How do diets excessively high in saturated fat and high protein separately affect magnesium status?
A diet very high in saturated fat reduces the intestine's capacity to absorb magnesium, whereas excessively high protein intake leads to increased urinary excretion of magnesium.
The influence of dietary macronutrients on magnesium handling is distinct. When the diet contains very high levels of saturated fat, it negatively impacts the environment and mechanics within the intestine, thereby reducing the overall efficiency of magnesium absorption across the gut lining. Conversely, when protein intake is excessively high, the body mobilizes and excretes more magnesium through the urine as a byproduct of processing the surplus protein load. Thus, high fat negatively affects the input phase (absorption), while high protein negatively affects the output phase (excretion).
