The current recommended dietary amount for magnesium is 400-420mg for men over 19 years and 310-320 for women (add 40mg if pregnant for healthy fetal development). (6)
Importance of Magnesium
Dr. Mildred Seelig was a world-renowned magnesium scholar. She published studies and books about magnesium and its role in human physiology and the consequences of chronic deficiency.
In her book Magnesium Deficiency in the Pathogenesis of Disease, she cites inadequate magnesium as a significant factor in:
- Ischemic heart disease
- Sudden infant death
- Infantile myocardial infarction (heart attack) and arteriosclerosis
- Bone disease
- Kidney disease and kidney stones
- Imbalance among magnesium, vitamin D, and phosphorus—too much calcium and/or phosphorus increases the body’s need for magnesium and exacerbates magnesium deficiency symptoms (7)
- Fetal tissue development, eclampsia, and toxemia during pregnancy (8)
In a separate study, Dr. Seelig described the link between vitamin D, magnesium, calcium, and phosphorus: these nutrients must be in balance in order for the body to properly process each. (9) There is no hard answer on what the ratio should be for a particular person because the variables are too great. (10)
It is therefore critical to maintain a healthy balanced diet, get your dose of sunshine, and cut out soft drinks (they are ridiculously high in phosphorus, which leads to magnesium depletion) in order to use each of these nutrients effectively. (11)
Additionally, chronic magnesium deficiency can cause:
- Arrhythmia (12)
- Asthma
- Depression
- Hypertension
- Insomnia
- Memory loss
- Migraine headaches
- Osteoporosis
- Restless leg syndrome
- Tremors
Magnesium Deficiency and Heart Disease
“Mid-1950s, USA: Something in our lifestyle was allowing many otherwise healthy people to drop dead from heart attacks. The search was on for the cause. With no pathogen and no toxin, researchers began to look for things that ‘correlated’ with heart attacks or strokes. Factors associated with an elevated risk of heart disease became the way to study this increasing problem. High blood pressure, smoking, obesity and high serum cholesterol came to be the best known of a growing list of cardiovascular risk factors—things to avoid or clinical measurements to correct.”