# Is Magnesium Deficiency a Silent Epidemic In the U.S.? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 8, 2013, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-magnesium-deficiency-a-silent-epidemic-in-the-u-s/665725 "2013-08-08T17:14:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![LMarie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c68b51/32.png) [@LMarie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LMarie)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-magnesium-deficiency-a-silent-epidemic-in-the-u-s/665725/1 "2013-08-08T17:14:53Z")
A few days ago, I shared how [taking a magnesium supplement helps to ease my bouts with Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS)](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=16532118&postcount=120). Today, I happened upon an article claiming that [50 studies suggest that magnesium deficiency is killing us](http://www.dumblittleman.com/2013/08/50-studies-suggest-that-magnesium.html). > [@](#): > > Experts estimate that 50% to 80% of Americans are deficient in magnesium - a vital mineral involved in more than 300 enzymatic processes at the cellular level. And that’s because 68% of American adults consume less magnesium than the recommended daily allowance (RDA), according to a 2005 nationally representative survey. > > This isn’t just about Americans (though we have it bad) - a great number of people from all over the world are magnesium deficient. And it’s killing us. Do you believe that this is a serious problem in the U.S.? If so, how did Americans become so deficient in this mineral? Do you have a magnesium deficiency? Have you been tested by a doctor? What symptoms do you experience? ---
**Author:** ![llcoolbj77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/eb9ed0/32.png) [@llcoolbj77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/llcoolbj77)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-magnesium-deficiency-a-silent-epidemic-in-the-u-s/665725/2 "2013-08-08T17:21:35Z")
I take a magnesium supplement to help with an arrhythmia. I don’t know if I am “deficient.” But taking the magnesium has meant that I could stop taking blood pressure medication (which I really don’t need) for my arrhythmia. This is particularly crucial as I just had a kid and am working on getting pregnant again. My particular blood pressure medication and pregnancy don’t mix. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-magnesium-deficiency-a-silent-epidemic-in-the-u-s/665725/3 "2013-08-08T17:24:35Z")
Correct my biologies…but if so many of us are deficient now, does that mean that at some point in the past, our bodies got used to having plenty of magnesium? If so, where did we get it? ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-magnesium-deficiency-a-silent-epidemic-in-the-u-s/665725/4 "2013-08-08T17:28:17Z")
Well the [US Government](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12949381) seems to think so. > [@](#): > > Despite the role of magnesium in maintaining health, much of the U.S. population has historically not consumed adequate amounts of magnesium. Furthermore, significant racial or ethnic disparities in magnesium intake exist. Our objective was to provide more recent data about magnesium intake in the U.S. population. We analyzed the 24-h dietary recall data from 4257 participants aged \>or=20 y from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2000. The median intake of magnesium was 326 mg/d (mean 352 mg/d) among Caucasian men, 237 mg/d (mean 278 mg/d) among African American men, 297 mg/d (330 mg/d) among Mexican American men, 237 mg/d (mean 256 mg/d) among Caucasian women, 177 mg/d (mean 202 mg/d) among African American women, and 221 mg/d (mean 242 mg/d) among Mexican American women The National Institutes of Health recommends roughly 400 mg/d for men and 300 mg/d for women it seems at least 50% of the population needs more in its diet. Is it _serious_? [Concerning](http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium-HealthProfessional/#en4)might be a better word. > [@](#): > > Even though dietary surveys suggest that many Americans do not get recommended amounts of magnesium, symptoms of magnesium deficiency are rarely seen in the US. However, there is concern that many people may not have enough body stores of magnesium because dietary intake may not be high enough. Having enough body stores of magnesium may be protective against disorders such as cardiovascular disease and immune dysfunction [7-8]. As to the rest of your post maybe IMHO or MPSIMS would be better place to get answers. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-magnesium-deficiency-a-silent-epidemic-in-the-u-s/665725/5 "2013-08-08T18:16:42Z")
The “it’s killing us” line is over the top. While consuming less than the RDA is not desirable, the scarcity of disease that can reliably be linked to magnesium deficiency suggests that “epidemic” is not the right term either. Much of our current knowledge about the role magnesium plays in chronic illnesses is speculative at this point. It does make sense to increase one’s intake of healthy foods that help provide an adequate supply of magnesium such as ones [listed here](http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium-HealthProfessional/). Meantime, I’d be wary of [hucksters](http://www.camcheck.co.za/miracle-magnesium-scam-asa-ruling/) out to sell people magnesium supplements whose content and potential for abuse are concerning (it’s also telling to see the variety of bogus health sources breathlessly pushing magnesium as a wonder cure (i.e. Mercola, NaturalNews etc.)… ---
**Author:** ![LMarie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c68b51/32.png) [@LMarie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LMarie)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-magnesium-deficiency-a-silent-epidemic-in-the-u-s/665725/6 "2013-08-08T19:08:37Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > Correct my biologies…but if so many of us are deficient now, does that mean that at some point in the past, our bodies got used to having plenty of magnesium? If so, where did we get it? I don’t know if our bodies got used to having plenty of it, but our diets used to be quite different. It seems processed foods and a number of other factors are to blame according to [this article](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/magnesium-the-most-powerf_b_425499.html): > [@](#): > > The reason we are so deficient is simple: Many of us eat a diet that contains practically no magnesium – a highly-processed, refined diet that is based mostly on white flour, meat, and dairy (all of which have no magnesium). > > When was the last time you had a good dose of sea vegetables (seaweed), nuts, greens, and beans? If you are like most Americans, your nut consumption mostly comes from peanut butter, and mostly in chocolate peanut butter cups. > > Much of modern life conspires to help us lose what little magnesium we do in our diet. Magnesium levels are decreased by excess alcohol, salt, coffee, phosphoric acid in colas, profuse sweating, prolonged or intense stress, chronic diarrhea, excessive menstruation, diuretics (water pills), antibiotics and other drugs, and some intestinal parasites. In fact, in one study in Kosovo, people under chronic war stress lost large amounts of magnesium in their urine. > > This is all further complicated by the fact that magnesium is often poorly absorbed and easily lost from our bodies. To properly absorb magnesium we need a lot of it in our diet, plus enough vitamin B6, vitamin D, and selenium to get the job done. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-magnesium-deficiency-a-silent-epidemic-in-the-u-s/665725/7 "2013-08-08T19:23:47Z")
Forgive me if I don’t consider an article by [Mark Hyman](http://store.drhyman.com/?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Brand%20Terms&utm_term=mark%20hyman&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Brand%20Terms&utm_term=mark%20hyman) to be authoritative and unbiased. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-magnesium-deficiency-a-silent-epidemic-in-the-u-s/665725/8 "2013-08-08T21:28:45Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > Correct my biologies…but if so many of us are deficient now, does that mean that at some point in the past, our bodies got used to having plenty of magnesium? If so, where did we get it? > **[Office of Dietary Supplements - Magnesium](https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium-HealthProfessional/)** > > Magnesium overview for health professionals. Research health effects, dosing, sources, deficiency symptoms, side effects, and interactions here. > [@](#): > > Green vegetables such as spinach are good sources of magnesium because the center of the chlorophyll molecule (which gives green vegetables their color) contains magnesium. Some legumes (beans and peas), nuts and seeds, and whole, unrefined grains are also good sources of magnesium [5]. Refined grains are generally low in magnesium [4-5]. When white flour is refined and processed, the magnesium-rich germ and bran are removed. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-magnesium-deficiency-a-silent-epidemic-in-the-u-s/665725/9 "2013-08-08T21:32:24Z")
Magnesium is one of those elements that is basic to the chemistry of life, and, as such, it is going to be present (in small amounts) in just about every possible sort of food (which is made from once-living mater). I suppose it is possible that some people do not get as much of it as they ideally should, but no-one is not getting any in their diet. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-magnesium-deficiency-a-silent-epidemic-in-the-u-s/665725/10 "2013-08-08T22:07:08Z")
> [@LMarie](#): > > Do you have a magnesium deficiency? Have you been tested by a doctor? What symptoms do you experience? Supposedly magnesium also helps people deal with stress and depression. When I was going through a really bad time in my life (unemployment, plus other issues) I decided to add 400mg of magnesium to my diet. One of my symptoms was that upon awakening, I would feel an intense depression almost instantly. I started taking the magnesium and it didn’t help. After doing some research I found the most common magnesium supplement (magnesium oxide) isn’t really absorbed by the body, it just passed through. So I switched to a more bioavailable form (magnesium citrate). When I started taking 400mg of that a day, I noticed the depression in the morning stopped. I still take Mg supplements, but that is because being deficient can increase the risk of type II diabetes and CVD, both of which I am at risk for. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-magnesium-deficiency-a-silent-epidemic-in-the-u-s/665725/11 "2013-08-08T23:36:47Z")
> [@WarmNPrickly](#): > > Forgive me if I don’t consider an article by [Mark Hyman](http://store.drhyman.com/?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Brand%20Terms&utm_term=mark%20hyman&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Brand%20Terms&utm_term=mark%20hyman) to be authoritative and unbiased. His claim that dairy and refined grain products “have no magnesium” is contradicted by the NIH article (linked to previously) which lists significant magnesium content for dairy products, and notes that while refined flour is low in magnesium it is not absent. Kiddies, don’t depend on the Huffington Post for your health information. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-magnesium-deficiency-a-silent-epidemic-in-the-u-s/665725/12 "2013-08-09T03:13:54Z")
I sense a “One weird trick for good health that makes Doctors angry” ad about to come out. Unless it already has… ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-magnesium-deficiency-a-silent-epidemic-in-the-u-s/665725/13 "2013-08-09T03:22:50Z")
Well, this justifies my sucking on sparklers, then! ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-magnesium-deficiency-a-silent-epidemic-in-the-u-s/665725/14 "2013-08-09T06:43:37Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Magnesium is one of those elements that is basic to the chemistry of life, and, as such, it is going to be present (in small amounts) in just about every possible sort of food (which is made from once-living mater). I suppose it is possible that some people do not get as much of it as they ideally should, but no-one is not getting any in their diet. Furthermore, two of the richest sources of magnesium are nuts and chocolate. I’m not aware of those waning in popularity or consumption. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-magnesium-deficiency-a-silent-epidemic-in-the-u-s/665725/15 "2013-08-09T07:17:50Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Furthermore, two of the richest sources of magnesium are nuts and chocolate. I’m not aware of those waning in popularity or consumption. Well, yeah, except that you ate them all. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![deltasigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@deltasigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltasigma)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-magnesium-deficiency-a-silent-epidemic-in-the-u-s/665725/16 "2013-08-09T07:44:54Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Furthermore, two of the richest sources of magnesium are nuts and chocolate. I’m not aware of those waning in popularity or consumption. I don’t know that chocolate would be a “best” source although maybe if it’s sufficiently concentrated would move up a bit on the [list provided in the link in post 5](http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium-HealthProfessional/). From that though, a 1.5oz milk choc. candy bar only has 7% of the DV. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-magnesium-deficiency-a-silent-epidemic-in-the-u-s/665725/17 "2013-08-09T08:00:01Z")
I was looking at dark chocolate - ~146mg/100g - compared to, say spinach, which is ~85mg/100g ---
**Author:** ![deltasigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@deltasigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltasigma)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-magnesium-deficiency-a-silent-epidemic-in-the-u-s/665725/18 "2013-08-09T08:19:28Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I was looking at dark chocolate - ~146mg/100g - compared to, say spinach, which is ~85mg/100g Assuming your list is using cooked spinach, I guess that’s a little over 1/2 cup. [100g of Lindt 70% Cocoa though is 3.5oz and 625 calories](http://www.lindtusa.com/common/images/products/nutritional/392825_nutr.pdf). :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-magnesium-deficiency-a-silent-epidemic-in-the-u-s/665725/19 "2013-08-09T11:44:28Z")
> [@deltasigma](#): > > Assuming your list is using cooked spinach, I guess that’s a little over 1/2 cup. [100g of Lindt 70% Cocoa though is 3.5oz and 625 calories](http://www.lindtusa.com/common/images/products/nutritional/392825_nutr.pdf). :eek: Sure, I’m not proposing a Magnesium-sufficient diet based on chocolate and nuts - only echoing **njtt** ’s point that Magnesium is in just about everything, including stuff that people eat quite a lot (maybe too much). ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-magnesium-deficiency-a-silent-epidemic-in-the-u-s/665725/20 "2013-08-09T11:47:49Z")
> [@deltasigma](#): > > From that though, a 1.5oz milk choc. candy bar only has 7% of the DV. I’m no mathematician, but it seems clear to me that eating 14 or so each day will cover your needs. Science! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-magnesium-deficiency-a-silent-epidemic-in-the-u-s/665725.md?page=2)