A new study recently published in the European Journal of Nutrition was undertaken to find the association between daily Magnesium intake and the development of brain volumes and white matter lesions in the middle of early old age.
Over 6,000 cognitively healthy individuals between the ages of 40 and 73 years of age participated in this study. Dietary Magnesium intake was measured using a 24 hour recall questionnaire completed 5 times over the 16 month study period. Participant’s responses, based on 200 different foods with different portion sizes, were used to calculate an individual’s daily Magnesium intake. Researchers focused on Magnesium rich foods like whole grains, seeds, nuts, legumes and green leafy vegetables in determining an average intake estimate.
It was determined that on average, participants who consumes over 550 mg of Magnesium daily had a brain age approximately 1 year younger by the time they reached 55 years of age when compared with participants whose daily Magnesium intake was only about 350 mg daily. Researchers concluded that a 41% increase in Magnesium intake could lead to reductions in age-related brain shrinkage which goes hand in hand with improvements in cognitive function as well as reductions in the risk of developing dementia or delaying the onset of developing dementia.
With the expectations that the number of individuals who develop dementia are likely to double by 2050, these study results provide a timely option for a person to improve their aging profile since currently there are no known treatments for dementia except prevention. Obviously, the earlier the introduction of Magnesium into a person’s dietary regime the better.
Further studies are needed.
Let’s talk a little bit more about the mineral Magnesium:
Magnesium plays an important role in the structure and the function of the human body. Actually the adult human body contains about 25 grams of Magnesium. Over 60% of the Magnesium in the body is found in the skeleton with about 27% of Magnesium found in the muscles and 6% or 7% of Magnesium found in other cells. As stated above Magnesium, is involved in over 300 essential metabolic reactions including the transport of Calcium and Potassium across cell membranes, protein and nucleic acid (DNA, RNA) synthesis, and energy production. Magnesium is also needed for the normal functioning of muscle and nervous tissue. Due to Magnesium’s interactive role in bone formation with Calcium, it may aid in preventing Calcium deposits as well as the formation of gallstones and kidney stones. Some of the lesser known function of Magnesium are synthesis of certain amino acids, the activation of enzyme systems and the maintenance of RNA and DNA neurotransmitter transmission. A deficiency of Magnesium could cause irritability of muscles and nerves as well as an irregular hearbeat, convulsions and even seizures.
ASK US. WE KNOW. NOBODY KNOWS NUTRITION LIKE WE DO. NOBODY!
