What is it about ?
Magnesium is an important mineral for building bones and teeth and for healthy muscle function. It also plays a role in the transmission of nervous stimuli. The body receives magnesium through food. Bread and (whole) grain products contain magnesium, as do dairy products, vegetables, nuts and meat. People who eat a normal, balanced diet based on fresh produce rarely suffer from magnesium deficiency. The level of magnesium is normally between 0.7 and 1.0 millimole / liter (mmol / l).
Causes
The possible causes of a magnesium deficiency are:
- insufficient absorption from food because of gastrointestinal disturbances or because we eat too little;
- too much loss from the intestines, eg. in case of long-lasting diarrhea ;
- too much kidney loss eg. in case of excessive alcohol consumption ;
- other losses, for example excessive sweating, inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis), burns extended, pregnancy and breastfeeding, blood transfusion ;
- certain medications, such as diuretics, prolonged use of antacids or anticancer drugs.
What is its frequency? Where do we meet him?
The general practitioner very rarely notices an obvious deficit in magnesium. Magnesium deficiency occurs mostly in hospitalized people.
How to recognize it?
Magnesium deficiency is generally difficult to recognize. It is mainly muscle problems and nervous disorders that are in the foreground: muscular weakness or muscle cramps, tremors, convulsions. Psychic changes can also occur, such as increased irritability, depression and an psychosis. The heart rhythm disturbances are less common. Often they do not respond to treatment.
How is the diagnosis made?
It is difficult to know if the symptoms are due to a deficiency in magnesium. It is not easy to detect a magnesium deficiency because the level of magnesium in the blood is not very precise. Blood contains only 1% of the magnesium present in the body. About half is found in bones and teeth. The rest is found in cells, muscles, organs and nervous tissue.
A normal level of magnesium in the blood therefore does not exclude a deficiency of magnesium in the cells. Magnesium deficiency is often accompanied by a potassium deficiency and in calcium in the blood. This too can cause symptoms.
What can you do ?
Bread, products containing cereals, certain vegetables, milk and dairy products, and meat contain magnesium. Make sure you have a healthy lifestyle with a varied diet and getting enough exercise.
Many people, without medical advice, take magnesium in tablet or powder form to treat muscle cramps. The effectiveness of these treatments is not proven. So ask the doctor first before taking magnesium.
What can the doctor do?
- The doctor will start by looking for a disease that could explain the magnesium deficiency. In the event of illness, it will obviously first be treated so as to eliminate the cause of the deficit.
- A slight magnesium deficiency can be remedied with supplemental magnesium in tablet form.
- In case of severe deficit, hospitalization is necessary to receive an infusion.