Magnesium deficiencies are common, especially in well-developed countries where processed foods are so common. Seven out of every ten Americans is likely to have a magnesium deficiency, causing many problems including underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism).
Certain medical conditions can aggravate magnesium deficiencies, such as diabetes and liver disease. These can lead to further problems with an underactive thyroid that makes it hard to lose weight and contributes to further aggravation of these diseases.
A lack of magnesium causes a variety of symptoms, but one of the most common ones is improper thyroid function.
Magnesium deficiencies lead to hypothyroidism that can make it hard for your body to lose weight or keep off excess weight, and regulate body temperature.
Magnesium and thyroid function are a delicate dance of proper interaction.
Magnesium deficiencies do not directly cause hypothyroid disease. Rather, a lack of magnesium impacts the thyroid in a rather round-about way. It synergizes the function of the parathyroid which regulates vitamin c and magnesium absorption.
Magnesium is also very important to bone structure, and can lead to weak bones and osteoporosis. Magnesium deficiencies also impact the normal absorption of sugars and fats.
Symptoms of a Magnesium Deficiency
Magnesium deficiencies can cause muscle cramps, and slowed heart rhythm. Other symptoms mimic thyroid disorder symptoms or happen because of a decreased thyroid function including:
- Disorientation
- Confusion
- Depression
- Excessive perspiration
- Appetite loss
- Headaches and Migraines
- Muscle spasms
- Increased asthma or wheezing
- Weakness
- Fatigue
- Irritability
- Tremors
- Stomach disorders
- Anxiety
Longer term symptoms of magnesium deficiencies include swollen gums, alopecia, hallucinations, calcium deficiency, eye and facial twitches, lesions of the gums.
What can Cause Magnesium Deficiencies?
One of the leading factors of an otherwise healthy person’s magnesium deficiency is an overabundance of vitamin C in the diet. Since vitamin C is so well-known for its health benefits, people tend to take it in fairly large doses, and since it won’t harm you if you take too much they aren’t normally concerned with high doses.
The problem is that vitamin C competes with magnesium, and can deplete the amount of magnesium in the system.
Another cause of magnesium deficiencies is a general poor diet. A diet comprised of a lot of processed food and sodas is a leading cause of magnesium deficiency.
Even those who are careful with their diets and drink a lot of water may still have a magnesium deficiency if the water is too soft. Drinking a lot of bottled water that lacks the common minerals from the earth can eliminate one of the best sources of natural magnesium in the diet.
Proper thyroid function demands a balance of calcium and magnesium in the system.
Even the way you cook can deplete the natural magnesium sources in foods. Boiling and steaming, normally considered a healthy way to prepare foods, can leech important vitamins and minerals including magnesium from foods.
Anyone on prescription medications for other medical problems should keep an eye on their magnesium levels as well.
Diabetes is a huge cause of magnesium deficiencies. Many people with weight problems, caused by hypothyroidism or diet are not even aware they have diabetes, or are pre-diabetic, and may have a magnesium deficiency caused by the underlying problem.
Diabetes causes the body to flush out important minerals, including magnesium. Studies have shown that people with known diabetic issues taking magnesium supplements have improved their blood sugar levels, and had better thyroid function.
Magnesium deficiency also increases the chances of developing “syndrome x” (the common name for a variety of metabolic diseases including, diabetes, artery diseases and insulin resistance) which is a common cause of obesity.
Syndrome X is typically associated with excess weight that accumulates around the waist. Taking a magnesium supplement reduces the body’s resistance to its own insulin and allows for faster weight loss.
Magnesium, the Thyroid and Heart Disease
There is a direct connection between magnesium and thyroid and an increased risk of heart disease.
Hypothyroidism is a known factor for increased risk of congestive heart failure. Hypothyroidism also makes it less likely patients with congestive heart failure will recover. Magnesium deficiencies contribute to this by causing a general weakness in heart condition, and lack of blood circulation, as well as reducing thyroid function.
Along with magnesium and thyroid, secondary hypothyroid disease caused by damage to the pituitary gland (and therefore creating a thyroid problem) can also lead to many medical conditions like those above.
Testing for Magnesium Deficiencies
Unfortunately, magnesium deficiencies are one of the hardest things to test for. The current testing is unpredictable, and even a reading that is in the normal ranges may be inaccurate.
Most doctors normally only test serum levels in the blood, which will not show magnesium deficiencies. If you would like a better indication of the levels of minerals including magnesium in your system, request an RBC (red blood cell) test.
Having this test can help you determine which minerals you have deficiencies in, as zinc and copper also cause problems with hypothyroid.
READ MORE: http://www.progressivehealth.com/thyroid-magnesium.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment