Magnesium Part 2
It is often hard to determine whether or not there is magnesium in the food you eat because most foods do not list this mineral on their labels. For many people, the amount of this mineral they obtain from their diet may not be enough to give the body what it needs to function normally.
Symptoms of a deficiency in magnesium include loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and fatigue. If left untreated, these symptoms worsen leading to cramps and contractions in the muscles and abnormal heart rhythms.
A deficiency in magnesium can also affect the levels of calcium in the body and lead to a deficiency in potassium. Gastrointestinal diseases, such as Crohn's Disease, can cause a magnesium deficiency because they do deplete the stores of the mineral that the body builds up.
There is little danger of getting too much magnesium from the food you eat, but if you complement this with dietary supplements for this reason, you do have to exercise caution. There have been many cases of magnesium toxicity which caused diarrhea and vomiting.
However, there are few health risks associated with having too much magnesium in your body. If you have a kidney disease, an overload of this mineral could lead to kidney failure because these organs lose their ability to rid the body of the excess amounts.
If you suffer from constipation and take laxatives to help solve the problems, these medications contain high dosages of the mineral, which is what causes you to have really loose stool for a period of time. The condition is temporary and will resolve itself once the body's levels of magnesium go back to normal.
If you do choose to take dietary supplements to ensure your body is getting the right amounts of magnesium, there are daily dosages you should adhere to. Children, aged 1 – 3 years, need 65 mg per day. From 4 – 8 years the recommended daily dose is 110 mg and from ages 9 to adult the daily dose increases to 350 mg per day.
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