NUTRITION MAGAZINE- The increased intake of Magnesium is associated with a lower percentage of death among men and women who are in risk of cardiovascular disease.
Nutrition magazine published an article in November 2013 on the ratio of the highest magnesium intake and the lowest risk of death over a 4.8 year period among adults at risk of cardiovascular disease.
The study included 7,216 men and women between the ages of 55 and 80 who participated in the Prevención con Dieta Mediterránea PREDIMED study, which compared the cardioprotective effect of two Mediterranean dietary patterns (one with nuts and one with olive oil) and with advice on A low-fat diet.
Participants were restricted to people with type 2 diabetes with three or more risk factors when enrolled. Nutritional questionnaires were completed at the beginning of the study providing information on magnesium intake. Over a period of 4.8 years, 277 cardiovascular events (such as heart attack and stroke) and 323 deaths occurred.
People whose magnesium intake was among the top, in one third of the participants, had a 34% lower risk-of-death rate during the follow-up compared to those whose intake was one of the lowest. The weighted risk of death from cardiovascular disease was 59% lower, and the risk of death from cancer was 37% lower for those in the group with the highest magnesium intake.
When individuals were tested according to the diet they received during the PREDIMED study, a significant reduction in the risk of death from any cause occurred among those in the control group who received low-fat diets and whose magnesium intake was higher. For cardiovascular mortality, a significant decrease was found among those with the top magnesium intake and who were in the group of Mediterranean diet with nuts.
"Hypertension is a powerful risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and it is known that magnesium can lower blood pressure" Marta Guasch-Ferré and her colleagues note in their discussion of the findings.
"Also, magnesium intake can inhibit platelet aggregation, regulate inflammation and improve endothelial function. All of these mechanisms can have a beneficial effect on reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease and death."
To sum up "The findings from this prospective study show an inverse relationship between dietary magnesium intake and cardiovascular disease, cancer and mortality from any cause."
