We are obsessed with magnesium as a dietary supplement. Your “overdose” has a name: hypermagnesemia
In recent years, magnesium has become the star supplement for many people. Promoted as the definitive remedy to sleep betteravoid muscle cramps, slow aging or reduce stress, has managed to penetrate a society that has seen these benefits as a real lifesaver for their daily lives. However, taking magnesium without a laboratory-documented deficiency is not only useless, As we have commented on several occasionsbut it can trigger a very dangerous clinical condition. There are differences with respect to the vitamin complexes that we also sin of taking in an abusive way without an analysis involved. And in these cases the excess is usually easily eliminated through urine without major impact, but serum magnesium operates in a very narrow physiological range, and this means that when we saturate our body exceeding its safety limits, the adverse effects manifest themselves in a domino effect that compromises everything from the digestive system to the heart rate. And it’s something we fall into thinking that ‘the more the better’. The balance. Our body has all its parameters well regulated within a range of fairly well-defined values so as not to generate pathology due to excess or deficiency. In this case, different references suggest that the normal value of magnesium in blood ranges between 1.7 and 2.2 mg/dL, and can reach 2.4 mg/dL in some laboratories. Hypermagnesemia is formally diagnosed when these levels exceed 2.5 or 2.6 mg/dL, and the truth is that it is easy to reach these extremes in the case of widespread supplementation when there is no clear deficit. Its effects. In the case of overdoing it with magnesium intakethe first warning that we are going to have will be in the digestive system, since the magnesium here will act by attracting water to the intestine, causing diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal cramps. But when we increase the excess to a moderate range of between 4 and 6 mg/dL, magnesium begins to act as a depressant of the nervous system and a vasodilator, which translates into a drop in blood pressure and muscle weakness. In serious cases. When levels exceed the barrier of 6 mg/dL, the condition becomes critical, and here the guidelines warn of a profound neuromuscular blockade that can lead to muscle paralysis, which can be fatal if it reaches the respiratory muscles. But it does not stop there, since the cardiovascular system also goes into crisis in this situation, and the electrocardiogram of these patients shows severe alterations that cause it to lose its natural rhythm. The role of the kidney. In completely healthy patients, this organ acts as an extremely filter efficient when it comes to excreting all the excess magnesium through urine. However, when we talk about people who have compromised kidney function, the kidney will not be able to work properly removing magnesium from supplements, so it will accumulate quickly, generating all the complications we have seen before. The physiology. For all this, you cannot take magnesium like a candy, trusting that all the benefits they sell us will magically come true. The recommendation is always to consult a doctor to determine this mineral, and supplement (if necessary) with a maximum between 250 and 300 mg of magnesium per day. Exceeding this dose, especially by consuming multiple supplements or abusing magnesium-containing laxatives, is playing Russian roulette with our electrolyte balance. Images | MIND FAVOR In Xataka | Like so many supplements before, we need to be clear about something about magnesium: it’s not going to work miracles.
