The most common causes of magnesium deficiency stem from inadequate dietary intake (especially with processed foods), impaired absorption (due to digestive issues like Crohn's or celiac disease, or long-term use of certain medications like PPIs and diuretics), and increased loss (from conditions like type 2 diabetes, chronic alcoholism, or excessive sweating). Essentially, you're not getting enough, you're not absorbing it well, or you're losing too much through various bodily functions or drugs.
Among the known magnesium deficiency causes are prescription medications such as diuretics, antibiotics, painkillers and cortisone, which can deplete magnesium levels in the body by impairing absorption or by increasing excretion by the kidneys.
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.
If metallic magnesium is inhaled (such as in the workplace) it can cause metal fume fever. This may result in cough, sore throat, chest tightness, headache, breathing problems, muscle pain and fever.
When severe, low magnesium may cause numbness in the arms and legs, muscle cramps, and an abnormal heart rhythm. Some common causes of magnesium deficiency are: malnutrition (or simply choosing a diet that's low in magnesium)
Muscle Spasms and Cramps
Twitches, spasms, tremors, and muscle cramps are one of the most obvious signs of magnesium deficiency. In some severe cases, magnesium deficiency can cause seizures or convulsions.
People need vitamin B-12 for the brain to work well. If not treated, vitamin B-12 deficiency can lead to issues with the nerves, brain or spinal cord. These might include lasting tingling in the hands and feet or trouble with balance.
Magnesium's Anti-Inflammatory Effects
Magnesium may also have an anti-inflammatory effect. Researchers have found that magnesium blocks the release of acetylcholine and histamine, two chemicals in your body that are known to cause bronchoconstriction (constricted airways) and airway inflammation.
The research team took these facts into account from previous studies that suggest that low magnesium levels could contribute to chronic inflammation and joint degenerative disease. Low-grade systemic inflammation may play an important role in the development and progression of osteoarthritis.
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.
A magnesium deficiency specifically is a commonly overlooked cause. Without sufficient magnesium, the brain struggles to perform critical functions, leading to the mental fatigue we often label as brain fog.
In developed countries, older data estimated that the prevalence of marginal magnesium deficit is 15%–20% of the population. This corroborates more recent data indicating that around 10%–30% of a given population has subclinical magnesium deficiency based on serum magnesium levels <0.80 mmol/L.
It is not uncommon to experience diarrhea, stomach upset, bloating, and gas while taking magnesium supplements. If any of these side effects persists or becomes bothersome, inform your child's transplant doctor or transplant coordinator.
Chocolate – Chocolate cravings can indicate a hidden magnesium deficiency. If you frequently reach for chocolate, incorporate more magnesium-rich foods into your diet, such as nuts, spinach, raspberries, pumpkin seeds and raisins. Salty snacks – When only potato chips will do, you might have low potassium levels.
11 Nuts and Seeds That Are High in Magnesium
The causes of magnesium deficiency include: Chronic diarrhea. Frequent vomiting. Malabsorption, due to a digestive condition, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), or a procedure that removes part of the small intestine, namely weight loss surgery.
You May Need More Vitamin D
While many are quick to attribute joint pain to aging or overuse, there's an underlying factor that's often overlooked — vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D, often called the “sunshine vitamin,” plays a critical role in keeping our bones and joints healthy.
Symptoms of magnesium deficiency may include:
Acute pain in multiple joints is most often due to inflammation, gout, or the beginning or flare up of a chronic joint disorder. Chronic pain in multiple joints is usually due to osteoarthritis or an inflammatory disorder (such as rheumatoid arthritis) or, in children, juvenile idiopathic arthritis.
Patients with colorectal cancer had the highest risk of grade 3/4 hypomagnesemia events among patients with cancer: compared with chemotherapy alone, the addition of cetuximab increased the risk of grade-3/4 hypomagnesemia with RRs of 7.14 (95% CI, 3.13 to 16.27; P<0.001), whereas patients receiving panitumumab were ...
Vitamin A, often associated with eye health, also supports normal lung function. Vitamin A promotes lung tissue repair and protects the lungs from infections by strengthening the mucosal lining. Thus, individuals with respiratory issues should include vitamin A-rich foods in their diets.
An irregular heartbeat, or arrhythmia, can be another sign of magnesium deficiency. You can experience arrhythmia as skipped heartbeats or heart palpitations. This can have a knock-on effect, causing dizziness, fainting or shortness of breath.
Cutaneous manifestations associated with vitamin B12 deficiency are skin hyperpigmentation, vitiligo, angular stomatitis, and hair changes. A diagnosis of vitamin B12 deficiency is often overlooked in its early stages because these signs are not specific to vitamin B12 deficiency alone.
Both low vitamin D and calcium lead to increased muscle cramps. Vitamin B1 is also called thiamine. Your body uses it to produce energy. Low vitamin B1 can lead to a condition called beriberi, which causes leg pain and cramps.
Symptoms of peripheral neuropathy might include: Gradual onset of numbness, prickling, or tingling in your feet or hands. These sensations can spread upward into your legs and arms. Sharp, jabbing, throbbing or burning pain.