Have you been experiencing unexplained anxiety, fatigue, or nausea? Or do you have trouble sleeping? If so, you could be among the 80% of Americans who are magnesium deficient.

Why So Many people Are Magnesium Deficient

Unfortunately, foods that contain lots of magnesium tend to be the ones non health nuts aren’t particularly crazy about. That includes dark leafy greens, nuts and seeds, lentils, whole grains and dark chocolate.

As a result, the average person – according to EnviroMedica – gets just over one half the bare minimum amount of magnesium required to function properly (320 mg daily for women, 420 for men).

It doesn’t help that a magnesium deficiency is very hard to detect.

Those symptoms I listed above? They could be caused by a number of conditions. When someone feels anxious, for example, they probably wouldn’t immediately go, ‘Hey! I must be deficient in magnesium.’

Ergo, they wouldn’t even give much thought to padding their diet with more dark leafy greens or pumpkin seeds.

What’s more, according to Dr. Joseph Mercola, less than 1% of your body’s magnesium lives in your blood. Doctors can’t easily test for a magnesium deficiency as they would with iron or vitamin B.

So how can you tell if you are magnesium deficient? Are there any clear symptoms?

Yes – read on.

Sure Signs Of Magnesium Deficiency

#1 – Painful, Unexplained Muscle Spasms

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Painful muscle spasms can be caused by multiple sclerosis or diabetes. If your twitches come in the absence of symptoms characteristic of those conditions, though, you might want to try supplementing your diet with some magnesium.

Dr. Sircus explains that, because most of your body’s magnesium is stored in your tissues, muscle twitches are likely to be the first sign of deficiency.

#2 – Lack Of Sleep

Are you having trouble getting to sleep, with no clear explanation? You could be deficient in magnesium.

An easy way to test this is to – after speaking with your doctor – begin taking magnesium supplements. If your insomnia is primarily caused by something other than a magnesium deficiency, the supplements won’t do very much because magnesium supplements are not sleeping pills.

In other words, magnesium deficiency causes insomnia. Taking excess magnesium will not get you to sleep faster.

#3 – Unexplained, Involuntary Eye Twitches

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The most common causes of eye twitches are fatigue, stress and caffeine. All of those things should be fairly easy to identify. If you’ve triple checked for all three (with the help of your doctor) and come up short, you may be magnesium deficient.

A magnesium deficiency messes with your nerves – which a single eye has over 40,000 of.

#4 – Vertigo

Magnesium maintains your body’s electrolyte balance. Your brain relies on this balance to ensure it gets the sensory information it needs to orient itself in your environment. When you’re deficient in it, your brain does not receive that information and tends to interpret inner ear sensations as movement when you haven’t budged. There’s your vertigo.

What To Do If You Are Magnesium Deficient

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Be Mindful Of The Cannabis

Don’t get me wrong – cannabis has some wonderful proven health benefits. Taken without consideration, though, it can easily drag your body’s magnesium levels down. If you take cannabis to treat a medical condition, consider supplementing your diet with more magnesium. If you use cannabis recreationally, do the same or cut back.

Eat The Right Foods

If you’re not keen on supplements, load up that dinner plate with the following:

  • Spinach
  • Chard
  • Kefir
  • Almonds
  • Black beans
  • Avocado
  • Figs
  • Banana

Use A Magnesium Lotion

Your skin absorbs magnesium very easily. That makes using a cream containing the stuff very efficient. Have a look at this Amazon search for more information.

Want some more magnesium tips? Check out this post on the warning signs!

Not convinced? Found out the benefits of magnesium here.

Sources:
LiveStrong.com
Answers.com
WebMD
Dr. Sircus
Dr. Joseph Mercola
EnviroMedica