More causes of the low magnesium epidemic?

In my last blog article, I started to explore how every day food choices and medications were having an adverse impact on our magnesium levels.  I now want to take a look at what we drink and ageing.

1. Cola drinks

Most dark colored soft drinks contain phospates, which actually bind to magnesium inside the digestive tract making it unavailable to the body.

2. Caffinated drinks

The kidneys regulate the level of magnesium in our body.  Caffine found in tea and coffee caues the kidnesy to release extra magnesium.

3. Alcohol

Alcohol increased the excretion of magnesium by the kidneys.

4. Ageing

Finally if the list wasn’t long enough, we need to add one more thing that we can’t avoid, getting older.  The over 55’s are particularly vulnerable to low magnsium.  Magnesium metabolism may be less efficient as we grow older as changes to the GI tract and kidneys contribute to older adults aborbing less and retaining less magnsium.

References

Dean C. The Magnesium Miracle. New York: Ballantine Books; 2007.

Weiss GH, Sluss PM, Linke CA. Changes in urinary magnesium, citrate and oxalate levels due to cola consumption. Urology 1992;39:331-3

Brink E. J., Beynen A. C., Dekker P. R., Beresteijn E.C.H., Meer R. Interaction of calcium and phosphate decreases ileal magnesium solubility and apparent magnesium absorption. The Journal of Nutrition. 1992; 122:580-586

Seelig M, Rosanoff A. The Magnesium Factor. New York: Avery Books; 2003

Heaney RP, Rafferty K. Carbonated beverages and urinary calcium excretion. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2001; 74:343–347

Irwin R, Rippe J. Irwin and Rippe’s Intensive Care Medicine. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins; 2008

Bernstein A, Luggen AS. Nutrition for the Older Adult. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers; 2010.

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