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Dietary Magnesium associated with reduced risk of heart disease, stroke and type-2 diabetes mellitus

A diet rich in Magnesium may reduce the risk of diseases including heart disease ( heart failure ), stroke and type-2 diabetes mellitus according to a new meta-analysis published in the open access journal BMC Medicine.
This analysis of the evidence on dietary Magnesium and health outcomes is the largest to date, involving data from more than one million people across nine countries.

The researchers, from Zhejiang University and Zhengzhou University in China, found that people in the highest category of dietary Magnesium consumption had a 10% lower risk of heart disease, 12% lower risk of stroke and a 26% lower risk of type-2 diabetes mellitus compared to those in the lowest category.
The results have also indicated that an extra 100mg per day of dietary Magnesium could also reduce risk of stroke by 7% and type-2 diabetes by 19%.

Low levels of Magnesium in the body have been associated with a range of diseases but no conclusive evidence has been put forward on the link between dietary Magnesium and health risks.
The meta-analysis provides the most up-to-date evidence supporting a link between the role of Magnesium in food and reducing the risk of disease.

The current health guidelines recommend a Magnesium intake of around 300mg per day for men and 270mg per day for women. Despite this, Magnesium deficiency is relatively common, affecting between 2.5% and 15% of the general population.


In this analysis, data from 40 epidemiological studies covering a period from 1999 to 2016 were used to investigate associations between dietary Magnesium and various diseases.
In all the studies, levels of dietary Magnesium were determined using a self-reported food frequency questionnaire or a 24-hour dietary recall.
As the levels of Magnesium used to define categories varied widely between the studies, the researchers performed a dose-response analysis for the effect of each 100mg per day increase of dietary Magnesium.

It is also not possible to determine if Magnesium is directly responsible for reducing disease risk.
According to researchers, increased consumption of Magnesium rich foods could be beneficial for overall health. ( Xagena )

Source: BMC Medicine, 2016