Magnesium the marvellous mineral!

Could you be low in magnesium?

Over the years I have found that many people don’t get enough magnesium in their diets because of soil imbalances and inadequate intake of dark green leafy vegetables.

Some people have a higher need for magnesium and even if they have a good diet, they will benefit from a magnesium supplement.

Symptoms that may indicate that you are low in magnesium are –

  • Poor sleep
  • Inability to relax and/or cope with mental or physical stress
  • Restless legs
  • Muscle cramps or twitches
  • High blood pressure that does not respond to drug treatment
  • Frequent headaches, including migraines
  • Constipation or irritable bowel syndrome
  • Irritable bladder
  • Heart palpitations


One of my business colleagues, Mark, was a typical middle aged man who displayed some of these symptoms. He was a high achiever, indeed a perfectionist, who could not sleep and was unable to relax after work. He had high blood pressure and was very flushed in the face. Mark had a fine tremor in his hands and face and appeared restless like a “cat on hot bricks”. I suggested to Mark that he try a magnesium supplement, even though he did not complain directly to me, but I could see that he needed magnesium.

After one week of taking magnesium Mark was so grateful to me especially because he had been able to enjoy a deep relaxing sleep and his blood pressure readings were now under control. His life had been transformed by a simple and inexpensive and safe supplement, so much so, that his new name is “Mag Man.”

Another friend of mine, Jacqueline, would often accompany me on walks in the mountains, and during these walks, she would become short of breath and have to stop every 20 minutes or so to catch her breath. Jacqueline had been diagnosed with a weak (floppy) mitral heart valve and was told that this was a congenital abnormality she had been born with. This had caused her to be unable to play competitive sports and brought on intermittent heart palpitations, associated with some shortness of breath. I recommended a magnesium supplement to Jacqueline and she took this regularly. I did not see her for 12 months and when we caught up for another walk up the mountain together I noticed that she kept up with me and did not have to stop even once, during our hike up the mountain. The only thing Jacqueline had been doing differently was taking a high dose magnesium supplement.

People who are deficient in magnesium, especially men as they get older, are at a greater risk of sudden death due to heart catastrophes such as coronary artery spasm or dangerous heart arrhythmias such as ventricular fibrillation.

Many people do not recognize that they need to take magnesium and just think symptoms like these are inevitable. Blood tests for magnesium levels will only show up gross deficiencies of magnesium and are not a true indicator of the total amount of magnesium in your body. This is because the vast amount of magnesium in your body is not stored in your blood; it is stored in your bones and inside your muscle cells.

Magnesium is a safe and effective mineral that may help you in many ways.