Magnesium: essential mineral.

Magnesium is an essential mineral for healthy muscles, bones, nerves, and blood sugar regulation. Despite its importance, it is often called the "neglected mineral" because it is not routinely tested, and deficiencies can be difficult to diagnose until they are severe. 

Symptoms to Watch For

Early signs are often vague and can be mistaken for other minor health issues:

• Mild-to-Moderate Signs: Fatigue, general weakness, loss of appetite, nausea, and trouble sleeping.

• Worsening Signs: Muscle twitches, persistent leg cramps, tremors, and numbness or "pins and needles" in the hands and feet.

• Severe Signs: Irregular heartbeats (arrhythmias), personality changes, and in extreme cases, seizures or cardiac arrest. 

Healthy kidneys are very good at holding onto magnesium if you don't get enough, so deficiency is usually caused by long-term issues rather than just a few poor meals. 

• Diet: Modern diets high in processed foods and refined grains often lack magnesium.

• Medications: Long-term use of diuretics (water pills) and proton pump inhibitors (acid reflux medicine) can cause the body to lose magnesium.

• Health Conditions: Type 2 diabetes, digestive issues like Crohn's or celiac disease, and alcohol dependency are major risk factors.

• Age: Older adults naturally absorb less magnesium and are more likely to take medications that deplete it. 

• Treatment: Mild cases are often treated by eating more magnesium-rich foods (spinach, nuts, seeds, beans) or taking oral supplements like magnesium citrate.