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Magnesium Toxicity
  Magnesium, Toxicity
 Signs, symptoms, indicators
 Conditions that suggest it
 Contributing risk factors
 It can lead to...
 It could instead be...
 Treatment recommendations
 


Dietary magnesium very rarely poses a health risk, but very high doses of magnesium supplements, which may be added to laxatives for example, can promote adverse effects such as diarrhea. The kidneys are efficient at excreting excess magnesium and it is unlikely that the mineral will accumulate to toxic levels. The Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences has established a tolerable upper intake level (UL) for supplementary magnesium for adolescents and adults at 350mg daily.

Complications


As intake increases above the UL, the risk of adverse effects increases. In extreme cases, this can mean coma or even death.





Signs, symptoms & indicators of Magnesium Toxicity:
Lab Values - Common  Low systolic blood pressure
 Extremely low blood pressure is a sign of possible magnesium overload.

  Low diastolic blood pressure

Symptoms - Bowel Movements

  Recent onset/chronic diarrhea or diarrhea for 1-3 months

Symptoms - Cardiovascular

  Arrhythmia

Symptoms - Food - General

  Weak appetite

Symptoms - Gas-Int - General

  (Frequent/regular) unexplained nausea

Symptoms - Mind - General

  Being easily excitable
  Being unmotivated

Symptoms - Muscular

  Individual weak muscles
 Magnesium overload can depress the central nervous system, causing muscle weakness, lethargy, sleepiness, hyperexcitability, mental status changes, nausea, appetite loss, extremely low blood pressure, and irregular heartbeat.

Symptoms - Respiratory

  Shortness of breath

Symptoms - Sleep

  Drowsiness
 Sleepiness is a sign of magnesium overload.

Conditions that suggest Magnesium Toxicity:
Metabolic  Hypersomnolence
 The symptoms of magnesium toxicity include central nervous system depression, muscle weakness, fatigue and sleepiness.

Musculo-Skeletal

  General Weakness

Nutrients

  Calcium Requirement
 Calcium and magnesium levels need to be maintained in balance since they have an antagonistic relationship. An excess of one implies a need for the other to maintain balance.

Risk factors for Magnesium Toxicity:
Organ Health  Chronic Renal Insufficiency
 High levels of magnesium can develop in patients with kidney failure and in elderly people whose kidney functions are reduced. This is especially true when supplementing with magnesium. Kidney disease, rather than diet, is the usual cause of magnesium overload, because the kidneys lose the ability to remove excess magnesium.

Supplements and Medications

  Regular/excessive/daily osmotic laxative use
 Very large doses of laxatives have been associated with magnesium toxicity, even with normal kidney function.

  Magnesium-based antacid use
 Magnesium toxicity can come as a result of taking magnesium-containing laxatives and antacids.

  Much magnesium supplementation

Magnesium Toxicity can lead to:
Musculo-Skeletal  General Weakness

Magnesium Toxicity could instead be:
Mental  Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Recommendations and treatments for Magnesium Toxicity:
MineralNot recommended:
  Magnesium


KEY
Weak or unproven link
Strong or generally accepted link
Proven definite or direct link
Avoid absolutely


GLOSSARY

Antacid (Antacids)
Neutralizes acid in the stomach, esophagus, or first part of the duodenum.

Calcium
The body's most abundant mineral. Its primary function is to help build and maintain bones and teeth. The body also needs calcium to carry nerve signals, keep the heart functioning, contract muscles, clot blood and maintain healthy skin. Calcium helps control blood acid-alkaline balance, plays a role in cell division, muscle growth and iron utilization, activates certain enzymes, and helps transport nutrients through cell membranes. Calcium also forms a cellular cement called ground substance that helps hold cells and tissues together.

Central Nervous System (CNS)
A collective term for the brain, spinal cord, their nerves, and the sensory end organs. More broadly, this can even include the
neurotransmitting hormones instigated by the CNS that control the chemical nervous system, the endocrine glands.

Chronic Renal Failure (Chronic Renal Insufficiency, Kidney Failure, Renal Insufficiency)
(CRF) Irreversible, progressive impaired kidney function. The early stage, when the kidneys no longer function properly but do not yet require dialysis, is known as Chronic Renal Insufficiency (CRI). CRI can be difficult to diagnose, as symptoms are not usually apparent until kidney disease has progressed significantly. Common symptoms include a frequent need to urinate and swelling, as well as possible anemia, fatigue, weakness, headaches and loss of appetite. As the disease progresses, other symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, bad breath and itchy skin may develop as toxic metabolites, normally filtered out of the blood by the kidneys, build up to harmful levels. Over time (up to 10 or 20 years), CRF generally progresses from CRI to End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD, also known as Kidney Failure). Patients with ESRD no longer have kidney function adequate to sustain life and require dialysis or kidney transplantation. Without proper treatment, ESRD is fatal.

Diarrhea
Excessive discharge of contents of bowel.

Kidneys (Kidney, Renal)
Bean-shaped organs, each about the size of a fist. They are located near the middle of the back, just below the rib cage. The kidneys are sophisticated reprocessing machines, each day handling about 50 gallons of blood to sift out about half a gallon of waste products and extra water. The waste and extra water become urine, which flows to the bladder through tubes called ureters. The actual filtering occurs in tiny units inside the kidneys called nephrons. Every kidney has about a million nephrons. In a nephron, a glomerulus -- which is a tiny blood vessel, or capillary -- intertwines with a tiny urine-collecting tube called a tubule. A complicated chemical exchange takes place, as waste materials and water leave your blood and enter your urinary system. The kidneys recycle chemicals such as sodium, phosphorus, and potassium and thus regulate their levels. Renal: Pertaining to the kidneys.

Laxative (Laxatives)
A substance (food, herb, chemical) that stimulates evacuation of the bowels. Examples include cascara sagrada, senna, castor oil, aloe vera, bisacodyl, phenolphthalein and many others.

Magnesium
An essential mineral. The chief function of magnesium is to activate certain enzymes, especially those related to carbohydrate metabolism. Another role is to maintain the electrical potential across nerve and muscle membranes. It is essential for proper heartbeat and nerve transmission. Magnesium controls many cellular functions. It is involved in protein formation, DNA production and function and in the storage and release of energy in ATP. Magnesium is closely related to calcium and phosphorus in body function. The average adult body contains approximately one ounce of magnesium. It is the fifth mineral in abundance within the body--behind calcium, phosphorus, potassium and sodium. Although about 70 percent of the body's magnesium is contained in the teeth and bones, its most important functions are carried out by the remainder which is present in the cells of the soft tissues and in the fluid surrounding those cells.

Microliter (uL)
0.000001 or one millionth of a liter.

Milligram (mg, Milligrams)
0.001 or a thousandth of a gram.

Mineral (Minerals)
Plays a vital role in regulating many body functions. They act as catalysts in nerve response, muscle contraction and the metabolism of nutrients in foods. They regulate electrolyte balance and hormonal production, and they strengthen skeletal structures.

Nausea
Symptoms resulting from an inclination to vomit.




Last updated: Oct 08, 2008


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