Low Magnesium - Typical Of Celiac/gluten Intolerance?

[Hedgehog]

I figured out that I do much better on fairly high doses of Mg daily, which helps my constipation. I take anywhere from 800-1200mg a day to have one normal BM. When I make smoothies with all the good stuff (kale, ground flax seeds, maca powder, spinach, frozen berries, hemp oil, chia seeds etc) I seem fine without the Mg.

 

I believe my kids are also Mg deficient, since they get restless legs badly at night, and I found that putting the Epsom Salt cream (Kirkman) on them helps enormously. Mg oil makes them sting a lot (apparently a sign you are deficient).

 

So this got me to wondering - if we are gluten intolerant (or even celiac) and possible damaged causing malabsorption, is this commonly linked to Mg deficiency? Have others experienced this?

 

Thanks

 H

[1desperateladysaved]

Yes, I have experienced low magnesium.  I had the shakes (mildly) for as long as I could remember (elementary school) these went away when I began a magnesium supplement.  I have been told that the villi in the small intestine are damaged, so they are less able to absorb food. 

 

D

[Dugudugu]

That's funny that you start about this subject. All my bloodwork is fine nowadays, except Mg being too low. No one of my docters ever talked about this, but it kept me wondering what the consequences are. Could you tell me? Is it neccesary to use supplements? I am NCGI,so there's supposed to be no villi damage.

[nvsmom]

Dugudugu, those with NCGI often have vitamin deficiencies. I think I have seen the inflammation implicated in that, just like in other diseases that have deficiencies without damage. If you have concerns,you might want to get checked.

[VeggieGal]

If you think you have magnesium deficiency, like nvsmom says, you really need to get it checked as low levels can lead to strokes etc. It works with calcium and is essential for your heart.

Last April when I had a total thyroidectomy, my magnesium level was so low the doctors had a panic on and they could not get a magnesium drip onto me quick enough. Unfortunately the magnesium fluid felt like acid and I screamed until they took it out of me. My arm was red raw after only 5/10 minutes of infusion. I later discovered they usually give the drip only to people who've been put to sleep. They wouldnt let me out of hospital for days until my levels had normalised.

My symptoms were nauseous, cramp in legs and mainly tingling fingers. Please don't just self diagnose, get it checked properly.

Edited just to add...... The reason my magnesium levels were low is because I'd just had a thyroidectomy and the 4 parathyroid glands which help control calcium and magnesium had temporarily shut down. However, months down the line I discovered I have Celiac disease, so who knows...it could be that too.

[tarnalberry]

From my understanding, it's not uncommon for many people to be "mildly" magnesium deficient.  Not only is it not found in high quantities in many common foods, but soil levels vary widely, which impacts how much magnesium the foods we eat have.

[1desperateladysaved]

First I will quote and get information from Prescription for Nutritional Healing by James F. Balch, MD and Phyllis A. Balch CNC:

 

"A deficiency of magnesium interferes with the transmission of nerve and muscle impulses, causing irritability and nervousness."  ...

 

"Possible manifestations of magnesium deficiency include confusion, insomnia, irritability, poor digestion, rapid heart beat, seizures and tantrums, often  a magnesium deficiency can be synonymous with diabetes.  Magnesium deficiencies are at the root of many cardiovascular problems.  "

 

I will simply list other associated problems of deficiency from the book:

fatal cardiac arrhythmia,

hypertension, 

sudden cardiac arrest

asthma,

chronic fatigue

chronic pain syndromes

depression,

insomnia irritable bowel syndrome, and pulmonary disorders.

 

The best medical test to see if you have enough magnesium  an intracellular magnesium screen.  A serum magnesium screen is less accurate.

 

Diarrhea raises the need for  magnesium.  A low magnesium level makes nearly every health disease worse.

 

Foods high in Magnesium include:  dairy, fish meat and seafood.  apples, apricots, avocados, bananas molasses, brown rice, cantaloupe, dulse, figs garlic, grapefruit, green leafy vegetables, kelp lemons, salmon,.  More were included; I typed in the ones I thought you would be familiar with. 

 

****End of the information from the book.

 

Lastly, I know this from personal experience and talking to my Nutritional chiropractor:  Too much magnesium brings on cramping and diarrhea.  I have been told never to  take it when I have diarrhea, but I am not sure if that is a general rule, or a personal one.  Find out what your provider recommends for you.  By all means do try to get enough magnesium and absorb it.

[Hedgehog]

Thank you for the feedback. Yes, I agree testing would be appropriate and we plan to do this (among other things). We don't have the more serious symptoms, so I think strokes and similar are highly unlikely, but certainly supplements seem very beneficial, so for sure something is going on, but tests should enlighten us. My assumption was that villi might be damaged and cause malabsorption, so I wondered if this is common for others - sounds like it is for gluten intolerance or Celiac.

 

VeggieGal - that sounds so frightening with the drip and all the associated pain. What a traumatic experience for you

 

Thanks again.

H

[VeggieGal]

Thank you for the feedback. Yes, I agree testing would be appropriate and we plan to do this (among other things). We don't have the more serious symptoms, so I think strokes and similar are highly unlikely, but certainly supplements seem very beneficial, so for sure something is going on, but tests should enlighten us. My assumption was that villi might be damaged and cause malabsorption, so I wondered if this is common for others - sounds like it is for gluten intolerance or Celiac.

VeggieGal - that sounds so frightening with the drip and all the associated pain. What a traumatic experience for you

Thanks again.

H

Yes Im sure my experience was probably not the norm, but even still its worth getting checked if possible. Plus you do need magnesium to help absorb calcium. All the best.

[tarnalberry]

I think that a lot of these pages that list symptoms of deficiencies end up talking about severe deficiencies.  And there's a lot of space between "borderline normal" and severe deficiency.  That sort of "mild deficiency" doesn't always show up in easily identifiable symptoms, but can generally make us feel sub-par.  (Take, for example, vitamin D being borderline and getting sick a little more often than you otherwise would - one or two more colds a year.)

[seraphim]

I'm pretty sure I have loooow magnesium and it gets worse near my period and I lose my appetite and gag on everything I eat. Bowels are loose but all I'm eating is salmon, sweet potato and raw carrots last couple days. The right amount of magnesium shouldn't cause you to be runny. If it does lower the dose until you find a level that keeps you regular. I would think a little should be taken regardless of diarrhea from another cause as...couldn't you be more deficient because of it?

[Hedgehog]

Seraphim, my understanding is you should take Mg to bowel tolerance. If you get the runs, you need to back down to the previous dose level. For me, this does vary a bit but depending on the rest of my diet, it tends to be closer to 1200mg a day...when i'm doing great with my diet etc, I seem fine for a while without any supplement, but if I get glutened etc, I am right back to needing at least 800mg a day.

[Mimako310]

^{My daughter has Sensory Processing Disorder, and I've done some reading on Mg deficiancy as this is linked to worsening symptoms of her disorder.  From what I've read, even a healthy body has a hard time absorbing Mg when ingested, so I would imagine those with damage from Celiacs would have an even more difficult time absorbing.  Apparently, through the skin is one of the best ways Mg is absorbed, so I've started giving her Epsom Salt baths.  I haven't seen a huge transformation yet but we've only just started.}

[frieze]

Seraphim, my understanding is you should take Mg to bowel tolerance. If you get the runs, you need to back down to the previous dose level. For me, this does vary a bit but depending on the rest of my diet, it tends to be closer to 1200mg a day...when i'm doing great with my diet etc, I seem fine for a while without any supplement, but if I get glutened etc, I am right back to needing at least 800mg a day.

& not Mag oxide!

[hanumandrea]

I'm pretty sure I have loooow magnesium and it gets worse near my period and I lose my appetite and gag on everything I eat. Bowels are loose but all I'm eating is salmon, sweet potato and raw carrots last couple days. The right amount of magnesium shouldn't cause you to be runny. If it does lower the dose until you find a level that keeps you regular. I would think a little should be taken regardless of diarrhea from another cause as...couldn't you be more deficient because of it?

I also find that I lose my appetite near my period, and crave dark chocolate, recently. Over the last 6 mnoths I also have prolonged muscle soreness after exercising. I have heard many women say that they crave soymilk before their period. (Or, as for me, dark chocolate . I wonder if this is the body's way of trying to get more magnesium to reduce uterine cramping, as soybeans are one of hte top 10 magnesium-rich foods. In any case it is interesting to hear your testimony about this.  

[Fenrir]

You should have your magnesium tested, just having issues with constipation doesn't really mean anything as far as your MG levels go, nor does it mean much that MG helps you have BMs. Not that you couldn't be MG deficient, many NCGI and Celiac people have issues with absorbing vitamins and minerals.