7 Signs Your Children Need Magnesium Supplements

Magnesium is one of the most abundant minerals in your body, and for good reason. It’s involved in more than 600 essential physiological reactions. This compound is responsible for converting food to fuel your energy, creating new proteins, as well as producing and repairing deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid RNA. Magnesium also regulates the nervous system, as well as your muscle movements.

Poor diet, stress, and vigorous physical activities are the major culprits in magnesium deficiency. RnA ReSet states that nearly 50% of all Americans aren’t meeting their daily magnesium needs. Children, being prone to high-level physical activities and stress, and not immune to stress, suffer from magnesium depletion, too. This often results in the unusual behaviors.

Check your child for the following symptoms to know if they might need magnesium supplements:

1. 1. Anxiety and restlessness – Researchers believe that lack of magnesium may increase anxiety levels in adults. This condition may reflect in children, too. A potential explanation presumes that low magnesium levels may negatively impact the good bacteria in the gut, which, in turn, results in an unsettling feeling for adults and children alike. If your children can’t get enough magnesium in their daily diet, consider supplementing them with magnesium gummies for kids.
   2. Panic attacks – Magnesium is responsible for the regulation of the nervous system, and a deficiency will lead in panic attacks. As a nervous system regulator, magnesium can help sufferers feel calmer. Supplementing your children with magnesium becomes very helpful, especially when taking your kids when you travel.
   3. Muscle twitching or tension – With magnesium being a major mineral responsible for muscle contraction and relaxation, lack of it means may manifest as muscle spasms in the eyelids, muscle cramps, and, possibly, minor muscle pains. Apart from twitches, magnesium deficiency may also cause tics, and, in more severe cases, seizures and convulsions.
   4. Difficulty sleeping – If getting a restful sleep is a challenge for your children, increase their magnesium levels by feeding them with magnesium-rich foods, such as nuts, legumes, seeds, and milk, among others.
   5. Attention deficit and hyperactivity – Children with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder may have low magnesium levels, according to a study. The same research has shown that magnesium supplementation may help reduce hyperactivity and attention disorder in children. Hence, make sure that your children have their daily dose of this mineral daily to keep them still.
   6. Oversensitivity to noise – Misophonia is a sound sensitivity disorder, a neurological condition wherein a sufferer is unable to tolerate noises that otherwise other people don’t find offensive. According to PsychCentral, individuals suffering from this condition have been found to have an oversupply of a neurotransmitter called glutamate. Magnesium has shown to reduce glutamate levels, while alleviating stress, anxiety, and anger in misophonia sufferers.
   7. Muscular weakness and lethargy – Apart from muscle spasms, lack of magnesium is also said to cause muscle weakness, known for its medical term myasthenia. Scientists believe that magnesium deficiency leads to potassium loss in your muscle cells, which, in turn, leads to muscle weakness and, possibly, fatigue.

How Much Magnesium Do Your Children Need?

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the recommended daily magnesium intake for toddlers one to three years old is 80 milligrams (mg). Older children, or those aged four to eight years old, should take 130mg, while children nine to 13 years should have 240mg of magnesium daily.

But, because there’s no way to measure mineral intake in children, the best way to ensure they’re getting enough of it is to feed them regularly with magnesium-packed foods, such as

• • Avocados
  • Legumes
  • Tofu
  • Pumpkin seeds
  • Almonds
  • Spinach
  • Buckwheat
  • Cashews
  • Peanuts
  • Whole grains

Unfortunately, children may not diligently take these foods, so the next thing to do is to ask them to take magnesium supplements.

Magnesium from natural food sources rarely results in an overdose. Taking too much supplements, however, can be harmful to your body. The first signs of potential magnesium overdose are gastrointestinal problems that may include vomiting and diarrhea. Too much magnesium may also cause nausea and cramping. But, these cases are rare.

Benefits Of Magnesium

Being one of the most essential minerals in your body, adequate magnesium intake can benefit your body in many ways. Among the major perks of getting enough magnesium are:

• • Fewer asthma attacks
  • May ease depression
  • May help reduce blood pressure
  • May combat type 2 diabetes
  • Fights the body’s inflammatory processes
  • Enhances overall performance
  • May help prevent migraines
  • Helps maintain bone health
  • Promotes cardiovascular health
  • Alleviates premenstrual syndrome

Final Thoughts

Magnesium is critical in a majority of the body’s processes, and the lack of this mineral may cause you to function improperly, as discussed in this article.  To help you and your child avoid problems, such as muscle twitches and weakness, sleeplessness, anxiety, hyperactivity, as well as other nervous-system-related conditions that otherwise aren’t linked to other health issues, consume plenty of magnesium-rich foods or take magnesium supplements with a doctor’s supervision.