Magnesium and Anxiety – could you have a deficiency?

It is important that when looking for alternative causes of anxiety that one considers their diet as a possible cause. Many vitamin and mineral deficiencies can be linked to causing depression and anxiety. One of these deficiencies that is gaining recognition in the professional psychological community today is magnesium.

Classic physical symptoms of a magnesium deficiency:

muscle cramps,
arrhythmias,
restless leg syndrome (RLS),
sleep disorders,
irritability,
nausea,
vomiting,
low blood pressure,
confusion,
muscle spasms,
weakness,
hyperventilation
possible seizures.

In the worst case scenarios, a magnesium deficiency can even lead to death.

Magnesium also plays a huge role in the brain’s function balancing the way ions balance sodium and potassium. A deficiency in it can also lead to various types of psychological illness, including psychosis, depression, anxiety, seizures, and irritability. There have been many reported cases of psychological ailments being corrected merely by increasing the patient’s magnesium intake.

A woman with a previous post traumatic brain injury (TBI) became cured of depression and had her normal short term memory and IQ return to her after she started taking extra magnesium supplements.

A man who was struggling with addictions, irritability, anxiety, and depression became cured of his symptoms when he started taking extra magnesium supplements.

These stories are not isolated, many people report being cured of depression and anxiety after taking magnesium. This could be because the average American intake of magnesium is only about half what it should be. The current RDA is between 320 and 420mg daily… whereas your average American only consumes 25omg. It’s not difficult to see that a majority of Americans will be deficient in Magnesium!

Many of the reported cases of people having these positive effects with magnesium had poor diets. If you’re relying on heavily processed or fast food, the levels of vitamins and minerals are going to be severely depleted. Unfortunately, even our modern day soil where our food grows has much lower levels of magnesium than it once did – our regular crops just do not have the levels of vitamins and nutrients of the past due to this soil depletion. As such, you really need to eat far more fruits and vegetables than we used to to achieve the same levels of nutrition.

In addition, even if you have a sufficient amount of magnesium in your diet, excess stress may cause your body to lose magnesium in higher amounts than normal.

Fortunately many multivitamin supplements provide at least half of your needed daily intake of magnesium. If additional magnesium is needed, it can be supplemented through over the counter supplements. Paleo diets are also naturally rich in magnesium, so you may want to consider adopting at least some of its philosophies in your diet.

Magnesium is known to have negative interactions with some psychiatric medications and medical disorders, so please make sure you talk to your doctor and psychiatrist about any possible interactions your medications and conditions may have when trying magnesium as an extra supplement to your diet.

Keep in mind also that if magnesium supplementation does not bring any change to your anxiety, that does not mean some other vitamin or nutrient deficiency may be contributing to your anxiety. Some of these other common deficiencies include the B vitamins (B Complex), Calcium, vitamin D, and Omegas 3 & 6.

By paying more attention to your diet, you could be well on your way to discovering the root key cause behind your anxiety symptoms. Additionally it is vital that medical and psychological professionals recognize that vitamin and mineral deficiencies can be the root causes behind patient complaints of anxiety, and consider this when diagnosing and treating anxiety. Together medical/psychological professionals and patients can get to the root key cause of anxiety issues and take appropriate measures to prevent future instances. Anxiety may be a condition you don’t have to live with at all after some dietary changes.

If you’d like to work towards adding more magnesium in your diet, as well as taking additional supplements – be sure to stock up on the following foods high in Magnesium.

Foods High In Magnesium

Dark leafy greens, such as Spinach and Kale! Steam some spinach and top with a poached egg for breakfast, try a spinach and cheese omelette, create a green juice for breakfast with spinach, kale, ginger and apples.
Nuts and Seeds – buy a mixed bag and take them to work on to snack with, (you could add some dark chocolate chips in the mix – I won’t tell!
Fish – Mackerel has the highest amount. How about creating a mackerel pate, simply blitz a smoked mackerel fillet with cream cheese, lemon juice and salt and pepper – delicious!
Beans/Lentils – All beans and lentils are a great source of magnesium. Use beans to make an alternative hummus or dip, add lentils to thicken soups, stews and curries.
Whole grains, (brown rice/pasta/oats..) Switch from white rice and pasta to brown, you may resist the change at first, but honestly you will get used to it! It is also more filling so you will eat less. Try overnight oats, by adding oats (1/2 cup) milk, (1/2 cup) honey, cinnamon, (pinch) and a sprinkle of dried fruits to a bowl in the fridge overnight
Avocados – I love avocados, perfect for guacamole but it’s easy and delicious simply on toast for breakfast.
non- fat yoghurt – stock up the fridge! Good to add creaminess to curries or sauces too, as well as a snack with a drizzle of honey or maple syrup.
Bananas – a super simple snack or great for banana bread.
Dried Fruit – add to your nuts and seeds, (also high in magnesium) to take to work, add to cereal or cake mix.
Dark chocolate – yes, even dark chocolate is a good source of magnesium…but it’s also high in calories, so a square or two is enough.

Try adding a variety of these magnesium rich foods into your diet so that you can avoid becoming deficient in magnesium to begin with. If you suffer from anxiety, checking that you’re getting the correct amount of vitamins and minerals is especially important.