Part II: Electrolytes - Magnesium

Magnesium has been my favorite electrolyte so far.  I know it sounds weird but magnesium seems to me like where my/our focus should be.  Yes, keeping sodium levels and potassium levels in check are important but raising magnesium levels sounds like the best way to improve your health.  My cardiologist commented that my rhythm may be related to an imbalance of electrolytes but he looked up my most recent labs and everything seemed to be normal.

When I researched the symptoms of magnesium deficiency, it seemed very familiar.  Symptoms of having low magnesium are abnormal heart rhythms, difficulty sleeping, loss of appetite, nausea, fatigue, weakness, numbness, muscle cramps, low blood pressure, restless leg syndrome, anxiety and hyperventilation.   Since I have been suffering with an irregular heart beat, trouble sleeping, extreme fatigue and anxiety, I though it would be beneficial to focus on my magnesium levels.

I dug a little further into magnesium deficiencies and read online that although blood tests may show normal levels, you can still have low levels of magnesium.  Apparently, only a small percentage of magnesium levels are in the blood, and the normal blood tests won't actually measure the levels in the rest of the body.  I am not sure how accurate this is but I wanted to give magnesium supplements a try.

So how much magnesium do adults need? Women need about 310-320 mg and men need 400-420 mg per day. Like potassium, high levels of magnesium can be dangerous, so the best place to get the correct amount of magnesium is through diet.  If someone decides to take supplements, its recommended that they take no more than 350mg in supplements per day.

Magnesium rich foods include:

Pumpkin Seeds
Sunflower Seeds
Cashews
Cocoa Bean
Wild Rice
Almonds
Brown Rice

Avocado

I'll post my favorite magnesium products in the next post.