How much do I need?
Research suggests that we require approximately 300mg of magnesium just to offset daily losses. Your requirements will increase if you are under mild to moderate stress, exercise regularly, or take regular medication (including other supplements). Because it is unclear how much magnesium is present in our fresh produce, it is likely that most people would benefit from magnesium supplementation. There are over 100 symptoms that have been associated with deficiency, some of them include:
- Angina
- Anxiety
- Asthma
- Confusion
- Constipation or diarrhoea
- Depression
- Headaches or Migraines
- Hyperactivity
- Insomnia
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- Muscle cramps or twitching
- PMS
- Restless legs
- Sensitive to noise
- Shortness of breath
- Tingling of hands or feet
One of the easiest ways to see if you would benefit from magnesium supplementation is to try it. If your symptoms improve then you most likely have a higher magnesium requirement than you are getting through your current diet. Of course it would be great it we could all improve our diet to include more magnesium rich foods so we have included a list that may assist you in making wiser food choices.
For the average person, oral magnesium, even in high doses, has no side effects except loose stools, which is a mechanism to release excess magnesium. This laxative effect may be dependent on your deficiency status as well as the form of magnesium you are taking. Therefore people who are showing deficiency symptoms such as those listed above but suffering from the laxative effect of supplementation may wish to try another form of magnesium such as the Mgbody spray.
