Causes of Magnesium Deficiency

Despite the importance of magnesium to human health and wellness, 60% of people do not meet the recommended DI of 320 mg/day for woman and 420 mg/day for men, with 19% not obtaining even half of the recommended amount. Magnesium dietary deficiency can be attributed not just to poor mineral intake due to modern diets, but historical farming practices may play a significant role as well. The highest food sources of magnesium are leafy greens (78 mg/serving), nuts (80 mg/serving), and whole grains (46 mg/serving), none of which individually have a high percentage of the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of magnesium or are eaten consistently or sufficiently for adequate magnesium intake. Increasing demand for food has caused modern farming techniques to impact the soil’s ability to restore natural minerals such as magnesium. In addition, the use of phosphate-based fertilizers has resulted in the production of aqueously insoluble magnesium phosphate complexes, for example, further depriving the soil of both components.

Many fruits and vegetables have lost large amounts of minerals and nutrients in the past 100 years with estimates that vegetables have dropped magnesium levels by 80–90% in the U.S. and the UK. It is important to note that the USDA mineral content of vegetables and fruits has not been updated since 2000, and perhaps even longer, given that the data for 1992 was not able to be definitively confirmed for this review. The veracity of the mineral content to support the claim of demineralization of our food sources should be verified, particularly since farming methods and nutrient fertilization has undoubtedly advanced in the last 50 years. Hence, there is a clear need for a new initiative to study the current mineral content in vegetables and fruits grown in selective markets to get a current and validated assessment of the mineral and nutrient value of commonly consumed fruit and vegetable staples.

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