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Magnesium - An Important Mineral
by Frank Landrens
http://www.bhpmagnesium.com
Magnesium is a necessary mineral that not many people think
about. However, magnesium is an extremely important
component of our diet. Deficiencies of magnesium can be
quite dangerous to your health. It's essential to eat a
healthy and balanced diet, but it is also important to know
which vitamins and minerals should be included in our diet.
Magnesium is used by all the cells in your body. It is used
to keep bones strong, helps maintain nerve and muscle
functioning, and keeps the heart rhythmic and steady. You
can see why a deficiency of this mineral can be dangerous.
Magnesium is found in green leafy vegetables, nuts, seed,
and some whole grains.
It is imperative to eat a balanced diet full of healthy and
nutritious foods. Though your body only needs a small amount
of magnesium there is also only a small amount found in most
of the foods listed above.
Magnesium deficiency is fairly uncommon but symptoms include
disorientation, confusion, depression, abnormal heart beat,
loss of appetite, cramps, numbness, and seizures. Magnesium
is often depleted though the urine and over-consumption of
alcohol has been linked to magnesium deficiencies.
The best way to find out the recommended daily amount of
magnesium is to consult with your doctor or nutritionist.
In addition, you can find many books and websites that can
help you determine your daily needs for magnesium
consumption. This number is quite different for men, women,
different age groups, pregnant women, and lactating women.
It's important to how much magnesium you should be taking,
and how much is in certain foods, so as to prevent any
deficiencies.
If you do not think you are getting enough magnesium in your
diet consider taking a supplement. You can take magnesium
supplements or multi vitamins. If you are not getting enough
magnesium you probably are not getting enough of other
vitamins and minerals as well. The best source for all
vitamins and minerals is fresh and healthy foods, but the
next best thing is a multi vitamin.
If you find yourself relying solely on multi vitamins for
your dietary needs, perhaps you should consider making some
changes in your eating habits. There are some conditions
that may require you to take a magnesium supplement. One
example is if you have chronic malabsorption of magnesium,
you may need to take a supplement to guarantee that you have
enough magnesium in your diet.
Some studies have shown that magnesium helps to lower high
blood pressure or hypertension. Whether or not this is true
it cannot hurt to increase the number of vegetables and
fruits you eat each day. Magnesium deficiencies have been
linked to metabolic changes that may cause heart attacks or
strokes. As you can see, magnesium is a very important
mineral to have in your diet.
There is the danger of too much magnesium though. If you are
getting magnesium through your diet there is little risk of
any overdose. However if you take too many supplements there
is the danger of magnesium toxicity. The symptoms are very
similar to those of magnesium deficiencies so be wary of
taking too many supplements, laxatives, and antacids.
Make sure you are getting the proper amounts of fruits and
vegetables each day, as magnesium is a very important
mineral. You probably never need to worry about a magnesium
deficiency if you eat a balanced diet.
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