High Magnesium Intake May Reduce Diabetes Risk

the Renal and Urology News take:

A higher magnesium intake is associated with a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a study published online ahead of print in Diabetes Care.

Researchers led by Adela Hruby, PhD, MPH, of the Harvard School of Public Health observed 2,582 healthy, non-diabetic patients aged 26 to 81 years who had been enrolled in the 7-year Framingham Heart Study (FHS). Among them, 42% had been overweight and 21% obese. None of them had symptoms of diabetes.

They found that, after 7 years, patients with the highest intake of magnesium were associated with at least a 53% reduced risk of overall diabetes compared to those with the lowest intake.

Additionally, there was a 37% reduced risk of developing metabolic impairment with higher magnesium. Among those who already had metabolic impairment at baseline, higher intake was linked with a 32% reduced risk of new-onset diabetes.

“This is a strong study due to its large sample size, the length of study, and all of the measures of insulin sensitivity,” said Stella Lucia Volpe, PhD, RD, LDN, of the Department of Nutrition Sciences at Drexel University in Philadelphia. “They included those who did not have diabetes mellitus to establish if dietary intake can prevent diabetes mellitus over time.”