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One Simple Mineral Can Reduce Your Risk of Diabetes
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If you are concerned about diabetes and want to lower your risk, there is one simple mineral that can do just that. Recent studies show that sufficient consumption of magnesium can help stop the onset of diabetes, especially for those who are experiencing precursor symptoms.
Magnesium is often overlooked but it is vital for your health. Your body needs magnesium for more than 300 of the processes that your body does every day, including keeping your heart healthy, digesting protein, allowing you to relax, and keeping your energy levels high.
This new study found that healthy subjects who had the highest levels of magnesium intake were as much as 37 percent less likely to develop excess circulation of insulin or high blood sugar levels, both of which are precursors for diabetes.
Subjects that were showing early signs of diabetes received significant benefits from adequate magnesium consumption. Subjects who ate the most magnesium were 32 percent less likely to develop this disease than those who had low levels of magnesium. Read more facts about magnesium deficiency.
This study was part of the Framingham Heart Study, which was actually started in 1948. The objective of this study was to understand the circumstances that brought on heart disease, which is the leading cause of death in America.
SEE ALSO: The 5 Warning Signs of Magnesium Deficiency
This study involved more than 5,000 subjects of both sexes, between the ages of 30 and 62, from the town of Framingham, Massachusetts. This first set of subjects went through extensive physical exams and interviews. The study enrolled as second generation from the original volunteer’s now adult children and their spouses in 1971. New generations were continually incorporated into the study in 1994, 2002, and 2003, which provided the scientists with extensive data due to careful monitoring. Major risks for poor heart health were identified as smoking, obesity, hypertension, high cholesterol levels, diabetes, and a sedentary lifestyle.
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The most recent study results were found after researchers followed more than 2,500 subjects, who had an average age of 54, in the Framingham Heart Study Offspring for a period of 7 years.
Magnesium seemed to be the main compound that prevented diabetes, even after accounting for the health benefits of fiber, which is often found in foods that are high in magnesium.
This study also found that higher magnesium consumption was beneficial for all groups, regardless of their physical activity levels, hypertension levels, or weight.
Unfortunately, only about 50 percent of Americans consume the recommended daily allowance of magnesium in their daily diets, which is 320mg for women and 420mg for men.
Modern science continues to find benefits for consuming magnesium, which is one of the six essential minerals that make up 99 percent of our body’s mineral content.
Magnesium is essential for producing and storing energy. Without magnesium, there is no energy, no movement, and, in the end, no life.
So, incorporating more magnesium rich foods into your daily diet is an obvious way to avoid or delay the onset of diabetes. Leafy green vegetables, such as spinach, are one way of getting your magnesium each day. You can also consume more nuts, like almonds, which are also another way of naturally getting more of this important mineral.
Sources:
Hruby, A. et al. “Higher Magnesium Intake Reduces Risk of Impaired Glucose and Insulin Metabolism and Progression From Prediabetes to Diabetes in Middle-Aged Americans” Diabetes Care. 2014: 37(2): 419-427.
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.
