Magnesium in diet

Alternative names:

diet and magnesium

Side effects:

Toxic symptoms from increased magnesium intake are not common because the body eliminates excess amounts. Magnesium excess almost always occurs only when magnesium is supplemented as a medication.

Symptoms of magnesium deficiency can occur if the calcium in the diet is inadequate. The symptoms include muscle weakness, fatigue, hyperexcitability, and sleepiness. Deficiency of magnesium can occur in alcoholics or people whose food is grown in magnesium-deficient soil. Magnesium absorption is decreased in people who have undergone surgery, who have had serious burns, or who have problems with malabsorption (inadequate absorption of nutrients from the intestinal tract).

Deficiency symptoms can be categorized in three segments:

• Early symptoms include irritability, anorexia, fatigue, insomnia, and muscle twitching. Other symptoms that are more psychological include poor memory, apathy, confusion, and the reduced ability to learn.
• Moderate deficiency symptoms consist of rapid heart beat and other cardiovascular changes.
• Severe deficiency symptoms could lead to tingling, numbness, and a sustained contraction of the muscles, along with hallucinations and delirium.