In the world today, extremely simple problems such as fever or common cold can lead to terrible conditions in the future. It is important to understand that treating these symptoms is never enough most of the time and there has to be the treatment of the underlying solution in order to completely get rid of the problem. When these problems do occur, it is absolutely required to be able to understand the underlying cause, what it can lead to, how to diagnose and further how to treat it. In the absence of this knowledge, the symptoms could very easily go unnoticed and untreated and this would lead to further development of disease which would be very severe to even treat in the later stages. Hence, trying to understand the situation causing the symptoms is important. Magnesium deficiency is one such condition that usually leads to simple, regular symptoms.

The problem of magnesium deficiency is usually caused because the absorption of magnesium in the gut has drastically increased or because the excretion of magnesium through urine has significantly increased. Hypomagnesia, also referred as the condition of magnesium, is usually caused because of consuming very low amounts of magnesium over a long period of time, significant loss of magnesium from the body or the presence of some kind of toxic condition in the body leading to this deficiency.

The risk of developing the condition of magnesium deficiency in increased by different types of gastrointestinal diseases, type 2 diabetes, advanced age, usage of a kind of diuretics called loop diuretics, alcohol dependence and chemotherapy treatment in certain cases.

In order to diagnose this condition, a doctor might go through the patient’s medical history, check the symptoms through a physical exam and also prescribe a blood test. The blood magnesium level is not capable of identifying the amount of magnesium present in the bones and the tissues of muscles. However, it can be useful to give the doctor a fair idea of how the condition within the body is, in regards to the magnesium level. The normal blood magnesium level usually falls in between 1.8 and 2.2 mg/dL. When the blood magnesium level falls below the standard of 1.8mg/dL, the levels are considered to be low. When the levels fall below 1.25mg/dL, the condition is termed severe hypomagnesia.

The treatment for this condition is usually done by the intake of different types of oral magnesium supplements. One other way is to simply increase the intake of magnesium through dietary supplements. Some examples of foods which are absolutely rich in magnesium are peanuts, almonds, cashews, spinach, black beans, soymilk, banana, whole wheat bread, salmon, halibut, avocado, and whole grain cereal. About 2% of the population in the country observes deficiency in magnesium. About 70% to 80% of the people over the age of 70 do not meet their daily magnesium requirements. These statistics suggested that more care has to be taken to implement a much better-balanced diet.