Magnesium is decreased by drinking too much coffee. Though you only need about half a gram of magnesium per day, coffee can hinder its absorption in your intestine. Also, coffee being a diuretic makes you lose magnesium via urination.
Magnesium is an important nutrient for your body. Though your per day requirement is just half a gram, it is still required for running your body functions.
Magnesium performs major roles in your nervous system and muscular functions. It helps in produces energy and producing protein. It also boosts your immune system, stabilizes your heartbeat, and keeps your bones strong.
Do you think your daily chockers are affecting this essential nutrient in your body? You’re right! It does deplete magnesium in your body.
So, what should you do? As I gathered information on this, you can find it in this article.
Keep on reading to know more.
How Does Coffee Affect Magnesium?
Coffee affects magnesium in two ways. It gradually stops your intestine from absorbing magnesium leading to a low absorption rate. And coffee can make you lose magnesium by urination due to its diuretic properties.
Coffee is an essential part of many people’s morning rituals. But this caffeine fix can affect your magnesium levels. Though coffee directly does not affect the already absorbed magnesium it hinders the new absorption.
Since coffee is an irritant to your digestive tract, it can irritate your intestines. Here is where magnesium is absorbed. The caffeine from the coffee stops your intestines from digesting magnesium.
But keep in mind that this does not happen immediately. This is a relatively slow process. The more coffee you drink, the more absorption will be hindered. Therefore, they’re limits set for your daily caffeine consumption.
Also, there are many caffeinated drinks other than coffee which an average adult drinks daily. They can be sodas and energy drinks.
Below is the chart for your understanding of various drinks with caffeine.
| Name of Beverage | Amount of Serving | Caffeine Levels In mg |
| Monster | 12 oz can | 160 mg |
| Red Bull | 12 oz can | 102 mg |
| Black Coffee | 8 oz cup | 163 mg |
| Black Tea | 8 oz cup | 47 mg |
| Regular Coke | 12 oz can | 34 mg |
Coffee being a diuretic makes your kidneys produce more urine than normal (read here to know more about coffee as a diuretic). And in the secretion of urine, decreases your sodium and magnesium.
This shouldn’t be a problem if you consume coffee in moderation. But if you are a heavy coffee drinker, then it can affect your magnesium levels drastically.
Does Decaf Coffee Deplete Magnesium?
Decaffeinated coffee does contain caffeine but it’s less than 5 percent in total. This reduced caffeine can help you maintain magnesium levels in your body. Plus, decaffeinated coffee also contains about 2 percent of magnesium.
Coffee is mostly enjoyed because of its caffeine. The caffeine from the coffee gives a jolt of energy in the morning. It wakes you up instantly and makes you feel less tired. This is required by people who have a lot of tasks on hand or just need a midday break.
Decaffeinated coffee contains less than 5 percent of total caffeine. Though the caffeine levels are lowered, the nutritional value when compared with regular coffee is almost the same.
Regular coffee beans are a great source of antioxidants and so are decaffeinated coffee beans. Plus, decaf also has magnesium in it.
Super cool, right? So instead of depleting magnesium by drinking coffee, why not drink decaf coffee, if caffeine is not what you’re in for?
Here’s a video to watch, that explains some more benefits of drinking decaffeinated coffee.
What Vitamins Are Depleted By Caffeine?
Foods or beverages that contain caffeine contribute to depleting vitamins and minerals from the body. Vitamins like Vitamin C, Biotin, and Thiamin-B1 vitamin.
Whether it’s tea or coffee, or chocolate, or any kind of energy drink or soda, if it contains caffeine it will lead to nutrient depletion.
Along with solid foods and fluids, your body requires vitamins and minerals to operate and function properly. These are called micronutrients and are required in small yet regular quantities.
These vitamins are present naturally on the earth in plants and animals that we eat. The human body cannot produce these itself therefore we need to consume them on a regular basis.
Our digestive system absorbs these necessary vitamins and minerals and maintains a good, healthy body. There are two types of vitamins, one is water-soluble and the other one is fat-soluble.
The water-soluble vitamins get easily digested by our body. Whereas, bile is needed to digest fat-soluble vitamins. The extra water-soluble vitamins get flushed out through your kidneys.
But the fat-soluble ones get stored in your body and your body uses them when needed. Since caffeine makes you take a leak more than usual, more water-soluble vitamins get lost creating a deficiency.
These vitamins include:
- Vitamin C
- Biotin
- Thiamin-B1 vitamin
- Riboflavin-B2 vitamin
- Niacin-B3 vitamin
- Pantothenic acid-B5 vitamin
- Pyridoxine-B6 vitamin
- Folic acid-B9 vitamin
- Cobalamin-B12 vitamin
Fat-soluble vitamins include:
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin E
- Vitamin K
Also, caffeine is known to burn fats. This is why black coffee is consumed by people who are looking to shed some extra pounds. Therefore, these already stored fat-soluble vitamins can get lost when caffeine metabolizes the fatty acids in your body.
This is quite common among people who are doing the Keto diet. In addition to vitamins, there are other trace minerals as well that get depleted and are essential to be retained.
These include iron, manganese, fluoride, copper, and iodine, etc. You need to maintain a healthy diet in order to retain vitamins and minerals in your body.
Though overdosing on vitamins is very unlikely to happen, but before choosing any multi-vitamin supplement consult your doctor. Also, consume whole foods rich in vitamins to ensure the best benefits. You can eat, fish, eggs, milk, oranges, strawberries, spinach, broccoli, beans, and legumes to name a few.
Does Coffee Interfere With Magnesium Absorption?
Coffee does not directly affect magnesium in your body. But it halts the further absorption of magnesium gradually in your intestines. The more coffee you consume, the less your magnesium absorption rate gets.
Coffee is known to give numerous amounts of health benefits to us. It is one of the largest supplies of antioxidants in the western diet due to the amount of population that consumes it every day.
But since the caffeine in the coffee is very potent, there are limits set for its daily consumption. Coffee consumed in moderation does not cause harm, but if advised limits are crossed, it can do some major health damages to your body.
Excessive caffeine from the coffee can cause intestine disfunction. It can easily agitate your digestion and gradually make the magnesium absorption ability of your body weaken.
Though this happens gradually, it can cause major health risks. Magnesium is needed by the bones to retain calcium. And the absence of magnesium can weaken your bones, making them more vulnerable to fractures and lowering the overall bone density.
Major diseases like osteoporosis, diabetes, high blood pressure, and coronary heart diseases can occur if your magnesium levels are drastically low. To keep them balanced you do not have to stop drinking coffee. But instead, drink coffee in small amounts.
So, drinking coffee moderately is the way to go. Do not overdose on coffee and make your body suffer immensely. Plus, keep a track record of how much caffeine you have consumed in the day, as coffee is not the only source of caffeine.
Cut down on sodas and energy drinks to reap the great benefits that coffee in moderation has to offer. You can also opt for decaffeinated coffee if you cannot commit immediately to lowering down your coffee intake.
Final Verdict
Who isn’t familiar with coffee on this planet? Its health benefits are also widely known in this day and age. Everybody drinks it almost every day for various purposes.
But a heavy dose of coffee can lead to magnesium depletion.
Magnesium is needed by your body for various reasons. It is one of the vital nutrients needed to keep your bones strong too. But excessive caffeine and coffee’s diuretic properties can make you lose it gradually.
On the other hand, drinking decaffeinated coffee is a great option to prevent magnesium loss.
The low caffeine in decaf coffee will not lower your magnesium levels and you will not have to give up drinking coffee Also, as an added bonus, decaf coffee also contains magnesium, so it’s a win-win situation!