What are Magnesium Side Effects?
Magnesium is an essential mineral that helps maintain healthy muscle and bones. There are so many health benefits of magnesium but do you know what magnesium side effects include?
Are there Magnesium Side Effects?
Magnesium is a nutrient necessary for healthy muscles and is an integral part of transmitting electrical signals throughout the body. If you want to decrease the likelihood of developing serious heart-related conditions like high blood pressure, stroke, and atherosclerosis, consider taking a general magnesium supplement. But let’s beware of any magnesium side effects.
However, it is important to note that research has shown magnesium supplements result in only a small decrease in blood pressure.
There are a lot of different types of supplements available for people on the market today. When you think about taking supplements, which minerals do you consider to be the most of all? Pill bottles fly off the shelves at high speed because people have heard about the things they should be taking, but there is one mineral that many people fail to incorporate in their daily intake regimen.
It is actually magnesium, not calcium, that builds strong bones. Calcium keeps the bones from becoming rubbery, but magnesium makes them strong. Unlike calcium, that is easy to test in the blood. Magnesium is found inside the cells, so blood levels don’t tell us much.
Mary Ann Block, DO, PA
Muscle Malfunctions and Magnesium
Have you ever had a twitching muscle somewhere in your body that won’t stop? That can be sign that you you have a particular mineral deficiency. Magnesium is an important mineral for the body because it can prevent issues like cramps and spasms.
Some people report that they also experience loss of feeling, or a tingling sensation in their extremities. One of the most important jobs that magnesium does for the body, is that it helps facilitate communication between your nerves and muscles. That can be very important considering that the heart is also a muscle.
How Much Magnesium Should I Take?
The recommended daily doses of Magnesium shouldn’t exceed 320 mg for healthy women and 420 mg for healthy men. During pregnancy, doses are a bit higher, according to Dr. Nikola Djordjevic, MD, Co-Founder of MedAlertHelp.org.
If you are healthy and you take too much magnesium, your kidneys will handle the excess and you will flush it out of your organism via urine, Dr. Djordjevic says. But, if you have kidney problems, excess amounts of magnesium will cause more serious reactions. Magnesium is generally not recommended to persons who have GI problems or heart disease, too.
Can I take too much magnesium?
Diana Gariglio-Clelland, a Registered Dietician with Balance One Supplements explains that magnesium toxicity is usually reported with doses over 5,000 milligrams of magnesium per day. This is well above the recommended daily amount of 310-420 milligrams per day for the majority of the adult population.
What are the symptoms of high magnesium?
Symptoms and side effects of magnesium toxicity include the following:
- Low blood pressure
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Flushing of the face
- Lethargy, which can develop into more serious muscle weakness
- Difficulty breathing
- Cardiac arrest
While magnesium toxicity is rare, people with kidney insufficiency are more likely to suffer from toxicity because their kidneys aren’t able to filter out higher levels of magnesium in the blood.
Most magnesium supplements, or multivitamins containing magnesium, contain a modest amount of magnesium, usually meeting around 100% of the daily requirement. Therefore, it’s safe to say that a person taking the
recommended amount of magnesium via food and vitamin intake for their age and gender wouldn’t overdose, even if they’re also taking magnesium lotions.
While the body can absorb magnesium via the transdermal route, it would be highly unlikely to absorb enough to reach the equivalence of 5,000 milligrams per day, especially if excess magnesium isn’t being consumed orally.
There are many reasons to take magnesium daily and many people who would benefit from magnesium supplements. Read more about magnesium deficiency here.
I didn’t realize there were so many side effects from taking too much magnesium. I’m glad you shared the recommended daily dose and all the great benefits.
oh my gosh i just started taking this the other day but this is great advice as i start to figure out symptoms going on. thanks for sharing!
Great information and suggestions. I take magnesium to also help with sleep. Thanks for sharing on this topic.
Oh wow I have to admit I didn’t know you could take too much magnesium, though of course it makes sense as it is the same with over vitamins / minerals our bodies need in certain quantities.
Very informative and good information about magnesium which is not talked about too often. I do not take a supplement so I hope i am getting enough.
I don’t know much about this. I take a One A Day but I don’t think it has magnesium in it. I will have to look into this.
Wow, I had no idea that you could take much magnesium. Thanks for sharing these tips and helpful information.
I have heard of a lot of people supplementing magnesium. This is a very informative and helpful post.
I’ve read about Magnesium but not enough to know that there are a lot of side effects that we could get when taking up too much magnesium. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
I take a magnesium supplement because I get cramps in my legs and toes pretty easily. It seems to be helping me.
I had no idea of these side effects. Thank you for sharing this with us. We really have to be careful and just take the rda.
I don’t know much about magnesium so this post is really helpful. I think it’s important to know how much your body needs before you take any supplements.
I think anything too much can be bad for you. Having magnesium is fine but I never thought these side effects exist. I learned a lot from this.
I need to start taking my magnesium again. I have restless legs. I did not realize that magnesium helped with this.
Magnesium is so important for our body but it seems to be overshadowed by the likes of Calcium. Magnesium is indeed vital for the body but of course like everything else, too much of anything is always harmful.
I didn’t know about all those side effects or those benefits of magnesium. It does pay to read, huh? 🙂 Thank you for sharing all the info.
I honestly forgot something about magnesium and reading this just gave me a good reminder about it.