Mag(ic)Nesium

North American diets are prominently deficient in two major minerals - potassium and magnesium. This results in a slew of health issues while not immediately life threatening become serious over time.

The Problem
I recently experienced severe heart palpitations - my heart felt like it was beating out of sequence; there was no rhythym. This continued for hours at a time, and several. A(nother) visit to the emergency room revealed that they were a result of a condition called Supra ventricular tachycardia which is apparently non threatening in someone young. They could not, however, tell me what causes it. A series of tests later they could not find anything structurally wrong with my heart and sent me away with a prescription.

This of course led to some serious internet trolling. I discovered several websites that discussed the association between this condition and a magnesium deficiency. Other symptoms (from this website) include:

Symptoms
Magnesium deficiency can affect virtually every organ system of the body. With regard to skeletal muscle, one may experience twitches, cramps, muscle tension, muscle soreness, including back aches, neck pain, tension headaches and jaw joint (or TMJ) dysfunction. Also, one may experience chest tightness or a peculiar sensation that he can't take a deep breath. Sometimes a person may sigh a lot.

Symptoms involving impaired contraction of smooth muscles include constipation; urinary spasms; menstrual cramps; difficulty swallowing or a lump in the throat-especially provoked by eating sugar; photophobia, especially difficulty adjusting to oncoming bright headlights in the absence of eye disease; and loud noise sensitivity from stapedius muscle tension in the ear.

Other symptoms and signs of magnesium deficiency and discuss laboratory testing for this common condition. Continuing with the symptoms of magnesium deficiency, the central nervous system is markedly affected. Symptoms include insomnia, anxiety, hyperactivity and restlessness with constant movement, panic attacks, agoraphobia, and premenstrual irritability. Magnesium deficiency symptoms involving the peripheral nervous system include numbness, tingling, and other abnormal sensations, such as zips, zaps and vibratory sensations.

Symptoms or signs of the cardiovascular system include palpitations, heart arrhythmias, angina due to spasms of the coronary arteries, high blood pressure and mitral valve prolapse. Be aware that not all of the symptoms need to be present to presume magnesium deficiency; but, many of them often occur together. For example, people with mitral valve prolapse frequently have palpitations, anxiety, panic attacks and premenstrual symptoms. People with magnesium deficiency often seem to be "uptight." Other general symptoms include a salt craving, both carbohydrate craving and carbohydrate intolerance, especially of chocolate, and breast tenderness.

It's pretty startling to read this list and realize that it speaks to conditions that I've had for years. Nothing serious enough to get medical attention for, but bothersome nevertheless (insomnia being the worst one) It is estimated that 2/3rds of Americans are Magnesium deficient.

Sources/Treatment
Of course a quick fix for Magnesium deficiency it to take supplements. This is not necessarily a good idea; since Magnesium is quite alkaline it neutralizes stomach acid which in time results in malabsorption. It is much better to get magnesium natural sources like:

- bananas
- cashews/almonds
- most varieties of beans
- spinach and other leafy greens
- Quinoa, rice and whole wheat
- Dairy including cheese and milk

A comprehensive list can be found here

The jury is still out but since I have increased my intake of magnesium from natural sources my heart palpitations have not come back. Amazing how one little mineral can have such a significant effect on our bodies and well being.