Causes of magnesium deficiency
You’ve just dropped off quietly, but suddenly a searing pain shoots through your calf and you’re wide awake – sound familiar? Night-time leg cramps are just one of the potential symptoms of magnesium deficiency. But what causes the deficiency and who does it most commonly affect? Read the summary here and check whether it might affect you as well.
Do you have a higher magnesium requirement? Check now!
The amount of magnesium our body needs depends on numerous factors such as age, life circumstances or pre-existing diseases. All these factors may be the causes of magnesium deficiency. Check here whether you are in the at-risk group.
You're at a very high risk of magnesium deficiency – sort it out now!
Take good care of your body, as you have a higher magnesium requirement. You need to act quickly and actively prevent magnesium deficiency. Don’t know how? Avoid the causes, and supplement your magnesium supply with a high-strength Biolectra® product such as Biolectra®Magnesium 365 mg fortissimum Effervescent Tablets, Orange or Lemon Flavour. And make sure you have a healthy lifestyle: That includes maintaining a balanced diet, getting enough sleep and keeping stress levels low.
You're at a higher risk of magnesium deficiency – avoid the causes and take preventive action:
Based on your choices you appear to have a higher magnesium requirement, so you have a moderate risk of developing a deficiency in the vital mineral, magnesium over the long term. So pay particular attention to maintaining a balanced diet that is rich in magnesium and include important sources of magnesium such as nuts and bananas in your regular diet. Avoid “magnesium eaters” such as stress or excessive alcohol intake. We also recommend taking a magnesium product such as Biolectra®, to ensure you get your daily requirement and actively prevent a deficiency developing. For example, Biolectra® Magnesium 243 mg forte Effervescent Tablets, Orange or Lemon Flavour are suitable for this.
You're at a low risk of magnesium deficiency.
You’re lucky – your magnesium requirement doesn’t appear to be high and so the risk of you developing a magnesium deficiency is low. But you still need to take care of your body and avoid the potential causes. That’s because your requirement for magnesium could still change if your life situation changes. So stay active and make sure you have a healthy lifestyle. We recommend taking a magnesium product such as Biolectra® Magnesium 150 mg Effervescent Tablets with Lemon Flavour, to supplement your basic daily supply of magnesium in your diet.
Summary of causes of magnesium deficiency
If you have a magnesium deficiency, you’re far from alone. Around fifteen to twenty percent of the whole population has a magnesium deficiency.1 There are lots of reasons for this that can be broken down into the following categories:
Higher magnesium requirement
The body needs more magnesium in certain situations in life than in others. That’s the case, for example, during pregnancy or when you’re breastfeeding.
Reduced absorption
Reduced absorption of magnesium may be caused by two principal factors. A dietary imbalance, with low levels of magnesium, which often occurs when you’re on a diet, may not provide enough of the mineral. But older people who require care are also often at risk since they often don’t have an adequate intake of magnesium through their diet. Malabsorption within the body may also be a potential cause of the magnesium deficiency. Since the mineral is absorbed via the intestine, any related disorder may affect how magnesium is processed.
High levels of elimination of magnesium
Another potential risk factor is excessive elimination of magnesium. This may occur, for example, when minerals are lost through persistent bouts of diarrhoea, intensive sports or taking laxatives or diuretics as well as alcohol consumption.
Specific diseases
Various chronic diseases also increase your magnesium requirement. As well as diabetes, these include chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract or heart disease.
Magnesium deficiency: avoiding and preventing the causes
A wide range of factors can trigger a higher magnesium requirement and favour magnesium deficiency. However you can take preventive measures by avoiding the causes - ensure you have a balanced diet rich in magnesium, lower your stress levels and refrain from excessive consumption of alcohol.
But there are many risk factors you can’t do anything about, for example if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding or practise high-performance sports. But you can still take active measures - incorporate Biolectra® into your daily routine and help your body to cover its daily magnesium requirement.
Risk factors for magnesium deficiency
1 Durlach, J.: »Recommended dietary amounts of magnesium: Mg RDA.« In: Magnesium Research 2 (1989) Nr. 3. S. 195–203.