into the blood serum will continue no matter how low magnesium levels dip in the rest of the body. So, unfortunately, serum magnesium levels do not consistently reflect total body magnesium accumulation. (2,3)
Bottom line is that a better method of testing magnesium is sorely needed. Serum magnesium simply does not accurately reflect total magnesium concentration within the soft tissues and bones. It is a poor barometer of intracellular magnesium content. It has been acknowledged that better testing is needed in this area and magnesium balance in the body should be measured as it relates to the calcium and potassium status in the body. (5)
What can we do to fix the problem?
Eating magnesium-rich foods is one way. Check out the next post for some tasty ideas.
References
1. Grober U, Schmidt J, Kisters K. Magnesium in prevention and therapy. Nutrients. 2015;7(9):1-34.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26404370. Accessed February 10, 2019.
2. Razzaque MS. Magnesium: are we consuming enough? Nutrients.2018;10(12):1-12.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6316205. Accessed February 10, 2019.
3. Ahmed F, Mohommed A. Magnesium: The forgotten electrolyte–a review on hypomagnesemia. Med Sci. 2019;7(4):1-13. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3271/7/4/56. Accessed May 6, 2019.
4. De Baaij JHF, Hoenderop JGJ, Bindels RJM. Magnesium in man: implications for health and disease. Physiol Rev. 2015. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25540137. Accessed February 10, 2019.
5. Guerrara MP, Volpe SL, Mao JJ. Therapeutic uses of magnesium. Am Fam Physician. 2009;80(2):157-162. https://www.aafp.org/afp/2009/0715/p157.html#afp20090715p157-b2. Accessed May 12, 2019.
6. DiNicolantonio J, O’Keefe JH, Wilson W. Subclinical magnesium deficiency: a principal driver of cardiovascular disease and a public health crisis. Open Heart. 2018;5(1): e000688.
7. NIH: US National Library of Medicine. Minerals. MedlinePlus website. https://medlineplus.gov/minerals.html. Accessed May 12, 2019.
8. National Institute of Health: Office of Dietary Supplements. Magnesium: fact sheet for health professionals. Updated September 26, 2018. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium-HealthProfessional. Accessed April 16, 2019.
9. Cricthon-Stuart, A. How can I tell if I have low magnesium? Medical News Today website. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322191#what-does-magnesium-deficiency-mean. Reviewed by Alana Biggers, MD, MPH. Accessed February 14, 2021.
10. Dean, C. The Magnesium Miracle. 2nd ed. Ballantine Books: New York; 2017.