on Are you low MAGNESIUM?

Often overlooked in conversations about nutrients essential to bodily health, magnesium is central to your wellbeing. So how do you know if you're low on this critical mineral, and what can you do about it?

- DOMINIQUE BOWEN

For many of us, the last time we had any reason to pay attention to magnesium was during high-school science classes when we were studying the periodic table. What wasn’t covered then was the crucial role magnesium plays in regulating a wide range of reactions in our bodies. This mineral’s functions are so diverse that a deficiency can present in many different ways, from muscle spasms to more unexpected symptoms such as personality changes, sleep disturbances and even mental health disorders.

Particularly at risk of a severe magnesium deficiency – hypomagnesemia – are type 2 diabetics. According to a study published in Endocrine Reviews in 2023, hypomagnesemia is 10-fold more common in people with type 2 diabetes than in the healthy population. And in South Africa, where about one in nine adults live with the metabolic disease, that’s something worth our attention.

So what does this underrated mineral do in our bodies, how can you tell if you need more, and how do healthcare experts recommend you get it?

WHY WE NEED MAGNESIUM

It would be easier to list where magnesium is not involved when it comes to your body and how it functions. It’s a co-factor in more than 300 enzymatic reactions that are essential to every metabolic pathway.

Let’s begin on the most fundamental level: cellular energy production. Magnesium contributes to the stabilisation of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is the energy currency of every single cell, making it critical to energy production throughout your body.

Retha Harmse, a registered dietician at En Bonne Santé Dieticians, says magnesium is central to DNA and protein synthesis as well as muscle and nerve function. ‘It also helps to maintain a normal heart rhythm, it regulates blood pressure, and it is essential for bone health.’