Magnesium is an essential macromineral that is known to possess a number of functions in humans nutrition. Magnesium is best known perhaps for its role as a cofactor in the ATP molecule where it acts to stabilise its structure. This role as a cofactor in the ATP molecule means that magnesium is integral to cellular work capacity. Magnesium also makes up a large amount of the bone tissue, where it forms both part of the crystal lattice and also the surface structure. Magnesium bound to phospholipids may also help with membrane stabilisation, particularly in muscle cells. The role of magnesium in the maintenance of the cardiovascular system has been slow to become accepted, despite strong evidence within the nutritional literature that dates back many decades. A number of well designed human clinical trials, in combination with epidemiological and animal data suggest that a large part of the mortality associated with cardiovascular disease may be caused by insufficient magnesium intakes.
The association between magnesium intakes and mortality from cardiovascular disease has been investigated in the nutritional literature. In one study1, researchers analysed the diets of 7216 men and women aged between 55 and 80 years. These subjects had been part of a clinical trial to assess the effects of the Mediterranean diet on health. In this study some subjects consumed a traditional Mediterranean diet supplemented with additional nuts and olive oil, whereas other consumed a low-fat control diet. Mortality statistics for the subjects were obtained from their medical records and the magnesium intake was calculated from food data tables. The results of the investigation showed that following the 4.8 year follow-up period, magnesium intake was inversely associated with mortality from cardiovascular disease, mortality from cancer, as well as all cause mortality. Compared to the lowest magnesium intakes, those subjects with the highest intakes had a 34 % reduced risk of mortality.
The subjects in the study were selected because they were at high risk of cardiovascular disease. Such individuals were likely to be eating a low quality diet that has caused significant metabolic disruption to their physiology. However, it could be argued that such a subgroup makes up a large proportion of the population in Western nations. Therefore the benefits of magnesium are likely to be wide reaching amongst those with such low quality, magnesium deficient diets. Of course as with all associations it is difficult to attribute cause an effect in this relationship. Magnesium could be a marker for a high quality diet which contains other factors that are cardioprotective. However, clinical trials and animals studies show that magnesium supplements are cardioprotective and mechanisms by which this effect could manifest are known. For example, magnesium ions are able to cause dilation of blood vessels through its antagonistic actions on calcium ions, and this may prevent the risk of a heart attack significantly.
Dr Robert Barrington’s Nutritional Recommendation: Sources of magnesium include green leafy vegetables and whole grains. These are the types of food that are absent from the Western diet. The low intakes of magnesium rich foods in the Western diet may go someway to explaining the high risk of developing cardiovascular disease for individuals consuming such a diet. Adding supplemental magnesium is a good strategy to increase magnesium intake, and cheap magnesium oxide is well absorbed. However, a proper ratio between calcium and magnesium (around 2:1) must be maintained for optimal health if supplements are taken. Obviously the best way to obtain magnesium is through consumption of a high quality plant based diet containing foods rich in magnesium.
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