If you take too much magnesium, you could suffer from lethargy, muscle weakness, irregular heartbeat, urine retention, nausea and vomiting. If there are underlying health issues with your heart, kidneys or other organs, a magnesium overdose could have severe consequences, and may even lead to death in extreme cases.

It’s particularly important to pay attention if you’re taking milk of magnesia, antacids or other over-the-counter medications that have strong doses of magnesium as part of their chemistry. It’s easy to exceed your recommended daily dosage if you’re not aware of how much you’re ingesting.

FIBER IS A SOURCE

Fiber is one of the biggest sources of magnesium. Foods that contain high levels of it include vegetables like squash, green, leafy vegetables, broccoli, legumes, whole grains, nuts (almonds are super-magnesium carriers) and seeds. Meats, dairy, chocolate and coffee also contain doses of magnesium, and even water with a high mineral content (sometimes referred to as “hard water”) contains it.

As might be expected when green leafy vegetables are in play, magnesium helps regulate bowel movements. It can also help with acid indigestion.

All good, right? But some athletes take magnesium to increase endurance and energy. And when they take too much of it, they may experience the classic symptoms of magnesium overdose, which include diarrhea, nausea, loss of appetite, difficulty breathing, muscle weakness, low blood pressure and irregular heartbeat. As magnesium can help regulate the body, it also can stress your chemistry if too much is ingested. And again, if there are underlying conditions with the heart, kidney or other organs, a magnesium overdose of may have dire consequences.