Common substances — such as sugar and caffeine — deplete the body's magnesium levels.
For every molecule of sugar, you consume, it takes 54 molecules of magnesium for your body to process it!! It's the most common nutrient deficiency with an estimated 80-90% of the population having a magnesium deficiency.
Magnesium deficiency in healthy people is rare but it can be caused by: a poor diet (especially in elderly people or those who don't have enough to eat) type 2 diabetes. digestive problems such as Crohn's disease.
Phytates in the diet bind to magnesium and impair its absorption. However the quantities present in normal diet do not affect magnesium absorption. Other dietary factors that are thought to affect magnesium absorption are oxalate, phosphate, proteins, potassium and zinc.
You might have trouble absorbing magnesium from food if you drink too much alcohol, have kidney problems, take certain medicines, or have celiac disease or long-lasting digestive problems.
Our dietary habits also have an impact on magnesium intake. Sugar and caffeine consumption can deplete the body's magnesium levels, and a diet which is excessively high in protein, fats and carbs can interfere with magnesium absorption too.
Tips for improving magnesium absorption
reducing or avoiding calcium-rich foods two hours before or after eating magnesium-rich foods. avoiding high-dose zinc supplements. treating vitamin D deficiency. eating raw vegetables instead of cooking them.
Nutritionist Carolyn Dean points out that hypothermia isn't the only negative side affect of drinking too much water: “Clear urine may mean you're drinking too much water, and therefore, you're losing essential minerals like magnesium — lighter shades of yellow (rather than totally clear) tend to show that you're ...
Maintaining optimal levels of friendly bacteria can help to ensure magnesium gets absorbed and used efficiently within the body. Regular Epsom salt baths or foot baths are a good way to increase magnesium levels as the mineral is well absorbed into your body through your skin.
A diet rich in refined sugars and starches tends to deplete your body of vitamins in general but hits the B-complex vitamins especially hard.
We've discovered a number of mechanisms by which sugar can actually deplete (or reduce the absorption) of certain vitamins and minerals. As a result, eating too much sugar can induce deficiencies, even when our overall micronutrient intake appears to be adequate.
Avocados: One whole avocado = 58 mg of magnesium. Bananas: One medium banana = 32 mg of magnesium. Papaya: One small papaya = 33 mg of magnesium. Blackberries: 1 cup = 29 mg of magnesium.
Bananas may be best known for being rich in heart-healthy and bone-strengthening potassium, but a medium-size banana also provides 32 mg of magnesium, in addition to 10.3 mg of vitamin C (a good source) and 3 g (a good source) of fiber, according to the USDA.
Mg is essential in the metabolism of vitamin D, and taking large doses of vitamin D can induce severe depletion of Mg. Adequate magnesium supplementation should be considered as an important aspect of vitamin D therapy.
Chronic magnesium deficiency is often associated with normal serum magnesium despite deficiency in cells and in bone; the response to oral supplementation is slow and may take up to 40 weeks to reach a steady state.
Too much table salt depletes magnesium even more than calcium, she explained. The researchers' warning that high calcium levels in urine leads to kidney stones indicates magnesium deficiency as well, because “magnesium treats kidney stones and people who are deficient in magnesium develop kidney stones.”