7 Reasons to Pay Attention to Magnesium Deficiency

Although hypomagnesemia might lead to severe health issues, it can be managed and reversed with attention and care.

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Magnesium is an essential nutrient for the body. I highlighted its critical role in our health in previous articles. Magnesium creates 300 enzymatic reactions to maintain homeostasis. I recently documented its beneficial effects for managing type II diabetes.

Despite many benefits, unfortunately, “emerging evidence confirms that nearly two-thirds of the population in the Western world is not achieving the recommended daily allowance for magnesium, a deficiency problem contributing to various health conditions,” as documented in this paper.

You might be wondering why so many people are deficient in this mineral, considering it “the eighth most abundant element and constitutes about 2% of the Earth’s crust. It is the third most plentiful element dissolved in seawater.”

Several factors can cause magnesium deficiency, like inadequate dietary intake (restricted diets or too much junk food), gastrointestinal disorders, chronic stress, chronic inflammation, excessive alcohol consumption, some medications, diabetes, aging, and chronic disorders.

This paper states, “Because serum magnesium does not reflect intracellular magnesium, the latter making up more than 99% of total body magnesium, most cases of magnesium deficiency are undiagnosed.”

Authors highlight, "Because of chronic diseases, medications, decreases in food crop magnesium contents, and the availability of refined and processed foods, most people in modern societies are at risk for magnesium deficiency.”

They also emphasize that “Subclinical magnesium deficiency increases the risk of numerous cardiovascular diseases, costs nations around the world an incalculable amount of healthcare costs and suffering, and should be considered a public health crisis.”

So these scientists think that “an easy and cost-effective strategy that exists to prevent and treat subclinical magnesium deficiency should provide an urgent call to action.”

Due to these compelling reasons, I keep highlighting the importance of magnesium in my health articles. I hope this story reaches a broader audience so that more people gain awareness of magnesium’s importance.

In this article, I discuss seven issues associated with magnesium deficiency that can adversely affect our health and well-being.

My goal is to introduce the consequences of hypomagnesemia. I also explain the mechanisms for these consequences to create awareness and give you ideas to discuss them with your health consultants.

Why is magnesium so critical, and how do we address deficiencies?