What effects does magnesium have on humans? When is it necessary and when is it harmful?

What are the effects of magnesium - magnesium - on humans?
When do I need to increase my doses?
And what are the symptoms when it is missing in the body?
When can it be harmful?
How to take it so that it does not have side effects?

The answers to these questions are given in the article...

magnesium is an electrolyte that is essential for most cellular processes. It is an indispensable element for human and animal life.

It was first identified in 1755 by the Swedish physicist and chemist Joseph Black.
It was not isolated in its pure state until 1808 by the English chemist Sir Humphry Davy.
Since then, knowledge of magnesium has expanded to its present form.

We know how it affects the body, what causes a deficiency, and how an excess is harmful.

We know that a sufficient dietary intake of magnesium is important for the proper functioning of the body.

It is particularly important for the proper functioning of bones, muscles, nerves and the cardiovascular system.

In combination with calcium, it has a calming effect and reduces mental tension and stress.

Its deficiency can disrupt all the organs and systems that depend on it, so to speak. Magnesium deficiency results, for example, in increased tooth decay, muscle cramps and weakness, digestive disorders, heart disorders, psychological disorders.
Its excess in the body is not common, but possible. It is caused by dehydration, kidney problems, or cellular breakdown.

Natural sources of magnesium are theoretically very abundant, but in practice this is not quite true.

Modernisation has caused a deficiency in the soil, creating a deficit in the diet.

The ingredient added to fertilisers - magnesium carbonate (MgCO3) - provides the plants and animals that consume them with enough magnesium for growth and development.

However, spraying against pests rapidly reduces its concentration.

For people with magnesium deficiency, there is a substitute in the form of pills. There is no "medicine" that is more intrinsic to the body than magnesium.

Magnesium pills are simple, harmless and, most importantly, beneficial to health. They normalize the internal environment, thereby helping to restore impaired functions.

What is magnesium?

Magnesium, magnesium (lat. magnesium) is a chemical element (mineral). It has the symbol Mg in the periodic table and the proton number 12.

It is a metal present throughout the universe, in the Earth's crust, water, plants, but also in living organisms, including humans.

It is the fourth most important cation in the human body and the second most important intracellular cation after potassium.

It is found in the human body at about 900 to 1200 mmol, which is about 20 to 30 g.

Interesting:
The name magnesium is derived from the city of Magnesia, located in Thessaly, Greece.
This city was once known for its magnetic ore deposits.

Where is magnesium found everywhere in the human body?

Humans obtain and replenish magnesium from the food they eat. It enters the digestive tract through the mouth.

What happens to Mg in the digestive tract?

• 60-70% is excreted in the faeces
• 30-40% is reabsorbed back into the blood and enters cells and tissues through the bloodstream
• the remaining 10 % is reabsorbed back into the intestine

Thus, most of the magnesium ingested is excreted through the digestive tract. Of the absorbed amount, another 30% is lost in the urine.

Under normal circumstances, the plasma concentration of magnesium ranges from 0.7 to 1.1 mmol/l. In the cells of other tissues it is an order of magnitude higher.

The extent to which magnesium is present in different tissues of the human body is determined by the rate at which its ions pass through the cell membrane.
Different cell types mean different rates.
Cells with rapid magnesium exchange, within a few hours, are, for example, the heart, liver, spleen.
Slower changes (a few weeks) in magnesium concentration are in bone or muscle.

The largest reservoirs of Mg in the human body:

• 50-70% bone tissue
• 30-46% in other organ cells (muscles, nerves, heart, liver)
• 1% outside cells (extracellular)

Which foods have the most magnesium?

Factors such as spraying of plants against pests, climate change, acid rain, but also changes in dietary habits compared to the past lead to a lack of magnesium in food and also to a reduced absorption of magnesium from ingested food.

Table of foods high in Mg and slowing its absorption

Why is magnesium so important for life?

Magnesium is not only important for life and its proper functioning, but it is also irreplaceable for life.

It is involved in hundreds of cellular processes that would not function without it. These processes do not function properly when it is deficient.
It directly affects more than 300 enzymatic processes.
It mainly ensures the proper function of the skeletal and neuromuscular systems.

The basic function of magnesium in the body:

• Important in the transcription of nucleic acids (DNA, RNA)
• ensures cellular integrity
• important in the processes of controlled cell death
• is involved in the formation of glucose (gluconeogenesis) and its metabolism
• is involved in the formation of proteins
• involved in the formation and breakdown of fatty acids
• regulates the distribution of sodium (Na) and potassium (K)
• blocks potassium leakage from heart muscle cells

Magnesium deficiency can result in various health problems on multiple levels.

An adult's daily intake of magnesium should be about 375 mg (15 mmol).
The need for magnesium increases with age.
Taking a higher daily dose does not cause serious problems. It can cause diarrhea because Mg binds water.

Hypomagnesaemia - magnesium deficiency

Magnesium deficiency is not uncommon nowadays.

Therefore, the patient may not know that there is a deficiency of this mineral in his body.

However, a long-term, chronic deficiency can cause serious disruption of the proper functioning of the body, even metabolic disruption in patients with diabetes and death.

Interesting:
The fact that magnesium deficiency is a significant problem was first suggested by McCollum and his colleagues in 1932.
He conducted his experiments on laboratory rats and dogs.
He had already described many symptoms at that time, including tetanic syndrome.

Read also the magazine article:
What is tetany, tetanic syndrome, what are the symptoms and how is it treated?

What are the causes of magnesium deficiency in the body?

The causes of magnesium deficiency are based on two aspects.

The first aspect is its deficiency in the external environment and in the food intake.
The second aspect is its insufficient absorption or increased excretion from the body due to diet or disease.

1. Magnesium deficiency in soil and food

The deficiency of magnesium in the soil has already been mentioned above. Climate change, acid rain and spraying against pests cause a deficiency of magnesium in cultivated plants, despite fertilisation.

A plant with a Mg deficiency may have what is called chlorosis. Yellow streaks are present on the leaves between the veins or on the leaves. The development of the plant itself is not compromised, but the fruits that people eat from it do not contain as much magnesium as they should.

2. Insufficient absorption and excessive excretion of magnesium due to diet

Magnesium intake can be supplemented in the form of tablets.

If the intake is adequate and the patient is still deficient, there is a problem with absorption and excretion. This may be caused by an inappropriate diet.

Most often, this is due to excessive consumption of fatty and greasy foods. Fats are difficult to dissolve and therefore make a problem in the absorption of magnesium. They also increase its excretion in the urine.

Carnivores beware!
Excessive protein intake in meat causes increased urinary excretion of Mg.

Insufficient absorption and increased excretion of Mg are also caused by foods high in calcium and phosphate. These are mainly sweetened drinks, alcoholic beverages, sweets, all canned foods (e.g. tinned fish, pates, meat products).

3. Disease conditions causing magnesium deficiency

Some conditions, or chronic diseases or their treatment, directly affect magnesium concentrations.

The diseases in which patients most often suffer from Mg deficiency are clearly diabetes, diarrhoea, vomiting.

It can also occur in patients with bone cancer, cirrhosis of the liver, kidney disease, bowel disease, after resection of part of the intestine, in thyroid disease, celiac disease, malabsorption syndrome, alcoholism, etc.

Interesting:
Magnesium deficiency is associated with several diseases. These diseases can lead to high blood pressure, diabetes or cause heart attacks.

Conditions causing Mg deficiency that are self-inflicted by the patient's reckless actions include strict diets, hunger strikes, excessive exercise, excessive physical or mental stress.

Physiological conditions where Mg consumption is increased include, for example, menstruation, pregnancy, lactation, puberty, old age.

Among medications, diuretics and laxatives are the main contributors to increased Mg loss. It is also worth mentioning contraceptives, insulin, some heart medications and corticosteroids.

How does hypomagnesaemia manifest itself?

Hypomagnesaemia is characterised by a variety of manifestations involving different systems. This is due to the presence of magnesium in different concentrations in almost all cells in the body.

Symptoms are most pronounced in the organs and tissues where magnesium levels are highest.

Table with Mg deficiency symptoms by organ

Magnesium supplements, how to choose correctly?

Magnesium as a dietary supplement comes in tablets, powders or effervescent tablets (they have a higher concentration of Mg).
You can find it tasteless and flavoured, on its own or with added vitamins.

Basically, it doesn't matter which pharmacy or manufacturer you buy your magnesium pills from.

The basics are the same.

The difference lies in the amount of magnesium and the added substances and vitamins.

Hypermagnesaemia - excess magnesium

An excess of magnesium in the body is much rarer than a deficiency.

We speak of an excess of Mg when its concentration reaches a value higher than 1.1 mmol/l.

In most cases, it is caused by medical conditions, not by "excessive consumption of bananas or chocolate".

Hypermagnesaemia is often caused by chronic dehydration, especially in the elderly population.

Magnesium is not excreted in the urine as it should be, but instead accumulates in the body.

What are the causes of excess magnesium in the body?

The most common cause of hypermagnesaemia is dehydration.
dehydration is a condition in which there is a reduced amount of water in the body.
It occurs because of insufficient fluid intake (inadequate drinking) or excessive fluid loss (sweating, vomiting, diarrhoea, bleeding, burns).

The second most common cause of hypermagnesaemia is renal failure.
Renal failure is a condition in which renal function deteriorates relatively rapidly.
Among other complications, the excretion of Mg into the urine is impaired, thereby increasing its concentration in the body.

Read also:
The importance ofdrinking: what is insufficient or excessive fluid intake? + calculation
Kidney diseases: from inflammation to stones to failure?

In addition to the above primary causes of elevated magnesium concentration in the body, other diseases may also contribute to this condition.

It occurs in cell breakdown, infectious liver diseases, but also in various intoxications.

How does hypermagnesaemia manifest itself?

The manifestations of hypermagnesaemia are also variable depending on the system affected.
They could be said to be the opposite of the symptoms typical of Mg deficiency.

Table with symptoms of Mg excess by organ

Examination of magnesium concentration in the body

The level of magnesium in the body can be proved by laboratory although in most cases it is not necessary.

When a doctor manifests and suspects a deficiency, it is sufficient to prescribe magnesium to the patient in the form of a medicine. If it does not help, it does not harm.

Examination of the concentration of magnesium is more often carried out in patients with its excess.

How is magnesium level testing performed?

Magnesium levels can be examined from serum, in which its levels are secured by multiple mechanisms.
This means that examination of plasma magnesium (extracellular) levels may be fine despite a real deficiency.
In fact, serum levels only fall when there is a significant chronic deficiency that leads to metabolic disruption. Thus, deficiency is only detected after the fact.

Much more reliable is the examination of intracellular magnesium levels, i.e. from inside the cells.
It can be determined from red blood cells, white blood cells or even from a hair sample.
However, this is a complex and more expensive method and is therefore underused.

Not routinely used in normal practice is the so-called atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) method, which is considered the most reliable. This method determines the concentration of various trace elements (up to 60 elements), including magnesium, in the solution being analysed.

Interesting:
Magnesium deficiency is often accompanied by simultaneously reduced concentrations of potassium (K) and calcium (CA).