Bodybuilding.com - Magnesium Information and Product Listing! Magnesium FAQ!

Magnesium is a mineral needed by every cell of your body. About half of your body's magnesium stores are found inside cells of body tissues and organs, and half are combined with calcium and phosphorus in bone. Only one percent of the magnesium in your body is found in blood. Your body works very hard to keep blood levels of it constant.

Magnesium is needed for more than 300 biochemical reactions in the body. It helps maintain normal muscle and nerve function, keeps heart rhythm steady, and bones strong. It is also involved in energy metabolism and protein synthesis.

What foods provide magnesium?

Green vegetables such as spinach provide magnesium because the center of the chlorophyll molecule contains magnesium. Nuts, seeds, and some whole grains are also good sources of magnesium.

Although magnesium is present in many foods, it usually occurs in small amounts. As with most nutrients, daily needs for magnesium cannot be met from a single food. Eating a wide variety of foods, including five servings of fruits and vegetables daily and plenty of whole grains, helps to ensure an adequate intake of magnesium.

The magnesium content of refined foods is usually low. Whole-wheat bread, for example, has twice as much magnesium as white bread because the magnesium-rich germ and bran are removed when white flour is processed. The table of food sources of magnesium suggests many dietary sources of magnesium.

Water can provide magnesium, but the amount varies according to the water supply. "Hard" water contains more magnesium than "soft" water. Dietary surveys do not estimate magnesium intake from water, which may lead to underestimating total magnesium intake and its variability.

What is the Recommended Dietary Allowance for magnesium?

The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) is the average daily dietary intake level that is sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of nearly all (97-98 percent) individuals in each life-stage and gender group (4). The 1999 RDAs for magnesium for adults, in milligrams (mg), are:

Life-Stage	Men	Women	Pregnancy	Lactation
Ages 14 - 18	410 mg	360 mg	400 mg	360 mg
Ages 19 - 30	400 mg	310 mg	350 mg	310 mg
Ages 31 +	420 mg	320 mg	360 mg	320 mg
Results of two national surveys, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III-1988-91) and the Continuing Survey of Food Intakes of Individuals (1994 CSFII), indicated that the diets of most adult men and women do not provide the recommended amounts of magnesium. The surveys also suggested that adults age 70 and over eat less magnesium than younger adults, and that non-Hispanic black subjects consumed less magnesium than either non-Hispanic white or Hispanic subjects.

When can magnesium deficiency occur?

Even though dietary surveys suggest that many Americans do not consume magnesium in recommended amounts, magnesium deficiency is rarely seen in the United States in adults. When magnesium deficiency does occur, it is usually due to excessive loss of magnesium in urine, gastrointestinal system disorders that cause a loss of magnesium or limit magnesium absorption, or a chronically low intake of magnesium.

Treatment with diuretics (water pills), some antibiotics, and some medicine used to treat cancer, such as Cisplatin, can increase the loss of magnesium in urine. Poorly controlled diabetes increases loss of magnesium in urine, causing a depletion of magnesium stores. Alcohol also increases excretion of magnesium in urine, and a high alcohol intake has been associated with magnesium deficiency.

Gastrointestinal problems, such as malabsorption disorders, can cause magnesium depletion by preventing the body from using the magnesium in food. Chronic or excessive vomiting and diarrhea may also result in magnesium depletion.

Who may need extra magnesium?

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Healthy adults who eat a varied diet do not generally need to take a magnesium supplement. Magnesium supplementation is usually indicated when a specific health problem or condition causes an excessive loss of magnesium or limits magnesium absorption.

What is the health risk of too much magnesium?

Dietary magnesium does not pose a health risk, however very high doses of magnesium supplements, which may be added to laxatives, can promote adverse effects such as diarrhea. Magnesium toxicity is more often associated with kidney failure, when the kidney loses the ability to remove excess magnesium. Very large doses of laxatives also have been associated with magnesium toxicity, even with normal kidney function. The elderly are at risk of magnesium toxicity because kidney function declines with age and they are more likely to take magnesium-containing laxatives and antacids.

Signs of excess magnesium can be similar to magnesium deficiency and include mental status changes, nausea, diarrhea, appetite loss, muscle weakness, difficulty breathing, extremely low blood pressure, and irregular heartbeat.

The Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences has established a tolerable upper intake level (UL) for supplementary magnesium for adolescents and adults at 350 mg daily. As intake increases above the UL, the risk of adverse effects increases.

Source: http://www.cc.nih.gov/ccc/supplements/magn.html

Republished from Clayton South's Health Facts.

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Doctor's Best High Absorption Magnesium, 120 Tablets 60 200 $0.83 $9.99
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Twinlab Magnesium Caps, 400mg/100 Capsules 100 400 $0.14 $5.59
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* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

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