Magnesium: the essential “magic” mineral. It’s the key to good health and well-being because of how it affects the muscles and nerves, plus its benefits to your immune system. The average person, kid or adult, might lack this mineral in their diet, which has consequences on the body.

Tiredness, irritability or a struggle to focus are some of the symptoms of magnesium deficiency in children, showing how important this often-overlooked mineral is. Let’s discuss its presence and significance, common deficiencies and how it affects sleep, pain and everything else you need to know.

What Magnesium Does in the Body

It is an electrolyte responsible for sending electrical signals all over the body. It helps muscles, heart contractions, protein synthesis, DNA production and energy compounds made and stored in the body. It also offers normal nerve function and heart rhythm.

The human skeleton requires the mineral for structural function. Muscles do too, but the majority of magnesium is found in the bones, where this electrolyte does a lot of its heavy lifting. Click here to find out more about what it does.

Magnesium and Electrolyte Balance

Electrolytes in general are minerals inside your body responsible for fluid balance, muscle action, and nerve impulses. This includes magnesium. They keep the body fluids in check and an imbalance can cause problems like muscle cramps. This is where the electrolyte matters; it helps relax muscles once they contract and this reduces the incident of contractions.

This awesome function prevents cramps and tetany, which means spasms or tremors. Little wonder athletes thrive on this mineral since it helps cushion cramps, which they are prone to have. Also, where electrolytes go, enzymes follow. Magnesium is part of hundreds of enzymatic reactions that affect the body.

These include DNA, RNA and protein synthesis. And this is not the only impact; there’s also the work it does on vascular tone/blood pressure, heart rhythm and nerve transmission. This should make you wonder why there’s not more attention on this seemingly all-powerful electrolyte.

Common Magnesium Deficiencies

You would be surprised to know that magnesium deficiencies are common, despite how available it is in so many foods. The body can lose its stores of the electrolyte due to several reasons and one of them is low dietary intake.

If you don’t take as much as your body needs, it’ll quickly use up its storage and demand for more. The same is true if there is a magnesium deficiency in children, especially because they need it more. Note that the amount required for adults is different from that required for children. 

That loss can also happen due to certain chronic diseases and any gastrointestinal conditions that interrupts absorption in the GI tract. Additionally, some medications can cause increased loss. For example, diseases like Crohn’s, Celiac and diabetes can limit the mineral’s absorption. Eating disorders, continual high alcohol intake and high stress situations can all use up stores in the body.

You might have magnesium deficiency without knowing it. Symptoms include muscle cramping, fatigue, a grumpy mood and an abnormal heartbeat. Severe deficiency can cause more harmful problems, like seizures, personality changes, heart problems or an AKI. In children, being deficient can show up as hyperactivity, difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep for too long, which affects overall learning.

You may still not get enough of the electrolyte with good food. Why? You can blame your average diet for that. Today’s diet is more processed food than whole food; even unprocessed foods like whole grains, nuts, seeds, vegetables and fruits contain lower amounts than before. Refined and processed foods generally tend to have less of it than unrefined foods.

When white flour is refined and processed, the magnesium in the grain is lost. Even the amount in rice and other grains seem to be lost when they are being processed. With all of these adding up, coupled with the increase of fast food and processed food – because they are cheaper, more people tend to pick this option – magnesium deficiency is becoming more common than ever!

Magnesium and Sleep

It is a natural sleep remedy and the reason is because it helps to calm the nervous system and also affects melatonin, your sleep hormone. The pineal gland is a tiny pine cone-shaped gland of the endocrine system which produces the hormone melatonin. When it gets dark, the gland starts producing melatonin; it’s like your body’s built-in clock and alarm. So, it gets your body to know that as darkness falls, it’s time to rest.

Within the brain, neurotransmitters, such as GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), are produced when the mineral is enough in the body. GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter, which basically means that it calms things down. It reduces the activity of your neurons (nerve cells); less activity can promote sleep or relax you.

When you’re deficient, it leads to an inability to produce sufficient amounts of GABA. Then, you’ll have a poor sleep routine; many times, magnesium deficiency and insomnia practically go hand in hand. Supplementing with magnesium may be more effective at curing insomnia than some drugs, without the potential for addiction.

This mineral has also been found to be somewhat helpful with restless leg syndrome (RLS), a medical condition which usually comes with an itchy or crawly sensation in the leg. This leads to an overwhelming and irresistible urge to move the leg around to relieve the sensation. RLS is often worse at night and can significantly worsen sleep but taking sufficient amounts can help alleviate these symptoms and improve sleep.

Magnesium and Pain Management

This powerful electrolyte is also a muscle relaxant, which is why it’s able to help with pain management. For someone with chronic pain, it’s the muscle-relaxing properties that help them. When the nervous system is active, your muscles become tense, causing pain.

But when the levels are healthy, the neurotransmitter associated with producing calmness, blocking the stress hormone and lowering blood pressure is produced, resulting in relaxed muscles. This makes it a great option if a person is experiencing pain.

Migraines are one example; these headaches are often accompanied by low levels of magnesium. Why is it important? The mineral helps regulate blood vessel function and neurotransmitter function, which are important to treating the underlying cause of migraines. If it can regulate these functions – blood vessel regulation or neurotransmitter flow – the headaches will noticeably reduce.

If you have a pain condition like fibromyalgia, the mineral may help with taking the edge off the pain you feel, easing your muscle tone, and promote relaxation in your body despite the presence of the condition. It may not be the whole answer – and is certainly not a cure – but it goes a long way in managing chronic pain for some.

When combined with other stable minerals and medications, the difference will become more obvious. Check out this detailed medical resource for a better understanding: https://journals.lww.com/.

Magnesium’s Role in Nutrition and Overall Health

You can’t do without magnesium in your diet. More than three hundred biochemical reactions in your body require the mineral because of the role it plays in producing energy and protein.

But the highest benefit is that it’s responsible for controlling sugar in the blood in people with diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome, which leads to its occurrence. If you have enough in your body, you will have insulin sensitivity and normal sugar in the blood. For many people, that’s good enough.

The Connection with Other Nutrients

Magnesium doesn’t work alone in most cases. It typically teams up or competes for absorption with other vitamins and minerals. For example, magnesium and calcium work well together to help your nerves and muscles perform as they should.

People with low amounts may have trouble getting adequate levels of calcium from their diet, so taking one may help with absorbing the other. On the other hand, people with more calcium than magnesium may find themselves having excessive muscle cramps.

The vitamin D also interacts positively with the electrolyte, helping to control calcium and phosphate in the body. These are essential for growing strong bones and teeth. If you are on diet or taking in low levels of magnesium, your body will be in dire need of both the vitamin and mineral and your kidneys and liver will suffer for it.

Therefore, taking supplements may be the best way to get enough for your body. Potassium is another electrolyte that often collaborates well with it. Both minerals are needed for muscle and heart health and must be in balance to help prevent muscle cramps and for overall cardiovascular support.

Practical Tips for Boosting Magnesium Intake

If you want to know how to increase your intake, you can do the following:

Eat more foods rich in magnesium: Include in your diet a higher proportion of greens, nuts, seeds, legumes and whole grains.

Supplementation: It could be a simple way of getting enough into your diet, especially if you think you need more of it. Ask your doctor about the type and amount suitable for you per day.

Avoid processed foods: A diet of processed food often decreases magnesium in the body.

Stay hydrated: Proper hydration helps maintain electrolyte balance, including magnesium levels. So drink lots of water. Click here for more information about increasing the electrolyte in your body.

Conclusion

Magnesium is extremely important for health. It has many helpful properties to the body, from maintaining nerve and muscle function to boosting your immune system, energy levels to even relieving your pain and anxiety! Still, many people lack a sufficient amount in their bodies, probably due to poor diet. So find ways to increase and improve your intake, including eating the right foods.