Magnesium deficiney tends to show up as everyday complaints. Little annoying things that most people will take a pain killer for, or remind themselves to drink more water, eat more fibre, etc. and then immediately put out of their mind. After all, headaches, tiredness and an uncomfortable stomach are practically the hallmarks of a modern life, right? Actually, no. Almost everyone shows signs of magnesium deficiency, we just don’t realise it.

Reasons for Mineral Deficiency 

Diet

The most common reason for magnesium deficiency is due to a  nutrient-poor diet and high stress levels.

Refined/processed foods are stripped of their vitamin, mineral and fibre content. They are referred to as anti-nutrient foods because they actually steal magnesium from our bodies in order to be metabolised. 

It should be noted that athletes and people who participate in regular physical activity require additional magnesium to replenish what is lost through sweating and high demand on muscles for contraction and growth.

Processed Foods

The way our foods are processed has created a massive magnesium problem.

– Refined oils remove all traces of magnesium. Safflower seeds, for example, contain 680 mg of magnesium per 1,000 calories. However, safflower oil lacks magnesium entirely! 

– Refined grains remove 80-97% of magnesium.  At least twenty nutrients are removed when refining flour. And only five are put back in when refined flours are ‘enriched’. As you might have guessed, magnesium is not one of them.

– Refined sugar removes all magnesium. Molasses, which is removed from the sugar cane in refinement, contains up to 25% of the RDA for magnesium in one tablespoon. Sugar has exactly none.

Reduced Soil Magnesium

Unfortunately, processed foods are not the only foods which are devoid of magnesium. Due to the pesticides which are sprayed on all conventionally grown plants and worldwide pollution, magnesium has been depleted from our soil, thus reducing dietary intake overall.

Since 1950, there have been intensive efforts to breed new varieties of fruit and vegetables that have greater yield, or resistance to pests, or adaptability to different climates. But the dominant effort is for higher yields. Emerging evidence suggests that when you select for yield, crops grow bigger and faster, but they don’t necessarily have the ability to make or uptake nutrients at the same rate.

These declines are not limited to vegetable crops. A study by David Thomas published in ‘Nutrition and Health’ examined the average nutritional content of foods across food categories using the UK government’s Composition of Food tables.

Thomas found consistent declines in magnesium across the board:

– Vegetables declined by 24% between 1940 and 1991.

– Fruit declined by 17%

– Meat declined by 15%

– Cheeses declined by 26%

Increased Sugar Intake

Studies demonstrate that we are consuming more sugar than ever before, and for each molecule of sugar we eat, our bodies require 54 molecules of magnesium to process it. Plus, as mentioned, sugar no longer contains magnesium post-processing.

Increased Exposure to Toxins

Increased exposure to drugs and chemicals strip our levels of magnesium as well. Magnesium is depleted by several pharmaceutical drugs and estrogen compounds, including oral contraceptives, antibiotics, steroid medications and blood pressure medication. The diuretic effects of caffeine in tea and coffee also increase excretion levels.

Stress

Given our busy lives, stress plays a tremendous factor in our reduced magnesium levels. Stress hormone production requires elevated levels of magnesium and stressful experiences deplete magnesium stores. Any type of stress increases usage of nutrients in the body – whether it is a ‘good’ stress, or an unpleasant stress. When we are under stress, our nervous system switches on the fight or flight response (called the sympathetic nervous system response), a surge of hormones are triggered, and magnesium is needed to build these hormones.

Form of Magnesium and Bio-Availability

Stomach acid is necessary to help absorb magnesium in the stomach. Long term use of antacids, proton pump inhibitors, and other acid-blocking medications can decrease overall stomach acid production and perpetuate poor magnesium absorption.

Then there are a huge range of forms of magnesium which have different levels of bio-availability – meaning its ability to cross through the gut wall and into your bloodstream for your cells to access it.

Some forms of magnesium can absorb through the skin – transdermally – and others don’t absorb and are used for digestive cleansing such as treating constipation. Using the wrong form of magnesium the wrong way (unfortunately a very common occurrence) can also have a big impact on how much magnesium is actually making it into your system.