Initially, signs of magnesium deficiency in children are loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, fatigue and weakness. When deficiency is severe, symptoms can include numbness, tingling, muscle spasms or cramps, and severe symptoms related to irregular heartbeats and seizures.
Stress, intensive exercise, and regular consumption of refined sugar and carbohydrates are other common factors that deplete the body of magnesium. It's important to remember that children are also affected by stress and worry, and they often have a diet that is too high in sugar and refined carbs.
Magnesium deficiency is diagnosed via a blood test and sometimes a urine test. Your doctor may order the blood test if you have symptoms such as weakness, irritability, abnormal heart rhythm, nausea and/or diarrhoea, or if you have abnormal calcium or potassium levels.
Your child may have some side effects while they take magnesium supplements. Check with your child's doctor if the following side effects do not go away or if they bother your child: stomach upset (cramping, diarrhea, or gas).
Yes, deficiency can also impact behaviour!
Other symptoms of magnesium deficiency include moodiness (like irritability or hyperactivity), difficulty concentrating, insomnia, and anxiety (6). Studies have shown higher intakes of magnesium to be associated with improvements in the behaviours above (7).
The tolerable upper intake level for magnesium in supplement form is 65 mg per day for children ages 1 to 3, and 110 mg per day for children ages 4 to 8. That's the maximum amount of magnesium added to a normal daily diet considered safe by the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine.
I usually recommend giving magnesium 1-2 hours before bed. If you notice that your child seems to have a harder time getting to sleep, it might be that they metabolize magnesium at a different rate. And, that's fine! Give it to your child around lunch time to allow more time to process it.
“Many forms of magnesium are appropriate for kids, but I typically recommend magnesium citrate,” Evans says. “It is cost-effective and more easily absorbed than many other forms.” Natural Calm Kids is made with magnesium citrate.
Magnesium L Threonate (or magnesium citrate in those who can only take gummies) are the preparations that has been most studied and show the highest benefit for ADHD, cognition, mood, and anxiety.
Carolyn Dean, the following common factors can deplete the body's magnesium and/or increase the demand for magnesium: Supplements and drugs containing caffeine. Diuretics. Certain medications, including proton pump inhibitors, asthma medications, birth control pills, insulin, digitalis, and certain antibiotics.
Untreated magnesium deficiency can, over time, increase the risk of: High blood pressure. Type 2 diabetes. Heart disease.
Chronic magnesium deficiency is often associated with normal serum magnesium despite deficiency in cells and in bone; the response to oral supplementation is slow and may take up to 40 weeks to reach a steady state.
People with ADHD often lack magnesium and zinc and supplement of these vitamins may improve hyperactivity, impulsivity, attention and memory. Several studies have shown that, at large, people with ADHD have less magnesium (Mg) and zinc (Zn) in their bodies than the control groups that don't have ADHD.
Healthy nervous system and mood.
Magnesium acts as a relaxant and can help improve depression, anxiety, irritability, poor attention and bad sleep. Sadly, these are all conditions that I am seeing more frequently in my practice. Some studies have also linked low magnesium to ADHD.
Treatment. Consider oral magnesium replacement in asymptomatic children with mild hypomagnesaemia, unless significant gastrointestinal intolerance (eg diarrhoea) which oral magnesium will exacerbate: 2.5 - 5 mg/kg (0.1 - 0.2 mmol/kg) 3 times daily orally.
The good news is that magnesium supplements are a safe option when looking to boost your child's magnesium levels. This is because the body clears magnesium from its system fairly quickly. In fact, the body only absorbs 30% to 40% of your magnesium intake and expels the rest.
Magnesium is important for children as it helps ensure a good sleep pattern, healthy bones, good blood pressure and glucose levels, and the like.
Magnesium deficiency in children is not very common. However, as more and more children eat processed foods, magnesium deficiency is becoming more common.
This mineral won't directly improve attention, but it can calm hyperactivity and agitation, which compromise attention. I find magnesium helpful for children who have a “rebound effect” after their stimulant medication wears off.
Magnesium deficiency can cause a wide variety of features including hypocalcaemia, hypokalaemia and cardiac and neurological manifestations. Chronic low magnesium state has been associated with a number of chronic diseases including diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, and osteoporosis.
Every organ in the body, especially the heart, muscles, and kidneys, needs the mineral magnesium. It also contributes to the makeup of teeth and bones. Magnesium is needed for many functions in the body. This includes the physical and chemical processes in the body that convert or use energy (metabolism).