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Magnesium - An Important Mineral

By: Frank Landrens

Magnesium is a mineral that not many of us give any thought to. However, magnesium is very important to include in our diet and deficiencies of magnesium can be dangerous. We should all be eating a healthy and balanced diet, and it is important to know all of the vitamins and minerals we need to be getting.

Magnesium is used by all the cells in your body. It is used to keep bones strong, helps maintain nerve and muscle functioning, and keeps the heart rhythmic and steady. You can see why a deficiency of this mineral can be dangerous. Magnesium is found in green leafy vegetables, nuts, seed, and some whole grains.

It is imperative to eat a balanced diet full of healthy and nutritious foods. Though your body only needs a small amount of magnesium there is also only a small amount found in most of the foods listed above.

It's fairly uncommon to experience a magnesium deficiency, but symptoms include disorientation, confusion, depression, abnormal heart beat, loss of appetite, cramps, numbness, and seizures. Magnesium is often leaves the body though the urination and an over- consumption of alcohol can cause magnesium deficiencies.

To find out what the recommended daily amount of magnesium is you can ask your doctor or nutritionist. There are also many books and websites that can help you determine how much magnesium you should be consuming each day. This number differs for men, women, different age groups, pregnant women, and lactating women. Knowing how much magnesium you should be taking, and how much is in certain foods, is a great way to prevent any deficiencies.

You can take magnesium supplements or multi vitamins in case you do not think you are getting enough magnesium in your diet. You probably are not getting enough of other vitamins and minerals as well in case you are not getting enough magnesium. Fresh and healthy foods is the best source for all vitamins and minerals, the next best thing is a multi vitamin.

If you find yourself relying on multi vitamins for all your dietary needs you should consider some drastic changes in your eating habits. There are a number of conditions that could require you to take a magnesium supplement. For example if you have chronic malabsorption you may need to take a supplement to ensure you have enough magnesium in your diet.

Some studies have shown that high blood pressure or hypertension can be lowered by magnesium. Whether or not this is true it cannot hurt to increase the number of vegetables and fruits you eat each day. Metabolic changes that may cause heart attacks or strokes have been linked to Magnesium deficiencies. As you can see, magnesium is a very important mineral to have in your diet.

While magnesium is essential, there is also a danger of consuming too much magnesium. If you are relying on your diet to provide magnesium there is little risk of any overdose. However if you ingest too many supplements there is the danger of magnesium toxicity. There are a number of symptoms that are very similar to magnesium deficiencies, be wary of taking too many supplements, laxatives, and antacids.

Magnesium is a very important mineral, and you should be very careful to make sure you are getting the proper amounts of fruits and vegetables each day. If you eat a balanced diet then you probably never need to worry about a magnesium deficiency.

Article Source: http://www.simplepetcare.com/pet-articles

Frank Landrens is the owner of BHP Magnesium, the #1 source on the internet for information about magnesium, For more articles on magnesium why not visit: www.bhpmagnesium.com/articles
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