Do you suffer

• Headaches or migraines
• Difficulty getting to sleep
• Waking in the night and have difficulty getting back to sleep
• Muscle cramps
• Muscle tension and tightness
• Nerve pain
• Flickering eye lid
• Stress
• Anxiety
• Low energy
• High blood pressure

In practice I see many people suffering just from the sleeping issues or cramps while others have many of the above symptoms. If deficient in magnesium and you supplement with magnesium you tend to see a benefit within days of supplementing.

Magnesium is critical to many cellular functions (including energy production, protein formation and cellular replication). In its primary function as an enzyme activator, magnesium participates in more than 300 enzymatic reactions in the body.

″ Approximately 60% of the magnesium in the body is bone. The tissues with the highest magnesium concentration are those that are the most metabolically active (brain, heart, liver and kidney).

″ Two groups most prone to magnesium deficiency are the elderly and women (especially during the premenstrual phase).

″ Deficiency is often secondary to factors that reduce absorption or increase secretion of magnesium, such as high calcium intake, alcohol, stress, surgery, diuretics, liver disease, kidney disease and oral contraceptive use. Deficiency signs and symptoms include: fatigue, mental confusion, irritability, weakness, heart disturbances, problems with nerve conduction and muscle contraction, muscle cramps, loss of appetite, insomnia and a predisposition to stress.

″ A noticeable recurring contraction of an eyelid muscle or large muscle cramping, which is not caused by peripheral vascular disease, anxiety or insomnia are indications that magnesium may be deficient. Conditions in which magnesium supplementation may be of benefit include:

″ Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ″ Cardiovascular disease ″ Acute myocardial infarction ″ Angina ″ Cardiac arrhythmias ″ Cardio-myopathy ″Congestive heart failure ″ High blood pressure ″ Low HDL cholesterol levels ″Mitral valve prolapse ″ Stroke ″ Diabetes ″ Fatigue ″ Fibromyalgia ″ Glaucoma ″ Hypoglycemia ″ Kidney stones ″ Migraine ″ Osteoporosis ″ Pregnancy (toxemia, premature delivery and other complications) ″ Premenstrual syndrome and dysmenorrhea

Testing Magnesium Levels: Low magnesium levels may go unnoticed because serum magnesium testing often returns false negative results. Most of the body's magnesium store lies within cells, not in the serum (non-cellular portion of the blood). A low magnesium level in the serum reflects end-stage deficiency.

A more sensitive test of magnesium status is the level of magnesium within the red blood cell (erythrocyte magnesium level).

Interactions: Magnesium, calcium, potassium and other minerals frequently interact and some minerals may reduce the absorption of magnesium. Vitamin B6 works together with magnesium in many enzyme systems and increases the intracellular accumulation of magnesium. A high calcium intake and a high intake of dairy foods fortified with Vitamin D result in decreased magnesium absorption. There are many drugs that may deplete magnesium levels in the body, particularly many diuretics, insulin and digoxin fortified with Vitamin D result in decreased magnesium absorption. There are many drugs that may deplete magnesium levels in the body, particularly many diuretics, insulin and digoxin.