magnesium-1

Core Five Supplements: Part Three – Magnesium

What is magnesium and isn’t magnesium something you find in the periodic table? You might have asked these questions to yourself as you began to read this. Magnesium is a mineral, meaning it’s inorganic and comes from the soil or water, and is the fourth most abundant mineral in the body.1 It is involved in “more than 300 metabolic reactions in the body.”1 Some of these “crucial processes include protein synthesis, cellular energy production and storage, cell growth and reproduction.”1

It is estimated that 75% of Americans currently do not meet the recommended dietary allowance.1 This is mostly due to poor nutrition that contain low mineral content as “a result of processed food and increase in the use of fertilizer.”2 Medications can also cause magnesium loss, these include diuretics, proton pump inhibitors, and bisphosphonates to name a few.2 Some signs of magnesium deficiency include1:

    • loss of appetite
    • nausea
    • fatigue
    • muscle contractions
    • cramps
    • numbness
    • tingling

Along with the metabolic reactions mentioned, there is evidence of magnesium’s “effectiveness in treating eclampsia and preeclampsia, arrhythmia, severe asthma, and migraines.”1 Additionally, magnesium hydroxide (Milk of Magnesia) or magnesium citrate are often used by patients to treat constipation.

The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) is sufficient to meet the daily requirements for 97-98% of health individuals. Your personal requirements may vary due to nutritional needs or special circumstances which may require more or less magnesium. Below is a table from the national institutes of health (NIH) that summarized the recommended dosages.3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Magnesium is generally well tolerated, although there have been reports of nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. In rare cases of magnesium overdose, some adverse effects include “thirst, hypotension, drowsiness, muscle weakness, respiratory depression, cardiac arrhythmia, coma, and death.”1 Magnesium is excreted renally, so caution is warranted for use in patients with kidney disease.1

Here at Prescott Compounding Pharmacy, we offer Pure Encapsulations Magnesium Glycinate 120 mg capsules and Magnesium Citrate 150 mg. Outside of taking an oral supplement, magnesium can be found in foods. “In general, foods containing dietary fiber provide magnesium” and varying amounts of magnesium can be found in tap, mineral, and bottles water.3 Prescott Compounding Pharmacy is here to answer your questions about magnesium as well as offer numerous brands and quantities of Magnesium.

by Jimmy Stevens, Pharm. D.

 

Resources

  1. Guerrera MP, Volpe SL, Mao JJ. Therapeutic uses of magnesium. Am Fam Physician. 2009 Jul 15;80(2):157-62. PMID: 19621856.
  2. Gröber U, Schmidt J, Kisters K. Magnesium in Prevention and Therapy. Nutrients. 2015 Sep 23;7(9):8199-226. doi: 10.3390/nu7095388. PMID: 26404370; PMCID: PMC4586582.
  3. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium-HealthProfessional/?print=1 Last Reviewed June 2nd, 2022. Accessed January 21st, 2022.