Magnesium plays an important role in the regulation of cellular processes.

What is Magnesium?

Magnesium is the fourth most abundant mineral in the body. It has been recognized as a cofactor for more than 300 enzymatic reactions, where it is crucial for adenosine triphosphate (ATP) metabolism.

Magnesium is required for DNA and RNA synthesis, reproduction, and protein synthesis. Moreover, Magnesium is essential for the regulation of muscular contraction, blood pressure, insulin metabolism, cardiac excitability, vasomotor tone, nerve transmission and neuromuscular conduction.

Imbalances in Magnesium status—primarily hypomagnesemia as it is seen more common than hypermagnesemia—might result in unwanted neuromuscular, cardiac or nervous disorders.

Based on Magnesium’s many functions within the human body, it plays an important role in prevention and treatment of many diseases.

Low levels of Magnesium have been associated with a number of chronic diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, insulin resistance and type-2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, cardiovascular disease (e.g., stroke), migraine headaches, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (1).

Why Magnesium deficiency?

Magnesium deficiency occurs when a sufficiency in food or water is not assumed.

Advanced age also plays its part.

Magnesium deficiency can lead to loss of appetite, nausea, fatigue, muscle cramps.

Deteriorating cognitive performance

Evidence suggests that the deteriorating cognitive performance associated with AD may be improved by supplementation with either Mg alone or with the combination of  three B vitamins (B6, B9, B12), or by drinking silicic acid-rich mineral water, or by undergoing plasma exchange. (2).

Depression

Magnesium seems to be effective in the treatment of depression but data are scarce and incongruous.

Disturbance in Magnesium metabolism might be related to depression. Oral Magnesium supplementation may prevent depression and might be used as an adjunctive therapy. However, more interventional and prospective studies are needed in order to further evaluate the benefits of Magnesium intake and supplementation for depression (3).

Hypertension and Cardiovascular Disease

Magnesium intake of 500 mg/d to 1000 mg/d may reduce blood pressure (BP) as much as 5.6/2.8 mm Hg.

The combination of increased intake of Magnesium and potassium coupled with reduced sodium intake is more effective in reducing BP than single mineral intake and is often as effective as one antihypertensive drug in treating hypertension. Reducing intracellular sodium and calcium while increasing intracellular Magnesium and potassium improves BP response.

Magnesium also increases the effectiveness of all antihypertensive drug classes. It remains to be conclusively proven that cardiovascular disease such as coronary heart disease, ischemic stroke, and cardiac arrhythmias can be prevented or treated with Magnesium intake. Preliminary evidence suggests that insulin sensitivity, hyperglycemia, diabetes mellitus, left ventricular hypertrophy, and dyslipidemia may be improved with increased Magnesium intake. Various genetic defects in Magnesium transport are associated with hypertension and possibly with cardiovascular disease. Oral Magnesium acts as a natural calcium channel blocker, increases nitric oxide, improves endothelial dysfunction, and induces direct and indirect vasodilation (4).

Cramps

The use of Magnesium to treat cramps is quite controversial. There is no certain scientific evidence of its effectiveness. Some people solve the problem with Magnesium while others have no improvement.

Personally, taking a teaspoon of magnesium dissolved in half a glass of water, makes me pass the annoying disturbance of cramps.

Diabete

Few prospective studies have evaluated magnesium intake in relation to various stages of progression of disordered glucose and insulin metabolism, i.e., from normal to impaired states, including prediabetes and IR, over the long-term (i.e., >5 years), even though these states are significant risk factors for diabetes as well as cardiovascular disease (15–17). In addition, few studies have examined magnesium’s associations with long-term progression from baseline impaired states to type 2 diabetes.

In the present analysis, we evaluated the prospective association between magnesium intake and incidence of metabolic impairment, defined as impaired FG (IFG), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), IR, or hyperinsulinemia, in otherwise healthy individuals. Further, in those with baseline metabolic impairment (as defined above), we examined whether magnesium intake was associated with incident diabetes. We split the population by metabolic impairment status to assess whether magnesium intake may have differing associations with progression of disease at varying stages of underlying metabolic impairment.

In conclusion, higher magnesium intake may lower the risk of progressing to diabetes among those with the highest risk of doing so, namely, those with IR or prediabetes. These findings support a role for higher magnesium intake in those at high risk of developing diabetes and the need for large, randomized trials to confirm these observations (5).

Finally, a study summarizing the advantages of Magnesium.

Magnesium is the fourth most abundant mineral and the second most abundant intracellular divalent cation and has been recognized as a cofactor for >300 metabolic reactions in the body. Some of the processes in which magnesium is a cofactor include, but are not limited to, protein synthesis, cellular energy production and storage, reproduction, DNA and RNA synthesis, and stabilizing mitochondrial membranes. Magnesium also plays a critical role in nerve transmission, cardiac excitability, neuromuscular conduction, muscular contraction, vasomotor tone, blood pressure, and glucose and insulin metabolism. Because of magnesium’s many functions within the body, it plays a major role in disease prevention and overall health. Low levels of magnesium have been associated with a number of chronic diseases including migraine headaches, Alzheimer’s disease, cerebrovascular accident (stroke), hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Good food sources of magnesium include unrefined (whole) grains, spinach, nuts, legumes, and white potatoes (tubers). This review presents recent research in the areas of magnesium and chronic disease, with the goal of emphasizing magnesium’s role in disease prevention and overall health.

 This review highlights areas where magnesium has been shown to improve symptoms of migraine headaches, Alzheimer’s disease, cerebrovascular accident (stroke), hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Although not all researchers have reported improvements or cause-and-effect relationships. there is good evidence to support the positive influence that magnesium has on overall health. More research is required, however, with larger sample sizes to further elucidate magnesium’s effect on health. Longer term, prospective studies using similar amounts and types of magnesium supplementation are also needed to definitively establish a dose–response effect and the best type of magnesium to use (6).

Magnesium oxide was effective treatment for improving defecation status and shortened colonic transit time in Japanese chronic constipation patients with mild to moderate symptoms (7).

Contraindications

High doses may cause side effects. Always consult your doctor.

References_______________________________

 (1) A multipronged, nutritional-based strategy for managing Alzheimer's disease.  Glick JL, McMillan   Med Hypotheses. 2016 Jun;91:98-102. doi: 10.1016/j.mehy.2016.04.007. 

 (2) Magnesium in Prevention and Therapy.  Gröber U, Schmidt J, Kisters K.  Nutrients. 2015 Sep 23;7(9):8199-226. doi: 10.3390/nu7095388. Review.

 (3) Magnesium and depression: a systematic review.  Derom ML, Sayón-Orea C, Martínez-Ortega JM, Martínez-González MA.  Nutr Neurosci. 2013 Sep;16(5):191-206. doi: 10.1179/1476830512Y.0000000044. 

 (4) The role of Magnesium in hypertension and cardiovascular disease.  Houston M.  J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2011 Nov;13(11):843-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1751-7176.2011.00538.x. 

(5) Higher magnesium intake reduces risk of impaired glucose and insulin metabolism and progression from prediabetes to diabetes in middle-aged americans  Hruby A, Meigs JB, O'Donnell CJ, Jacques PF, McKeown NM  Diabetes Care. 2014 Feb;37(2):419-27. doi: 10.2337/dc13-1397.

(6) Magnesium in disease prevention and overall health  Volpe SL  Adv Nutr. 2013 May 1;4(3):378S-83S. doi: 10.3945/an.112.003483.

(7) A Randomized Double-blind Placebo-controlled Trial on the Effect of Magnesium Oxide in Patients With Chronic Constipation.  Mori S, Tomita T, Fujimura K, Asano H, Ogawa T, Yamasaki T, Kondo T, Kono T, Tozawa K, Oshima T, Fukui H, Kimura T, Watari J, Miwa H.  J Neurogastroenterol Motil. 2019 Oct 30;25(4):563-575. doi: 10.5056/jnm18194.

Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 and Magnesium Oxide in Children with Functional Chronic Constipation: A Double-Blind and Randomized Clinical Trial.  Kubota M, Ito K, Tomimoto K, Kanazaki M, Tsukiyama K, Kubota A, Kuroki H, Fujita M, Vandenplas Y.  Nutrients. 2020 Jan 15;12(1). pii: E225. doi: 10.3390/nu12010225.