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by singularity2001 796 days ago
do processed food deplete magnesium or do they just lack it?
3 comments

It’s not clear to me which foods you would need to “only eat” to not have enough magnesium. Meat, vegetables, and grains all contain magnesium. I wonder if you process meat into (for example) hot dogs, you are eating meat mixed with grains, so the grain content might decrease the total magnesium.

Perhaps a high calorie diet (soft drinks, potato chips, etc…) would lead someone to eat less “real food” (meat, vegetables, and grains), and thus overall magnesium would be less.

But still, I don’t know what one would have to focus on eating to avoid magnesium.

I don't know but I could imagine the extra oxidative stress and inflammation etc. might mean your body would need more of certain minerals than it otherwise would? Just speculating, not a doctor/nutritionist/biologist.

Edit: Processed food definitely lacks magnesium to be clear, but it's interesting to think about how it might even be more costly than it appears.

Magnesium is often in the brown/full grain parts of the food, which is removed in most processing. I don't think it depletes it just lacks it.
So if someone lives off white bread and pasta with little to no meant/veg, that could possibly deplete magnesium.

Is that true, there is more magnesium in the husk?

Unfortunately a lot of brown grain food is mostly just dyed brown :/

The food industry is evil.