Magnesium is a mineral that plays a vital role in ensuring the healthy functioning of our body. It helps keep our bones strong, regulates heartbeats, and even aids nerve functions. However,most people don't know how much magnesium they should be taking daily—which can lead to health problems later on.
In this article, we will decode the recommended daily dosage for magnesium and help you maximize its benefits without any side effects.
How Much Magnesium Do You Need?
The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for magnesium depends on your age and gender. For adult men, it's 400-420mg/day, while adult women need 310-320mg/day.
However,if you're pregnant or breastfeeding, your RDA increases as follows:
- Pregnant Women: 350–360 mg per day
- Lactating/ Breastfeeding Women: 310–360 mg per day
The Devil in the Details
While knowing how much magnesium you need is crucial,there are many factors that also determine how much magnesium you require.
1) Medication Intake - Several common medications may deplete your body’s natural stores of Magnesium like Birth control pills (2).
2) Alcohol Consumption - People who consume more than two beverages of alcohol doubly increase their risk of being deficient in Magnesium content (4) .
3) Diet & Lifestyle - High sugar diets have been associated with significantly lower levels of serum Magnesium leading to health complications , such as Insulin Resistance(6) .
The Consequences Of Insufficient Intake
Not consuming enough amounts of Magnesium over time can lead to a variety of health issues ranging from mild ones like agitation or anxiety disorders to severe ones including seizures or cardiac arrest.
| Blood Pressure | Chronic Fatigue | osteoporosis |
|---|---|---|
| Magnesium Deficiency has been linked to hypertension leading to high Blood Pressure (5) . | Increased fatigue levels and thus did not show any improvement even with Asthenia treatment (3). | Deficiency may lead to bone masses deterioration, which over time leads osteoporosis or frail bones that are easy susceptible to breaking (1). |
But What About Overdosage?
As we’ve seen, underdose of magnesium can be detrimental for our wellbeing. On the other hand, too much magnesium intake at once is unusual as our kidneys eliminate excess amounts of this mineral from our body.
Symptoms like cramps, diarrhea or vomiting usually occur if there's an overconsumption of Magnesium content in a supplement form.
Our Recommended Sources Of Magnesium
There are two types of sources for incorporating Magnesium:
Dietary Sources:
A varied diet containing foods rich in minerals throughout the day while avoiding heavy consumption of processed food items provided by Nutritionists including following diets such as :
- Legumes: Lentils , Black beans.
- Whole Grains & Nuts - Brown rice , Almonds
- Fruits & Vegetables: Spinach and Avocado .
Supplements :
Supplements are available in various forms like tablets or capsules. They provide targeted doses but don't guarantee supplements will balance magnesium values adequately more than whole food diets when it comes to long-term maintenance concerns.
Wrapping Up
Taking care of your health is a lifelong journey, and ensuring you’re getting enough Magnesium daily is an essential step towards good health.
While balancing dosage could seem intimidating, we recommend consulting with a healthcare professional before consuming any supplements.
Finally, always opt for natural food sourced rather than artificial unless advised otherwise by specialists. Your health should never shortchange quality supplementation!