Ever wondered if you need more magnesium? No, us neither! However, according to the latest research, you should as a lack of magnesium can lead to major health problems such as poor heart health and type 2 diabetes*. Have no fear, as we have devised a list of the top 5 symptoms to watch out for!
1. Sleep where art thou?
Are you tossing and turning in bed? “Magnesium deficiency may be linked to not only poor sleep but insomnia too, explains Cassandra Burns, Nutritionist.
“Magnesium improves the hormonal and neurotransmitters balance in the brain,” explains Martina Della Vedova, Nutritionist at Nature’s Plus.
2. Ow!
Cramping, muscle tension and spasms are obvious signs that you don’t have enough magnesium.
“Deficiency in magnesium has been linked to osteoarthritis (the ‘wear and tear’ type of arthritis). There could be several reasons for this; one being that magnesium deficiency could result in higher levels of inflammation in the body, with inflammation then leading to pain and damage to joints”, says Cassandra.
3. Magnesium for your migraines
Banging headache? If you’re susceptible to migraines, you may be deficient in magnesium. Those who suffer from sever migraines are found to have lower levels of magnesium in their blood cells.**
4. CBA
Magnesium is essential for your cells in the production of energy. Too little magnesium has been linked to low energy levels. “Ensuring you have an adequate magnesium intake will send you on your way to effective energy production”, says Shona Wilkinson, Nutritionist at www.superfooduk.com.
5. Muscle weakness
One sign of severe magnesium deficiency is muscle weakness as it supports muscle function by enabling energy to be created in the muscle cells. ***
“If we don’t have enough magnesium in our blood to provide our muscles with magnesium our body may withdraw it from the stores in our bone, leaving us with a whole host of problems”, explains Shona.
Now that you know the symptoms, how about the solutions?
According to Cassandra, there are three major ways to boost your magnesium levels:
Diet
Here are our top three dishes filled with magnesium, so whack on your apron and get cooking people!:
1. Mix two tablespoons or whole or ground pumpkin seeds into your porridge oats for a great magnesium-rich breakfast.
2.Make buckwheat blinis or pancakes with buckwheat flour. Why not add some almonds, packed full of magnesium and guaranteed to give your pancake that extra crunch!
3 Or if you’re not a Jamie Oliver in the kitchen, keep it simple and grab a handful of spinach wilted down and served with scrambled eggs for breakfast or lunch, and broccoli steamed and tossed with butter and sea salt with your evening meal
4. To my fellow chocoholics, for a magnesium-rich snack, go for dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa), Try organic Ombar dark which contains 72% of raw cacao (www.ombar.co.uk, £1.99)
Supplements
Supplements are a great way of getting the necessary levels of magnesium in your body. So pop a pill and try a daily dose of Nature’s Plus Kalm-Assure Magnesium, which contains highly bioavailable (well-absorbed) magnesium citrate! (www.naturesplus.co.uk, £11.75)
Did someone say bubbles?!
If you don’t fancy eating some spinach or taking a supplement, how about taking relaxing magnesium enriched bath! ****Magnesium bath flakes allow your skin to absorb it into your cells.
References
*http://www.ancient-minerals.com/magnesium-deficiency/symptoms-signs/
** Mauskop A, Altura BM. Role of magnesium in the pathogenesis and treatment of migraines. Clin Neurosci. 1998;5(1):24-7.
***Li Y et al. Unraveling the role of Mg(++) in osteoarthritis. Life Sci. 2016 Feb 15;147:24-9
****http://www.ancient-minerals.com/products/magnesium-bath-salts/