A simple mineral that should be plentiful in our food is something to put on the menu if you’re threatened with diabetes. And more than 68 percent of Americans are missing this nutrient.
You might be thinking it’s chromium, which is important for processing blood sugar. But in a study of people with diabetes, getting plenty of magnesium in your diet can reduce the chances of being overweight, help control blood pressure, increase HDL (good cholesterol) and can fend off health issues linked to metabolic syndrome (a cluster of problems including abdominal obesity, high blood pressure and blood sugar irregularities).
“Our analysis found that dietary intake of magnesium from foods or from food plus supplements was associated with improvements in many diabetes-related health outcomes. These results further demonstrate the importance of meeting magnesium intake recommendations and illustrate the usefulness of dietary magnesium supplementation when these recommendations cannot be met with diet alone.” says researcher Yanni Papanikolaou, vice president of nutrition research at Nutritional Strategies, Inc.
It’s easy to be short of magnesium which is contained mostly in fruits and vegetables… because unfortunately, our produce today is lacking.
With all the industrial farming and fertilization that goes on, our vegetables have lost as much as 40% of their mineral content, according to a study by Donald R. Davis, the former head of the Biochemical Institute at The University of Texas.
And that’s a serious issue: Your body needs magnesium for more than 300 different physiological processes. Your bones suffer without it. Your muscles run into trouble when magnesium runs low. Even your bone strength depends on this mineral and so do the cellular processes that create the body’s energy.
The best food sources of magnesium would normally include green levy vegetables, and also fruits, and nuts. Manufacturers also fortify their processed grains and milk with magnesium, but that’s not a good source. The estimated average requirement (EAR) for men is 330-350 mg/day. Women are estimated to need 225-265 mg/day. Although for optimal health everyone is better off with 500-1000 mg a day. But as you might expect, studies of what Americans eat show that we’re not getting even the minimum.
“Insufficiency of micronutrient intake is a global issue,” says researcher James Brooks. “Dietary magnesium supplementation, coupled with appropriate food choices, offers an evidence-based option to meet the estimated average requirements.”
If you do feel the need to supplement, Dr. Michael Cutler tells me that you should take your magnesium with 50 mg of vitamin B6 (pyridoxine). They work with each other and help each become more absorbable. Avoid synthetic forms and try to get magnesium glycinate to correct deficiency.
