Symptoms of magnesium deficiency aren't common, but they can mimic other disorders. Not getting enough may increase your risk of cardiovascular diseases and decreases your immune system function.
When you don't get enough magnesium you may feel weak and tired, lose your appetite and you may become nauseated and start vomiting. As the deficiency progresses problems may include numbness, tingling, muscle cramps, seizures, and abnormal heart rhythms.
Magnesium deficiency can occur when you don't consume enough foods that contain magnesium, or if you suffer from certain health problems or take medications that may result in the loss of magnesium or reduce the amount your body can absorb in your small intestine. Diabetes, alcoholism, Crohn's disease, celiac disease, or intestinal surgery may result in magnesium deficiency.
If you have magnesium deficiency symptoms, you need to see a health care provider who can order blood tests to determine if a magnesium deficiency is the problem or if there are other causes.
Getting too much magnesium from the foods you eat is very unlikely; however taking large amounts of dietary magnesium supplements can cause diarrhea and abdominal cramps. Taking too much magnesium for longer periods of time may result in changes in mental status, nausea, loss of appetite, diarrhea, weakness, low blood pressure, difficulty breathing and irregular heartbeat. Don't take magnesium supplements in large doses (more than 350 mg of magnesium in supplemental form per day is the tolerable upper intake) without speaking with your health care provider.
Source: Office of Dietary Supplements. "Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Magnesium." Accessed July 26, 2010. http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/magnesium/.
