Many factors can drive up an individual’s demand for magnesium. Disease, medications, stress and dietary factors can deplete magnesium, including:
- Acetaminophen toxicity
- Alcohol
- Aluminium (environmental, including from antiperspirants, and dietary)
- Aldosteronism
- Ageing (hypochlorhydria, ie, decreased acid in the stomach).
- Antacids (including ranitidine and famotidine)
- Bariatric surgery (small intestinal bypass surgery)
- Calcium supplements (or a high calcium to magnesium diet).
- Caffeine
- Cancer
- Coeliac disease
- Colon removal
- Chronic stress (overactivation of the sympathetic nervous system)
- Cisplatin
- Crohn’s disease
- Ciclosporin
- Type 1 and type 2 diabetes (uncontrolled glucose levels)
- Diarrhea
- Diet high in fat or sugar
- Digoxin
- Diuretics —non-potassium-sparing diuretics (thiazide and loop diuretics)
- Excessive ingestion of poorly absorbable magnesium (such as magnesium oxide)
- Enzymatic dysfunction (impaired magnesium distribution)
- Estrogen therapy (shifts magnesium to soft and hard tissues lowering serum levels)
- Excessive or prolonged lactation
- Excessive menstruation
- Fasting (or low magnesium intake)
- Foscarnet
- Gentamicin and tobramycin
- Hyperparathyroidism and hypoparathyroidism
- Hyperthyroidism
- Kidney diseases (glomerulonephritis, pyelonephritis, hydronephrosis, nephrosclerosis and renal tubular acidosis).
- Heart failure
- Haemodialysis
- High phosphorus in the diet (soda, inorganic phosphates contained in many inactive ingredients in processed foods)
- Hyperinsulinaemia (and insulin therapy)
- Insulin resistance (intracellular magnesium depletion)
- Laxatives
- Low salt intake
- Low selenium intake
- Gastrointestinal disorders—malabsorption syndromes (coeliac disease, non-tropical sprue, bowel resection, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, steatorrhoea), prolonged diarrhoea or vomiting.
- Liver disease (acute or chronic liver disease, including cirrhosis).
- Metabolic acidosis (latent or clinical)
- Pancreatitis (acute and chronic).
- Parathyroidectomy
- Pentamide
- Peritoneal dialysis
- Porphyria with inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone
- Pregnancy
- Proton pump inhibitors
- Strenuous exercise
- Tacrolimus
- Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) deficiency
- Vitamin D excess or deficiency (chronic kidney disease and liver disease can prevent the activation of vitamin D)
Source
DiNicolantonio, j et al. Subclinical magnesium deficiency: a principal driver of cardiovascular disease and a public health crisis. Open Heart. Jan 13, 2018. Accessed at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5786912/
