Magnesium and Diabetes

As if we don't already have enough compelling reasons to supplement our diet with magnesium (strong bones, healthy heart, reduced inflammation and reduced risk of cognitive decline), yesterday the Health Science Institute reported on findings released by the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden that demonstrated a significant association between high magnesium intake and reduced risk of type 2 diabetes.

The Karolinska team reviewed seven large, long-term studies involving over 286,000 subjects and found that diabetes risk dropped by 15 percent for every 100mg increase in magnesium intake (whether from supplements or food).

The HSI report also cited two other large recent U.S. studies showing that subjects with the highest magnesium intake had a 27 percent lower risk of metabolic syndrome X, a set of symptoms creating a high risk of heart disease and diabetes and characterized by excessive abdominal fat, elevated CRP and triglyceride levels, high blood pressure, low HDL, and insulin resistance.

Keep in mind that it is estimated that 70% of Americans are deficient in magnesium... no wonder we lead the world in degenerative illness! I truly believe that we could cut our country's health care burden in half just by eliminating our population's magnesium and iodine defiencies.

Thank God for MagnifiCal!