Magnesium
About Magnesium
Magnesium is one of the most abundant minerals in the body and the second most abundant cation inside cells after potassium, with most body magnesium in bone and soft tissue. Official recommended intakes vary by age, sex and life stage. It is a cofactor for hundreds of enzymes, including kinases and ATPases, and ATP is biologically active largely as a magnesium ATP complex. Magnesium influences muscle contraction by opposing calcium, along with nerve conduction and heart rhythm. Deficiency, or hypomagnesemia, causes muscle cramps, tremor, weakness, arrhythmias including torsades de pointes, and seizures, and it can cause low potassium and low calcium that resist correction because magnesium is needed for potassium retention and parathyroid hormone release. Diuretics, proton pump inhibitors, alcohol use disorder, diabetes and malabsorption raise the risk, and surveys suggest that many adults consume less than recommended. Some magnesium salts are used as laxatives. Intravenous magnesium is used in the treatment of eclampsia, torsades de pointes and severe asthma attacks.
Related Nutrients
Calcium
Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body, with about 99 percent stored in bones and teeth as hydroxyapatite. Official reco...
Potassium
Potassium is the main cation inside cells, with about 98 percent of body potassium found intracellularly. Official adequate intake...
Sodium
Sodium is the main cation in the fluid outside cells and is essential for fluid balance, nerve impulse transmission and muscle fun...
Phosphorus
Phosphorus is the second most abundant mineral in the body after calcium, and most of it lies in bones and teeth as hydroxyapatite...