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Healthy Diet Plans >>  Dietary Supplements >>  Manganese

Manganese supplements


Manganese is needed only in trace amounts, but it plays a very important role in the human body. Manganese helps your body absorb key nutrients like thiamin, ascorbic acid and biotin. It also helps your body synthesize fatty acid and cholesterol. This mineral makes your thyroid gland function normally while maintaining your nerves' health. Manganese also keeps your bones strong and protects your body from free radicals' damage.

Manganese can also be had in supplement form if there is a deficiency.

The symptoms of deficiency include loss of hair color, high uncontrolled blood sugar, nausea, vomiting, low cholesterol levels, dizzy spells, inability to reproduce and skin rash. The dosage can vary depending on the deficiency and it is important that you confirm the deficiency before taking manganese supplements. The dosage, if you are taking manganese chloride is about 90 mg daily, while no more than 50 mg if you are taking pure manganese. You will find naturally occurring manganese in ingredients like nuts, seeds, whole grains, legumes, and pineapple, chard, kale, mustard and collard greens.

Manganese Supplement And Health


Manganese is needed for everyday growth and therefore supplementary nutrition can be sought if you have a deficiency. Manganese deficiency tends to be quite rare. You can also increase your consumption of items which have naturally occurring manganese. Eating it in the naturally occurring form will make it easier for the body to absorb it. Manganese supplements have the same health benefits as consuming manganese foods. This deficiency, however, is quite rare and often the manganese is administered by a health professional. These supplements are not quite like the multi-vitamins and should not be had just because you think you might be deficient.

Manganese has also been used to sometimes stop progression of degenerative diseases. It has been used for osteoporosis, for sarcoidosis, for a particular kind of anemia. Sarcoidosis is an autoimmune disease which has shown limited progress with the use of manganese supplements. This alternative treatment of sarcoidosis concentrates on increasing the patient's mineral intake. This is believed to slow the progress of the sarcoidosis. As there isn't much scientific proof on this study, doctors do not readily prescribe manganese supplements as a cure to anything. Manganese also helps manage the premenstrual symptoms more effectively.

Manganese Supplement Side Effects


Manganese supplements, like most supplements, need to be taken only if actually needed. If you take supplements your body does not need, it might cause side effects you won't be prepared for. Manganese supplements can have adverse effects on health. When you take these supplements, you need to take them on an empty stomach.  You should not combine these supplements with any other minerals like calcium, iron, zinc or copper. Though you might hear warnings of magnesium toxicity, this toxicity happens when the environmental composition and exposure levels change. Toxicity from dietary supplements is not heard of.

People who suffer from chronic liver problems should avoid additional manganese as the body has a tough time processing and absorbing it. Excess manganese in such patients can leads to serious complications like involuntary shaking or even psychosis.  People who are anemic tend to absorb more manganese so these patients always run the risk of suffering from manganese toxicity without realizing it.

There are no contraindications of manganese supplements; however, women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should not consume manganese supplements. If they have to, they can consume less than 9 mg a day and no more, if needed, than 11 mg in a day.  Most antibiotics can react with manganese so you need to be aware. Additionally, many multi-vitamin supplements also contain manganese so watch out for that.

Submitted on January 16, 2014