Home Up Diarrhoea2

 

Do you have Persistent Diarrhoea leading to fatigue?

If you do, you may have a deficiency in MAGNESIUM and POTASSIUM

We're talking here about diarrhoea after a stomach upset. If you have persistent diarrhoea for this or any unknown causes you should refer the problem to your doctor.

Our bodies can also lose large amounts of magnesium through the kidneys. People who take diuretics or drink too much alcohol and caffeine, which increase urine excretion, are exposed to potential magnesium deficiency. Diabetics who have to use insulin also tend to excrete more magnesium via the kidneys and are at risk of magnesium deficiency.

Any condition that increases magnesium loss through the kidneys or bowels, such as prolonged bouts of diarrhoea, kidney disease, and epilepsy, can cause magnesium deficiency.

Symptoms of magnesium deficiency

Magnesium plays an important role in health, disease prevention, and possibly in boosting athletic performance. Because South Africa has many regions where the magnesium content of the soil and drinking water is very low, experts believe there are many people in that country who either suffer from a sub-clinical, or an outright magnesium deficiency.

Functions in the human body
Magnesium is another one of those co-factors (like copper), which help enzymes in the human body function properly.

In particular magnesium helps to activate enzymes that split and transfer phosphate groups which are involved in the production of a substance called ATP (adenine triphosphate). ATP is one of the most important compounds in the body’s energy arsenal and a lack of magnesium can lead to inefficient energy production. This is probably why athletes can benefit from increasing their magnesium intake.

New research suggests that the real culprit in causing high blood pressure, is a diet low in calcium, potassium and magnesium intake, not in the level of salt you take. 

Potassium

Patients with diarrhoea often develop potassium depletion owing to large faecal losses of this element. These losses are greatest in infants and can be especially dangerous in malnourished children, who are frequently potassium-deficient before diarrhoea starts. More serious symptoms of potassium losses are:

general muscular weakness;
cardiac arrhythmias;
paralytic ileus, especially when drugs such as opiates are also taken.
 

 

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