![]() ![]() In 2016, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published a double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial measuring the effect of magnesium supplements on arterial stiffness, a marker for heart disease. Men (but not women) with the lowest intakes of magnesium had the highest risk of stroke and had significantly higher blood pressure and total cholesterol measures.3 While this reveals a clear association between dietary magnesium and blood pressure and stroke, it doesn't prove a cause and effect relationship. ![]() In 2015, the International Journal of Cardiology published results from a cohort of the EPIC study that looked at dietary magnesium intake and its relationship to stroke and blood pressure. The analysis included 16 studies involving more than 313,000 individuals and found that higher circulating magnesium levels were associated with a 30% lower risk of CVD.2 Researchers were pointed in the right direction in 2013 when a meta-analysis published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that circulating and dietary magnesium are inversely associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Theories about magnesium's role in heart disease and stroke prevention have been circulating for years, but a dearth of well-designed studies to specifically address this question existed until recently. As we age, the magnesium reservoir in bones is reduced to nearly one-half over the course of a lifetime.1 ![]() The human skeleton acts as a magnesium reservoir, buffering magnesium concentration in the blood. About 50% to 60% of the magnesium in the body is locked inside bones the rest resides in soft tissue like muscle. But because dietary intake is declining among people eating westernized diets, the need for magnesium supplementation may be increasing. Relatively new to the research scene is magnesium's role in everything from healthy blood pressure and decreased risk of stroke and heart disease to preventing migraine headaches and reducing type 2 diabetes risk. Research has long established the important part magnesium plays in building bones through its relationship with calcium and vitamin D. Can dietitians make a case for supplements? ![]()
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