Magnesium Lowers Type 2 Diabetes Risk: Eat Yr Spinach !

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Magnesium Lowers Type 2 Diabetes Risk

 

By Salynn Boyles

WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MD

on Tuesday, December 23, 2003

Dec. 23, 2003 -- Want to reduce your diabetes risk? Make a spinach salad your

next meal, with a side of whole-wheat bread or almonds.

 

 

 

Two new studies suggest magnesium-rich foods like these can significantly

lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, even in obese people who are at

high risk for the disease. Earlier studies linked magnesium deficiency with an

increased risk for diabetes. The latest findings carry this observation further

by confirming the mineral's role in protecting against the disease.

 

 

 

Almost 170,000 People Studied

 

 

 

The larger of the two studies involved roughly 85,000 women and 42,000 men

who completed dietary intake questionnaires every two to four years. The smaller

study had a similar design and involved just under 40,000 women who were 45

or older. Both studies were conducted by researchers from Harvard University,

and both are published in the January 2004 issue of the journal Diabetes Care.

 

 

 

In the larger study, the female subjects were followed for 18 years and the

men for 12, during which time roughly 5,400 people developed type 2 diabetes.

Even after taking into account diabetes risk factors such as age, weight,

physical activity, smoking, and family history, those with the highest dietary

levels of magnesium were found to have significantly lower risk for type 2

diabetes compared with those with the lowest magnesium levels.

 

 

 

The risk remained significant even after the researchers adjusted for other

dietary variables associated with type 2 diabetes risk, such as fat fiber and

glycemic load. The risk reduction was similar in the second study.

 

 

 

Eat Your Vegetables

 

 

 

So if eating leafy green vegetables, nuts, and other magnesium-rich foods is

good, is taking magnesium in supplement form an even better way to protect

against diabetes? Diabetes expert Jerry Nadler, MD, says it not clear whether

supplemental magnesium is beneficial, and it could even be harmful. This is

especially true for people with kidney disease.

 

 

 

" It is very hard to get too much magnesium from food sources, but that is not

true with supplements, " he tells WebMD. " The main message from these studies

is that people should get the recommended amount of magnesium, which most of

the population is probably not getting. "

 

 

 

 

In fact, it is estimated that well more than 50% of people in the U.S. get

the recommended daily allowance of the mineral of between 300 and 400 mg,

although this varies with sex and age. The average magnesium intake over the

entire

follow-up was 290 mg/day in women but ranged from 79-1,110 mg/day; in men, the

average intake was 349 mg/day but ranged from 102-1,593 mg/day.

 

 

 

Researchers from the larger study concluded that people who are not magnesium

deficient probably won't derive as much benefit from adding more of the

mineral to their diet as people who are deficient. But they added that for those

in

the latter category, eating a magnesium-rich diet should help reduce their

diabetes risk regardless of their other risk factors for the disease.

 

 

 

Magnesium-rich foods include the following:

 

 

 

 

Source

 

Serving

 

 

Magnesium (mg)

 

 

 

100% Bran Cereal (e.g. All Bran)

 

1/2 cup

 

 

128.7

 

 

 

Shredded wheat

 

2 biscuits

 

 

54.3

 

 

 

Spinach, chopped

 

1/2 cup cooked

 

 

78.3

 

 

 

Almonds

 

1 ounce (2 almonds)

 

 

81.1

 

 

 

Oat bran

 

1/2 cup dry

 

 

96.4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

" Our (study) suggests that higher magnesium consumption is likely beneficial

for all groups, regardless of [whether they are overweight], physical activity

levels, and hypertension status, " researcher Ruy Lopez-Ridaura, MD, and

colleagues from the Harvard School of Public Health write.

 

 

 

More Study Needed

 

 

 

In an editorial published with the two studies, Nadler called for more

research to confirm the magnesium-diabetes link. He wrote that the epidemic of

obesity and type 2 diabetes in the U.S. makes the identification of

cost-effective

strategies to prevent the disease a top priority.

 

 

 

In the meantime, he says, most people could benefit from adding more

magnesium-rich foods to their diets.

 

 

 

" These are foods that people should be eating anyway for a variety of heath

reasons, " he tells WebMD.

 

 

 

SOURCES: Lopez-Ridaura, R. Diabetes Care, January 2004; vol 27: pp 134-140.

Ruy Lopez-Ridaura, MD, department of nutrition, Harvard School of Public

Health, Boston. Jerry L. Nadler, MD, head of the division of endocrinology and

metabolism, University of Virginia.