Magnesium deficiency symptoms start subtly with fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and weakness, progressing to more severe signs like muscle cramps, spasms, numbness, tingling, headaches, migraines, anxiety, and abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias), with severe cases leading to seizures and personality changes. It affects muscle and nerve function, impacting energy and heart health, so watch for eyelid twitching, tension, and sleep issues like insomnia.
Your body needs magnesium to function normally. Symptoms of magnesium deficiency include low appetite, nausea or vomiting, muscle spasms or tremors and abnormal heart rhythms. A blood test or urine test can be used to diagnose magnesium deficiency. Magnesium deficiency is usually treated with supplements.
Health Risks from Excessive Magnesium
Although the risk of acquiring too much magnesium from food is low among healthy people, high doses of magnesium from dietary supplements or medications can cause diarrhea, nausea, and abdominal cramping.
12 symptoms of magnesium deficiency
Yes, magnesium can cause headaches, but usually only when you have too much (hypermagnesemia) from high-dose supplements or impaired kidneys, while a deficiency in magnesium is a common cause of headaches and migraines, making magnesium supplementation a popular treatment for prevention. So, headaches can signal either too little or too much magnesium, depending on the context.
The side effects of magnesium include nausea, diarrhea, stomach pain, arrhythmias, dyspnea, hypotension,... To minimize the risk of side effects and drug interactions, magnesium supplements should only be taken as prescribed by a doctor.
Foods high in magnesium are leafy greens, legumes, nuts, seeds and whole grains. A doctor can check your magnesium levels by a blood or urine (pee) test. If you have low magnesium levels, your doctor may recommend taking a supplement.
For drinks high in magnesium, opt for mineral waters, fruit juices (especially orange, cherry, watermelon), plant-based milks (soy, almond), and homemade concoctions using raw cacao, coconut milk, or magnesium powders mixed with water or smoothies, with hot chocolate (made with raw cacao) and herbal teas (like nettle) also being good choices.
Bananas are the richest fruit in magnesium. If eaten dried, its magnesium content is higher. More generally, dried fruits such as figs, dates and apricots are an important source of magnesium. Recipe idea: Try a banana-spinach smoothie.
For women especially, magnesium is important because it plays a role in hundreds of different functions involved in hormone regulation. Thankfully, increasing dietary magnesium intake and taking a daily supplement can reverse symptoms and optimize blood sugar levels, mood, sleep and menstrual cycles.
People take magnesium for many different reasons. And this makes sense. It plays a role in more than 300 different bodily functions — from muscle relaxation to maintaining a steady heartbeat. Magnesium can also have a laxative effect, which means it can be a treatment for constipation.
Relaxing your muscles during exercise – When you exercise or do some kind of physical activity, magnesium relaxes your muscles and controls their contractions. It helps lessen the build-up of lactic acid, which can cause muscular tension. This then enables your muscles to get the oxygen they need.
Individuals with nerve or muscle conditions – People with conditions like myasthenia gravis should avoid taking magnesium, as it can interfere with the function of some nerve and muscle-related medications.
Achieving 100% of the daily recommended magnesium intake can be accomplished by eating foods rich in magnesium, such as:
Culprit medications linked to hypomagnesemia include antibiotics (e.g. aminoglycosides, amphotericin B), diuretics, antineoplastic drugs (cisplatin and cetuximab), calcineurin inhibitors, and proton pump inhibitors.
A growing body of evidence also suggests that chronic stress may cause magnesium loss/deficiency [43].
There's no questioning the health benefits of broccoli, but we're expanding the list by mentioning that it's an excellent magnesium food. Keep your heart healthy with one small stalk of broccoli, which packs not only 5 g of filling fiber but also a significant amount of magnesium: 29.4 mg for just 50 calories.
Almonds and cashews are rich in magnesium. One ounce of almonds contains 80 milligrams for 19% of the DV. Cashews are almost as good, with 74 milligrams for 18% of the DV.
People experiencing low magnesium symptoms will have higher blood pressure, higher blood sugar, more headaches and muscle cramping, worse anxiety, and trouble sleeping. It's easy to overlook recommending magnesium, especially if lab results are within normal range.
Magnesium-Rich Foods
Drinking enough water isn't always enough. Your body needs the right minerals to absorb and retain hydration properly. Magnesium is a key electrolyte that ensures efficient water absorption at a cellular level.
Sodium: 62 milligrams (mg) Calcium: 25 mg. Iron: 0.6 mg. Magnesium 5 mg.
To promote optimal absorption, it's important to be mindful of what you eat and drink alongside magnesium supplements. Foods and drinks high in fiber, phytic acid, phosphoric acid, alcohol, and caffeine can interfere with how well your body uses magnesium.
Yes, magnesium can help you sleep better by calming the nervous system, relaxing muscles, and supporting melatonin production, with some studies showing it improves sleep quality, duration, and efficiency, particularly for those with low levels or sleep issues like restless legs. While more research is needed, magnesium glycinate is often recommended for sleep due to its gentle absorption, and you can find it in foods like leafy greens, nuts, seeds, and whole grains, or as a supplement.