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.
The use of chemicals, such as fluoride and chlorine, bind to magnesium, making the water supply low in the mineral, as well. Common substances — such as sugar and caffeine — deplete the body's magnesium levels.
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.
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.
Mg is essential in the metabolism of vitamin D, and taking large doses of vitamin D can induce severe depletion of Mg.
Tips for improving magnesium absorption
People wanting to increase their magnesium levels by improving absorption could try: reducing or avoiding calcium-rich foods two hours before or after eating magnesium-rich foods. avoiding high-dose zinc supplements. treating vitamin D deficiency.
Consider taking vitamin D.
Some studies suggest that increasing your vitamin D can help your body to absorb magnesium. You can eat vitamin D rich foods, like tuna, cheese, eggs, and fortified cereals.
Hypokalemia and Hyperkalemia
Magnesium depletion typically occurs after diuretic use, sustained alcohol consumption, or diabetic ketoacidosis.
Magnesium assists your body in regulating zinc levels, but high intakes of zinc can be detrimental to magnesium absorption – only abnormally high doses (around 142 mg of zinc per day) will reduce magnesium absorption.
Drinking Coffee – Drinking coffee lowers your calcium and magnesium levels. Many people can be dependent on drinking coffee, and that is understandable, seeing its wide range of benefits from keeping us awake, and raising our body's levels of antioxidants. However, caffeine also comes with a price.
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.”
It is a good idea to take a B-vitamin complex, or a multivitamin containing B vitamins, because the level of vitamin B6 in the body determines how much magnesium will be absorbed into the cells.
Higher intake — eating more magnesium-rich foods, using magnesium bath salts and magnesium oil, or taking oral magnesium supplements. Higher absorption of magnesium in the small intestines, in the case of oral and dietary magnesium.
The Risks of Too Much Vitamin D
According to Dean's research, high dose vitamin D actually depletes magnesium. That's why some people on magnesium supplements still have symptoms of deficiency.
Vitamin D can enhance intestinal absorption of magnesium, particularly in people with low magnesium levels. This allows the mineral to be more efficiently used by the body. In one human study, obese women given a vitamin D injection had a significant increase in their blood levels of magnesium.
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 ...
The milk components lactose and casein enhance the apparent absorption of magnesium and possibly also of calcium, whereas phytate, which occurs in soya-bean products, has an inhibitory effect.
You can test your magnesium levels by purchasing a simple at-home finger prick test kit which is then analysed at an accredited lab. Forth offers a number of blood tests which include magnesium such as our Nutri-check test and Menopause Health blood test.
One study shows that 68% of Americans are magnesium deficient (www.usda.gov). The role of magnesium is complex and its deficiency is implicated in a number of nonspecific neuropsychological changes such as agitation, fear, anxiety, depression, dizziness, poor attention, insomnia, and restlessness.
Fruit juices such as orange juice, cherry juice, and watermelon juice are all good sources of magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus. According to the FNDDS, the average school container (124 grams) of 100% orange juice provides : 13.6 mg of magnesium.