The Dangers of Magnesium Deficiency

Any amount of magnesium supplementation is good By Ekaterina_Minaeva/Shutterstock

Probably the single most important property of magnesium in the body is its ability to act as a natural biological antagonist to calcium. As most adults have excess calcium throughout their bodies, it is this reciprocal relationship between magnesium and calcium that makes most people in need of regular magnesium supplementation.

In fact, the more you have of one, the less you have of the other. When calcium levels are high in the cells and the extracellular fluids, as they are in most adults, magnesium levels are corresponding low. And, because of this unique relationship, taking regular sizeable doses of supplemental magnesium works to mobilize and excrete calcium – which is one of the healthiest effects that can result to the typical body overloaded with calcium.

The Medical Myth Surrounding Calcium and the Importance of Getting Enough Magnesium

Deficiency of calcium is common in aged bone, but, in contrast to what is believed by many doctors and supplement takers, there really is no such thing as a body-wide deficiency of calcium, only normalcy, which is rare, and excess, which is very common.

So What Does Magnesium Do for Us?

Just like the class of prescription drugs known as calcium channel blockers, magnesium appears to have the ability to block calcium channels. This ability to block these channels that extend across the cell membranes results in a limitation of the calcium quantity that would otherwise be taken up by the cells – effectively lowering the intracellular concentrations of calcium in the cells throughout the body.