Magnesium - Magnesium - An Important Mineral

Magnesium is a mineral that not many of us give any thought to. However, magnesium is very important to include in our diet and deficiencies of magnesium can be dangerous. We should all be eating a healthy and balanced diet, and it is important to know all of the vitamins and minerals we need to be getting.

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.

Your body only requires a small amount of magnesium, but there is also only a minute amount of magnesium found in most of the foods listed above. This is why it is so critical to eat a balanced diet full of healthy and nutritious foods.

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.

The best way to find out the recommended daily amount of magnesium is to consult with your doctor or nutritionist. In addition, you can find many books and websites that can help you determine your daily needs for magnesium consumption. This number is quite different for men, women, different age groups, pregnant women, and lactating women. It's important to how much magnesium you should be taking, and how much is in certain foods, so as to prevent any deficiencies.

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.

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.

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

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.