Magnesium is an essential dietary mineral -- every single one of your internal organs is dependent on it for various reasons. Half of the magnesium in your body is located in your bones. Most of the rest is in your cells and 1 percent of it circulates in your blood. Magnesium is necessary for muscle and nerve function, immunity, heart rhythm regularity, blood pressure normalization and the regulation of the level of sugar in your blood. It's crucial that you get enough magnesium in your diet, but even when you do, some factors can prevent your body from absorbing and utilizing it.
Gastrointestinal Disorders
Crohn's disease is an example of a type of gastrointestinal disorder that can hamper your ability to absorb nutrients such as magnesium. When you have Crohn's disease, your gastrointestinal tract becomes inflamed. Though any part of your GI tract can be involved, it most commonly affects the ileum, a part of your small intestine that is crucial to nutrient absorption. Crohn's disease also inhibits appetite, which may further compound your magnesium deficit. Other gastrointestinal disorders, such as celiac disease and intestinal inflammation due to radiation, can also cause magnesium levels to decline.
Zinc
Zinc is another essential mineral, and zinc deficiencies are an important public health issue in many developing nations, according to the Linus Pauling Institute. But taking too much zinc may impair your ability to absorb enough magnesium. Zinc dosages of 142 mg per day -- over ten times the recommended dietary amount -- have been associated with decreased magnesium absorption.
Protein
The amount of magnesium you absorb may be directly linked to the amount of protein you eat. Scientific evidence has indicated that higher protein intake leads to increased magnesium absorption -- at least in adolescent boys. A study cited by the Linus Pauling Institute found that adolescent boys who ate 93 g of protein daily, rather than the average 43 g, had greater rates of magnesium absorption, while those who ate less than 30 g per day absorbed lower-than-normal amounts of magnesium.
Age
As you age, your body functions less efficiently, even in terms of its ability to absorb nutrients. Magnesium is no exception to this rule. As you get older your body absorbs less magnesium from the foods you eat, and excretes more magnesium when you urinate. The Office of Dietary Supplements states that the recommended dietary allowance increases once we pass the age of 30, from 310 mg daily for a woman between the age of 19 and 30, to 320 mg daily for women older than 30.
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