Magnesium Deficiency: 8 Warning Signs | Dr. Josh Axe

Hey guys, Dr. Axe here, doctor of natural medicine and founder of draxe.com. Hey, today I'll be talking about magnesium deficiency, what you need to know, and also talk about the best forms of magnesium, the best foods for magnesium, and really how to increase your levels of magnesium. And listen, this is probably one of the most underappreciated minerals out there today.

Calcium gets a lot of press, but I'm going to tell you that having a magnesium deficiency Can lead you to having major symptoms from headaches to high blood pressure, even to hormone imbalance. So we'll jump in that here today talking about how to naturally balance out magnesium deficiency in the body.

Well, here are some key facts you need to know about magnesium deficiency before we jump into the foods and supplements and side effects of being deficient. But look, it helps regulate calcium, potassium, and sodium. Those are other electrolytes. Electrolytes.

So not only does magnesium affect your body directly, it affects your body indirectly by supporting absorption and utilization of different types of minerals and vitamins and even enzymes in your own body. It's essential for cellular health. In fact, listen to this, magnesium is needed for more than 300 biochemical functions in your body for your body to function and work properly.

So think about this. If your body is deficient in magnesium, over 300 different things aren't working at the highest level inside your body. Also, some experts believe that up to 80% of Americans today are magnesium deficient. So that's a key point there that the majority of people including you watching this, the chances are you're deficient in magnesium.

Now, here's a big reason why we are so deficient. In magnesium today. Number 1, soil depletion. You know, when you look at or compare an apple or a tomato or a piece of broccoli from 100 years ago to today, you'll notice that it actually, when you look at the statistics, it actually has less magnesium in it.

In fact, it may have anywhere of just a quarter as much magnesium, so think about it, you need to eat like 3 times or 4 times as much broccoli Or apples or tomatoes to get the magnesium than you did 100 years ago in some of our foods today. So again, soil depletion, a major factor causing vitamin mineral deficiency. Genetically modified organisms. Now, I'll say this, here's another thing.

A lot of us, there's a lot more digestive disease today. A lot more people have leaky gut syndrome and poor digestion including even symptoms of gas and bloating which are warning signs. Some of the warning signs of leaky gut. But, you know, those things mean that you're not absorbing magnesium properly. So listen, unhealthy digestive health, we've heard that principle, you are what you eat.

It's not completely true, you are what you digest. And if you're not digesting properly, you're not actually absorbing minerals properly, especially magnesium. As you can see here, digestive disease.

Medications, you know, certain medications block absorption of magnesium in the body or they actually will cause your body to use up too much magnesium in the detoxification process causing you to be deficient. And of course, chemicals in our food supply as well and environment can also lead to magnesium deficiency as well.

So these are the big reasons why today we have 80+% of people may be in fact magnesium deficient. So let's talk about the big warning signs and if you have any one of these issues I'm about to talk about, That's a big warning sign that you might be magnesium deficient. So by simply eating more magnesium-rich foods, supplementing with magnesium, it could help you with any one of these conditions.

Number 1, leg cramps. Remember this, magnesium is part of that electrolyte family. You know, if you get cramping in your calves, in your legs, or different areas of your body, it's a warning sign. Typically, it's one of 2 minerals, it's either magnesium or potassium. Potassium, and you really need to get both. So again, if you get leg cramps, you're going to want to eat these magnesium-rich foods.

Many of these foods as well are rich in potassium. Now, insomnia and fatigue. If you have trouble sleeping, you know, part of what magnesium does is it relaxes the body. In fact, it's often referred to as the body's relaxation mineral. And if you're not sleeping properly, if your body's not relaxed as well, it's kind of constantly in this fight-or-flight mode. Yeah.

Fight-or-flight response and very tense, over time, if that keeps going, can lead to fatigue over time. Number 3 here, muscle pain and fibromyalgia. In fact, did you know this? According to recent medical studies, they found the number 1 supplement that made a difference with fibromyalgia symptoms was taking magnesium around 300 to 500 milligrams a day.

So again, medical studies are proving magnesium deficiency helps muscle pain and aches as well as fibromyalgia. Number 4 here, anxiety. I mentioned this earlier. Magnesium is your body's relaxation mineral. If you're anxiety, remember I mentioned earlier that fight-or-flight response, a high sympathetic nerve system.

Now, that refers to if you had a bear chasing you back in the day or a lion, you were either fighting or you were flying. That's where all your energy leaves your— Inside, your middle part of your body and your organs goes to your outside, your arms, your legs, you're utilizing those energy on the outside. But what happens is that it sort of weakens you inside.

But that's— of course, you're going to have anxiety when that happens. But again, magnesium calms the body, relaxes the body, reducing symptoms of anxiety. Number 5, high blood pressure. Now, another unique property of magnesium is that it relaxes smooth muscle.

We know the muscles of your heart, for instance, and your vascular system including your arterial walls and your entire cardiovascular system. So again, magnesium relaxes those naturally decreasing blood pressure. Number 6, it's great for type 2 diabetes. In fact, it really— magnesium has a positive effect on insulin levels in the body which can help type 2 diabetes.

Number 7, can help migraine headaches. Again, clinical studies have shown both tension and migraine headaches can be warning signs that you don't have enough magnesium in your body. And number 8, osteoporosis. Now, listen to this fact. In order for your body to properly absorb calcium, you have to have magnesium.

And I'll say this, people out there just taking solo calcium supplements, you are doing your body more harm than good. Studies have shown isolated calcium can cause calcification of your arteries leading to heart disease.

So listen, if you are— if you have osteoporosis, you want to take a supplement that has a mix of calcium, magnesium, vitamin K2, vitamin D, and even other minerals like boron and phosphorus can be important as well. Let's talk about the most important magnesium-rich foods and then we'll talk about supplements in a minute.

But magnesium-rich foods, you'll see at the top here, spinach and chard, those green leafy vegetables are the kings of magnesium. So again, spinach salad or sautéed spinach, chard, get those green leafies in your diet every single day. Next up here, pumpkin seeds. Now, pumpkin seeds are really high in minerals, both magnesium and zinc. We know zinc is also great for the immune system.

But pumpkin seeds are great, just, you know, adding some into a smoothie or snacking on them during the day. Yogurt and kefir are high in magnesium, almonds, black beans. Now, avocado is one of my favorite superfoods. It's loaded with healthy fats which are good for hormones. It's also your highest source of the combination of magnesium and potassium.

So if you're especially one of those people getting cramps or headaches, avocado may be just what the doctor ordered there. Figs as well, dark chocolate, and bananas, also great sources of magnesium and potassium. Those minerals, probably the 2 minerals that many of us are most deficient in there as well. And here's really how to use magnesium. Number one, you want to get it in the food source.

Put that list on your refrigerator or carry around with you, eat those magnesium-rich foods every day. In addition, here are some of the best types. My favorite type is is a magnesium chelate, okay? That really is where it's more in a food form. It's got multiple amino acids attached. It's the most absorbable and it's the most natural in terms of being more of a food form there as well.

Magnesium citrate is a magnesium often used especially when it comes to chronic constipation that's very, very good and also really supports the muscles and relaxation. And glycinate, threonate are also good. And one of my favorite sources of magnesium is using a magnesium oil that's transdermal that really soaks into your skin and your body.

So especially if you've got muscle tension or cramping, magnesium oil can be a good option to mix with things like essential oils there as well. And when you're buying a magnesium supplement, look for one especially that has foods in it, okay? So look for magnesium supplement that has spinach and chard as part of the nutrient list There as well.

When you're using magnesium, you typically want to do between 300 to 500 milligrams a day or 300 to 400 milligrams a day. Now, you can do up to 600 milligrams a day. That's good for a lot of people short-term. Typically though, if you go over 600 milligrams, it'll cause diarrhea and a loose stool. So you got to be careful with that as well. You want to typically avoid magnesium oxide.

It's just not very absorbable by the body there as well. You typically want to avoid if you are on dialysis and have severe kidney issues. And magnesium can interfere with some medications in terms of sometimes blood thinners, but for the most part does very, very well for almost everybody in general. So listen, 80+% of people according to some experts are deficient in magnesium.

And if you have any one of these symptoms, leg cramps, insomnia or fatigue, muscle pain, anxiety, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, any type of headache, both migraine and tension, osteoporosis, Those are big warning signs that you are magnesium deficient. Make sure you get your magnesium every single day, number one, in the food form.

And hey, if you've enjoyed this live training video, make sure to subscribe here to my YouTube channel. Also, hey, I've got an entire and more in-depth list online.

If you Google search Dr. Axe magnesium on Google, you'll find an entire more in-depth list of actually my magnesium food list that you can actually, you pin up on your refrigerator or carry around with you or print out for yourself there as well. Well, guys, hey, thanks for watching this video. I hope you've enjoyed this training on magnesium deficiency warning signs.