Magnesium is a mineral, very important for body sometimes not understood properly. Magnesium is essential fornearly 300 biochemical reactions in human body, right from energy production and storage, muscle contraction to maintenance of blood glucose. It  is an important  nutrient, for people do  regular exercise, work out and  for sports persons. Magnesium is very important for cardiac functioning. Some times muscle weakness or cramp are due to low level of magnesium in body. Symptoms and conditions such as Depression, Headache, Fatigue, Insomnia  Dizziness, Irritability etc could be due to imbalance of magnesium in body

Many digestive disorders, mal absorption problems, Diabetes, Deficiency of vitamin D , too much of coffee intake ,alcohol intake could lead to low level of magnesium in body.

Source of magnesium are green vegetables, many grains and millets are good sources of magnesium.The RDA of magnesium is nearly 400mg but our average intake is 50% of this 

Cooking reduces the magnesium levels in food. Dependence of junk foods, bakery foods and over consumption of carbonated soft drinks and alcohol leads to magnesium deficiency   A proper diet plan and general awareness  about  balanced diet can  help one to plan the intake of essential vitamins, minerals, fatty acids and micronutrients

With the reasons mentioned above there is deficiency of magnesium in the Indian population and this will precipitate as symptoms discussed in this article.

It is always better to include food rich in  magnesium in diet as part of our diet plan . But deficiency beyond a limit  if found, could be due to some underlying health problems which need to be diagnosed and  treated

BINIYA BABY MSc(Nutrition).Dietitian Wellness diet