Magnesium deficiency is not uncommon. Deficiency may arise through reduced intake, reduced absorption or excessive excretion.
Magnesium deficiency is common in people with constipation. Magnesium deficiency results in constipation because it causes intestinal spasms. And people also can lose magnesium through frequent diarrhea.
Urinary loss of magnesium is also an important contributing cause of magnesium deficiency. The renal magnesium transport is influenced by the filtered sodium and calcium load.
This excess urinary excretion of sodium and calcium will increase magnesium clearance and lead to urinary magnesium losses. A very common reason for an increased urinary loss of magnesium is the widespread use of conventional diuretics.
Certain drugs – ammonium chloride and mercurial diuretics – result in loss of magnesium through the urine.
In general, diabetes mellitus is associated with magnesium deficiency and exemplifiers osmotic-induce magnesium deficiency. The acidosis resulting from ketoacidosis, starvation or alcoholism may also lead to renal magnesium wasting.
Magnesium deficiency has been reported in children with protein-calorie malnutrition due to primarily to diarrhea which increases fecal loss of the mineral.
Magnesium plays an important role in the activity of electrically excitable tissues.
Many enzymes are magnesium activated or dependent.
Magnesium is required by all enzymatic processes involving ATP and by many of the enzymes involved in nucleic acid metabolism.
The main causes of magnesium deficiency
