Magnesium is an anti-fatigue mineral essential for the brain and muscles. When we lack it (and it is often in the fall), our general health is affected.
THE magnesium East an essential mineral involved in numerous metabolic reactions in the body, particularly in the muscle contraction and at maintenance of the framework. When it is not present in sufficient quantity in our body, it is a bit as if one of the cogs in our machine is functioning less well and it is the general state of health that is affected. As a reminder, a woman needs approximately 300 mg of magnesium per day And a man 380 mg/day.
1. Your muscles are tense, close to tetany
“As in any deficiencyfirst of all it’s fatigue which can reveal a magnesium deficiencyexplains Doctor Laurence Plumey, nutritionist (Necker hospital) and author of “The Great Book of Food”, published by Eyrolles. But above all it is the feeling of muscle tension, which was formerly called spasmophiliawhich must alert because it is characteristic of a lack of magnesium.” In fact, when this mineral is not present in sufficient quantity, the muscles have difficulty relaxing. We then feel strong muscle tension, “sometimes close to tetany”.
2. Your eyelid jumps
In addition to feelings of fatigue and muscle tension, one may feel “of the small fibrillations at the corner of theeyecalled fasciculationswhich are also the sign that muscles struggle to relax“, further describes the nutritionist. The tremor of eyelids is due to an involuntary spasm of the muscles located in the eyelid or under the eye.
3. You have cramps at night
To this can be added other symptoms such as “of the crampsincluding nocturnal“. If it is important to be attentive to these small signs, it is because doctors do not have no test allowing them to definitely confirm a magnesium deficiency. “On a clinical level, doctors can do the hammer test, which consists of controlling that the cheekbone muscles contract correctly. But on a biological level, we are not helped: the blood magnesium dosages are often normal because the body mobilizes its reserves to maintain a normal rate”explains Laurence Plumey.
Be careful with diets: they promote magnesium deficiencies
Alongside the signs of fatigue and muscle tension, you should know that there are profiles at greater risk of lacking magnesium. “I am particularly attentive to people who consume little fruit, vegetables and starchy foodsthus describes the nutritionist. People who eat carnivores or are used to drinking tap watertherefore low in minerals, are therefore likely to lack magnesium.” Another risk factor: stress. Today, people are increasingly chasing time and finding it difficult to breathe. The problem is that when the body is stressed, it fixes magnesium less well, which is then further evacuated through the urine. In addition, stress is also a consequence of the lack of magnesium so it is a real vicious circle which sets in and maintains this deficiency.
“When we eliminate foods, mathematically, we lose vitamins and minerals”
If women are more affected than men – 3 out of four women are concerned according to theSuvimax study – it’s quite simply because they make more dietsexplains Laurence Plumey. “From the moment we eliminate food, mathematically, we lose vitamins and minerals. Furthermore, it is especially the reduction in dietary intake of starchy foods which can particularly reduce magnesium intake”describes the doctor.
To avoid magnesium deficiency, care must be taken to eat enough fruits, vegetables, starchy foods and to drink mineralized water. “A person who doesn’t eat breakfast can take an apple, a fruit juice and a few almonds to eat at the office in the morning” advises the nutritionist. Finally “if despite all this, fatigue persists, taking food supplements may be necessary for the time it takes for tone to return”.