In general, there are more cases of magnesium deficiencies than calcium deficiencies. Put simply, if you have a blood test carried out and it was discovered that your magnesium levels are low, you are immediately put on a magnesium IV, so that you do not develop a heart attack. Pregnant women with low magnesium levels, fall into the category of preeclampsia which is a very high tendency of death for both mother and child. When this is detected, the mother is put on magnesium IV during delivery. Magnesium is used by muscle, bone, and nerve tissue. All muscles need magnesium to relax.  

In my entire 13 years of practice, I’ve seen more cases of high calcium levels, on blood work today than high magnesium levels. Now here is the problem, when you have high blood calcium levels, you might have a problem with the parathyroid. High blood calcium levels can cause calcification of the organs and glands, particularly the thyroid. That is why if you have a bad thyroid, you are not allowed to eat at a certain time around the time of your medication. This is because nutrients like calcium should not get around the thyroid and cause calcification.

What Is the Cause of Magnesium Deficiency?

Magnesium deficiency is so prevalent because we are usually consuming a high amount of acidic food or drinks. The body does not like having an acid pH, so it neutralizes it by alkalizing your body system with minerals. Your body will take magnesium out of muscle tissue because it is easier than taking calcium out of bone tissue.

So that’s one of the reasons why we have magnesium deficiency, because we live such an acidic lifestyle. Nowadays, more people have calcium and magnesium deficiency because they are either not supplementing it enough or depleting it through their eating habits.

Best Way To Take Magnesium

Some doctors prescribe vitamin D and calcium together. The problem, however, is that vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin and calcium is a mineral. They contradict each other. Understand that in nutrition, when you ingest supplements into your body, biochemistry is involved. Calcium and magnesium do work together, however, at different times of the day. Calcium causes your muscle to contract, which is best taken in the morning. You also need your body to relax at night and magnesium works better at this time of the day because it is responsible for muscle relaxation. When you fall asleep or stay asleep, magnesium helps to absorb calcium, water, calms nerves, and shuts down the sympathetic nervous system. Do not take calcium without magnesium, but you can take magnesium without calcium.

Food Sources of Magnesium

Magnesium is not rich in food at all. It is found richly in raw cocoa powder and pumpkin seeds. With the right quantities of these foods you would get your daily minimum amount of magnesium. Magnesium is a big molecule that cannot fit it in a small pill.

Here is another reason we prioritize magnesium. Such foods as bread, cereals, milk, orange juice, are fortified with calcium. However, calcium doesn’t need to be fortified into these foods because calcium is naturally occurring in green things. There are still lots of magnesium deficiency, mainly because we are fortifying everything with vitamin D2 and not D3. Vitamin D3 is bio-available, mainly because you can absorb a lot of it, while D2 is not.

Secondly, we’re using a type of calcium used for bone density that is not for bone density. There are specific types of calcium for bone density. Also, magnesium differs. I only use magnesium glycinate for my patients, same as other medical practitioners. The others aren’t put to use because they are not bio-available and the body would not absorb it well.

Magnesium likes to play with some certain vitamins, minerals, amino acids and herbs such as passion flower, valerian root and thionine. These are herbs and amino acids that also promote calmness without negative effects. This helps you to fall asleep, stay asleep, get into a deeper sleep, and absorb your water better so that you don’t bloat so much and your weight doesn’t fluctuate as much. This means you have great energy all day long and great sleep at night.

(Photo by DenAsuncioner on Flickr)