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What Causes Magnesium Deficiency?

  • Writer: Katie Bailey, MS, RD, LD, FNC
    Katie Bailey, MS, RD, LD, FNC
  • Apr 2
  • 5 min read

Hi everyone. Welcome back.


Magnesium deficiency is quite common affecting a significant portion of the US population due to magnesium's role in various processes in the body. Less than optimal magnesium levels can lead to many different symptoms for people leaving you not feeling your best and increasing your risk for different diseases and conditions.


So in today's video, I'll be addressing what is magnesium and what does it do for the body?


What causes magnesium deficiency?


What are good sources of magnesium foods and how much should you have?


What are signs of magnesium deficiency?


And lastly, how do you know when to supplement and are there any side effects to supplementation?


I'm Katie Bailey. I'm a registered dietitian at Flusso Nutrients where we provide supplement education and professional quality supplement options for you to make the world of nutrition supplements a little bit easier to navigate.


As always, be sure to check with your main nutrition literate healthcare provider before starting anything new. As we can't know your full medical history to provide a personalized recommendation.


So without further ado, let's jump into today's topic.



[Video Transcript Below + Supplement Links Discussed In Video]


What is magnesium and what does it do for the body?


So magnesium is an essential mineral that plays a vital role in over 300 biochemical reactions in the body. It's involved in energy production, muscle and nerve function, bone health, protein synthesis, blood sugar and blood pressure regulation. And that's just a few of its functions. Low magnesium levels have been linked to an increased risk of hypertension, cardiovascular disease, type two diabetes, osteoporosis, as well as migraine headaches.


So what causes magnesium deficiency?


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Well, there are many different things that can cause it. The first is poor dietary intake. So just a diet that's low in magnesium rich foods, eating highly processed or refined foods all the time, which are very low in nutritional value, being on restrictive diets where you're just not getting enough magnesium into the body anyways. And then studies suggest that about 70% of the US population is eating under what they should in magnesium per day.


The second thing that's contributing is soil depletion. So modern day farming and food processing practices have significantly depleted the magnesium in our soil and therefore we are seeing less magnesium content in our food.


The next thing is having chronic conditions and illnesses, especially ones that are in the gut like Crohn's disease or celiac disease, chronic diarrhea. These are all going to impact the body's ability to absorb magnesium, and it's also going to cause a lot of stress on the body.


Now, that leads into our next cause, which is chronic stress. So stress is going to lead to increased cortisol production, which is going to deplete your magnesium levels. And this can be a chronic cycle as low magnesium is going to make you more susceptible to stress. And then in turn, stress depletes magnesium levels even more.


Now, this doesn't have to be just an emotional stressor. It can also be impacted by physical stressors or infections and sickness. The next cause is through medications. So medications like diuretics, antibiotics, laxatives, and acids, and PPIs can all deplete magnesium levels, especially when they're taken long-term.


And then lastly, just excessive alcohol consumption. This is going to interfere with magnesium absorption as well as caused increased urinary excretion of magnesium.


What are good dietary sources of magnesium and how much do we need?


So foods that are rich in magnesium are going to be your leafy greens, nuts and seeds, especially pumpkin seeds, whole grains, legumes, avocado, and dark chocolate. Now, the recommended daily allowance or the RDA for magnesium is 400 to 420 milligrams for men, three 10 to three 20 milligrams for women, although it is higher during pregnancy and lactation.


Now, these ranges may not be optimal for every individual, and many people likely need more depending on their situation. If you suspect that your low and magnesium, I would highly recommend working with someone that can help you determine what's going to be the best dosage for you.


So what are signs of possible magnesium deficiency?


I first want to note that a lot of times magnesium deficiency goes unnoticed because when magnesium levels are checked, they're usually serum levels and serum levels of magnesium represent less than 1% of the total magnesium in the body. 99% of the magnesium in the body is found intracellular, so inside the cell. So if serum magnesium levels are normal, but you're experiencing things like muscle cramps or spasms, fatigue or weakness, headaches or migraines, anxiety or mood changes, numbness and tingling, loss of appetite or nausea and vomiting, you may have a magnesium deficiency or just magnesium levels that are not optimal for you.


How do you know when to supplement and are there any side effects to supplementation?


So many individuals do not meet the basic recommendations for daily magnesium intake, especially with certain conditions and situations that can also deplete your magnesium levels. It's always best to try to increase magnesium through diet first, but for those that are struggling with chronic illnesses or conditions or that just struggle to get enough through their diet supplementation can be really helpful.


There are many different forms of magnesium to choose from. The most common we see is magnesium glycinate, citrate, and L-threonate. These are all highly bioavailable, meaning that it's easily absorbed by the body and the type that you choose is going to depend on what your specific situation looks like, which is why working with a practitioner can be really helpful to determine the right form and dosage that you're going to benefit the most from.


Although generally considered safe magnesium supplements can cause some digestive issues like diarrhea or cramping in some individuals. So to minimize side effects, you want to start with a low dose and gradually increase as tolerated.


So to wrap up our topic for today,


Magnesium deficiency is more prevalent than many individuals realize, and it can significantly impact our quality of life. Our diets and soil quality, chronic diseases that impact absorption, chronic stress medications, as well as excessive alcohol consumption can all cause magnesium deficiencies. If you are experiencing any of the symptoms we've discussed today and are interested in trying a magnesium supplement, I'll have a few links in the description box.


That's it for today's topic. If you like this video, please hit the like button and subscribe for more nutrition videos. If you're interested in working with our clinic, you could click the link here to schedule an appointment. We do take insurance. You can find more information about that on our website.


Thank you for watching. I'll see you next time. Bye.


Check out the high-quality supplements we discussed in this video - links below for your convenience!

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