Contents:
- Medical Video: High Blood Pressure Stroke Risk
- What causes magnesium deficiency?
- How do you know if my magnesium levels are low?
- Why is magnesium deficiency considered a cause of hypertension?
- How to treat magnesium deficiency?
Medical Video: High Blood Pressure Stroke Risk
Magnesium is one of the important minerals to keep bones, muscles and nerves strong and healthy. Magnesium deficiency is actually rare, because the body stores reserves in the bloodstream, bones and kidneys. But if it continues to be left in the long run, magnesium deficiency can be a cause of hypertension that you never thought before.
What causes magnesium deficiency?
People living in urban areas are at high risk for magnesium deficiency (hypomagnesemia). This is due to several things, including:
- Westernized eating patterns (all fast and fatty foods with high calories) are usually lacking in magnesium
- The habit of taking medication can cause the body to lack magnesium, including drugs such as proton pump inhibitors and diuretics. Diuretic drugs usually used to treat high blood pressure can reduce magnesium and potassium levels in the body.
How do you know if my magnesium levels are low?
Magnesium is stored in the blood. Therefore, the most practical way to find out your magnesium level is to check it on a routine blood test.
Many laboratories have different "ranges" to show normal levels of magnesium levels. Normal magnesium levels are usually 1.6 - 2.6 mg / dL. Remember that this is a fairly large magnesium level, there is a significant difference between blood magnesium levels of 1.6 mg / dL and 2.6 mg / dL. On routine blood tests, many people usually have magnesium levels of 1.5-1.6 mg / dL. These levels indicate the occurrence of magnesium deficiency.
There are several other tests that can be done to check magnesium deficiency, including red blood cell magnesium tests and magnesium-specific urine tests. However, these tests are not practical.
Why is magnesium deficiency considered a cause of hypertension?
Magnesium helps maintain heart health by maintaining a heart rhythm and controlling blood pressure to remain normal so that blood circulation remains smooth. Meanwhile, the low magnesium content in the body is closely related to a decrease in potassium levels, minerals which are also very important for maintaining your blood pressure. That's why magnesium can be one of the risk factors for hypertension, which is often overlooked.
Moreover, magnesium is important for maintaining a good night's sleep. Problems related to sleep patterns affect the development of high blood pressure. Magnesium deficiency can affect you to sleep well which is important not only for the health of blood pressure but also for overall body health. So, people who have high blood pressure and sleep problems are advised to take magnesium supplements at night.
Low magnesium content also causes insulin resistance which can increase the risk of diabetes, which in turn can increase your risk of experiencing high blood pressure.
How to treat magnesium deficiency?
A healthy and balanced diet is the safest way to restore the body's magnesium levels to its normal level. At least you should provide an average of 400-600 mg of magnesium in your diet. You should add vegetables, nuts and seeds, fruits such as avocados and bananas on your diet. These foods have high magnesium levels.
In addition to passing food, you can also help sufficiency by taking magnesium supplements.But beware because not all magnesium supplements are made the same. There are many different types of magnesium supplements and each has a different absorption level.
That is, just because a magnesium supplement contains 200 mg of magnesium, does not mean that all 200 mg can be absorbed in your body's system.
Chelated magnesium does not contain heavy metals. Malate magnesium is also a type of magnesium that is good for providing energy for body cells (malic acid increases energy for cells). Talk to your doctor about reducing the medication prescribed because it can drastically eliminate magnesium levels in your body.
