Magnesium can be found in a lot of foods—IF you know where to look! Learn about some of the TOP foods that contain MAGNESIUM and also what happens when you get TOO MUCH!
Magnesium is crucial for the basic function of our cells and we wouldn’t be able to live without it in extreme cases low magnesium can lead to seizures abnormal heart rhythms and even death most people don’t get enough magnesium in their diet but instead of leading to levels low enough to cause such extreme effects most people like you and me walk around with levels
Of magnesium that can cause things like headaches depression and chronic pain but check this out our low magnesium levels might even be pushing us towards developing heart disease and diabetes the good news is that getting enough magnesium in the diet is easy to do if you know where to look i’m zane a boar certified primary care doctor and in this video we’ll
Talk about five of the best dietary sources of magnesium that can help prevent physical and mental health conditions and lead to overall better health stay tuned till the end where we discuss who’s at risk of getting toxic levels of magnesium and what too much magnesium does to the body spoiler alert it’s even possible in healthy people in the hospital setting
Magnesium is given intravenously for things like pregnancy and cardiac conditions but the vast majority of people get their magnesium through the gastrointestinal system in the form of food supplements or medicine most of us though might not be getting enough which brings us to the first question how do we make sure that we are getting enough magnesium for generally
Healthy people the diet is the primary source of magnesium i touched on this in the last video but unprocessed foods are better because processing can strip foods of magnesium for example refining grains removes the german brand which is full of a lot of different antioxidants vitamins and other nutrients one of which is magnesium we’ll talk more about this later
But for most people who otherwise have healthy kidneys there’s basically no upper limit to how much magnesium you can get through the diet so without further ado here are five excellent sources of magnesium the first one is dairy an eight ounce cup of plain low-fat yogurt contains about 10 of the daily recommended dietary intake of magnesium milk is another form
Of dairy with a good amount of magnesium content too beans half a cup of black beans contains about 14 of magnesium’s rda but also contains a lot of other nutrients and fiber kidney beans are another great source of magnesium and fiber and in general foods that contain fiber are often good sources of magnesium as well green veggies half a cup of spinach contains
Almost one-fifth of the daily recommended amount of magnesium other green veggies high in magnesium include edamame and broccoli nuts almonds and cashews both provide about one-fifth of the rda magnesium in just one one ounce serving according to my can of lightly salted cashews if i did the math correctly each individual cashew has about one percent of the rda of
Magnesium which is a lot peanuts and peanut butter are good sources of magnesium too seeds and number one on the list of foods with high magnesium is pumpkin seeds just one ounce of pumpkin seeds contains over one third of the rda of magnesium keeping with a trend of high fiber and high magnesium pumpkin seeds as well as chia seeds are both super high in magnesium
And great sources of fiber here are all the foods on one list with their percentage recommended dietary allowance and here even more foods that contain magnesium water can contain some magnesium even tap water but the content varies a lot by the source and by the brand it is interesting though because areas with hard water which often has more magnesium tend to
Have lower rates of death from cardiovascular disease what about supplements for generally healthy people with good kidneys taking magnesium supplements can be safe if taken below the limit of 350 milligrams of elemental magnesium per day but getting it through your diet can have added benefits for your health like better blood sugar control better blood pressure
And overall better health the 2020 to 2025 dietary guidelines for americans says that because foods provide an array of nutrients and other components that have benefits for health nutritional needs should be met primarily through foods in some cases fortified foods and dietary supplements are useful when it is not possible otherwise to meet needs for one or more
Nutrients for example during specific life stages such as pregnancy if you know me you know i love talking about the dash diet and like i mentioned in a few of my other videos it’s been shown to help people live longer so that’s a good place to start to get enough magnesium and other critical nutrients that your body needs all in one place prior to starting a
Supplement it’s important to consider talking to a healthcare provider especially for people with chronic medical conditions as we’ll talk about in a second magnesium toxicity is possible and a common cause is taking excess magnesium on top of what’s in the diet not only that different formulations of magnesium supplements affect the body differently and some are
More prone than others to cause toxicity or side effects like diarrhea magnesium citrate for example has a higher bioavailability which means it absorbs into the circulation more easily than something like magnesium oxide but both can cause diarrhea and magnesium citrate is in fact a treatment for constipation like magnesium citrate magnesium glycinate and these
Others absorb more easily there’s two more things to think about when considering magnesium supplements if someone’s not eating healthy enough to begin with it’s worth considering whether they can get more of a benefit from something like the dash or mediterranean diet before taking supplements over-the-counter medicines can also have magnesium actually a lot of
Magnesium so people may actually be getting a lot already but this brings us to our next question how much is too much who’s prone to magnesium toxicity three groups of people who are prone to magnesium toxicity are people with kidney disease people receiving special treatments and surprisingly healthy people healthy people who take certain supplements or medicines
May be prone to magnesium toxicity magnesium supplements are generally safe in selected patients and magnesium toxicity is relatively rare in the general population but healthy people can get magnesium toxicity too americans are more likely to have magnesium toxicity than people in other countries and it might have something to do with the fact that our stores
Sell more over-the-counter products with magnesium in them than in other countries people who are otherwise healthy can get too much magnesium in their system by taking too much milk of magnesia maylocks and other magnesium containing supplements and medicines on the extreme end very large doses of magnesium containing laxatives and antacids typically more than
5 grams a day of magnesium have been associated with magnesium toxicity and death which is a lot considering the body only has about 25 grams of magnesium to begin with as an intern on the labor and delivery floor we would go around the unit checking pregnant women for signs of magnesium toxicity these women were being treated for preeclampsia with infusions of
Magnesium directly into their bloodstream all with the hopes of stopping the progression to eclampsia a potentially fatal condition for both the mom and the baby because of this specific reason women are more likely to have magnesium toxicity at some point in their lives compared to men magnesium also gets released from cells when they burst or die so people who are
On treatments that destroy large amounts of cells in the body like chemotherapy for cancer are also prone to toxicity there are some people like those with chronic illnesses who can get magnesium toxicity even without excess magnesium intake or production because the kidneys get rid of excess magnesium toxicity can happen more easily in people whose kidney function
Is reduced or are on medicines that affect how the kidneys process magnesium the risk is even higher in people whose kidneys have practically stopped functioning and are on dialysis low magnesium is excitatory in activating causing things like muscle twitching and seizures well too much magnesium does the opposite and it can sometimes mimic the signs and symptoms
Of other conditions like hypothyroidism and even depression because of how slow and drowsy too much magnesium starts to make people at the extreme end of the spectrum magnesium slows the body down so much that it can cause the heart to stop or cause a person to stop breathing when someone takes in too much magnesium symptoms can often start with diarrhea nausea and
Abdominal cramping and these symptoms tend to be more common with these forms of magnesium because these forms are more likely to stimulate the stomach and pull in water into the intestines as the magnesium level in the blood and the rest of the body increases blood pressure starts to decrease changes to the electrical activity of the heart are detectable on ekgs
Or electrocardiograms and eventually as magnesium levels rise this can lead to cardiac arrest and the heart stops beating completely neurologically people start to get drowsy and start having some muscle weakness then their reflexes start to go away like the knee jerk reflex as this continues breathing starts to slow because the diaphragm the muscle that expands
The lungs becomes too weak to allow you to inhale air properly and then as magnesium levels rise it causes the whole body to be paralyzed high magnesium levels can also lead to coma pulmonary edema or fluid in the lungs retention of urine paralysis of the intestines and even hypothermia which is when your body temperature gets really really low prolonged exposure to
High amounts of magnesium during pregnancy can affect the baby’s bones as well as affect their calcium and magnesium levels in pregnant women who are getting high doses of magnesium necessary for treatment the course is typically limited and magnesium levels are closely monitored but because pregnancy comes along with a lot of gi symptoms over-the-counter supplements
Still pose a risk a good rule of thumb is to let your doctor know about all the over-the-counter medicines supplements and herbal treatments that you’re taking whether or not you’re pregnant people who suspect they may have magnesium toxicity should seek care immediately the first step in treating high levels of magnesium is to stop magnesium containing medicines
And supplements if possible but despite this medicines are sometimes needed to prevent negative effects of magnesium on the heart while waiting on the magnesium levels to improve the definitive treatment is to remove excess magnesium from the body quickly through special diuretics prescribed by a doctor and usually in a hospital setting some people especially those
With poor kidney function may need dialysis the good news is that under the supervision of a healthcare provider if caught and treated early the prognosis for magnesium toxicity is generally pretty good but in general aiming to get magnesium through the diet and letting your healthcare provider know everything that you’re taking whether it’s prescribed or not can
Help make sure you get the benefits of magnesium without getting too much if you enjoyed this video you may like this one over here thanks for watching peace and see in the next one
Transcribed from video
These Magnesium-RICH foods can make you healthier By Dr. Zain MD