Magnesium May Protective Women From Sudden Cardiac Death

Women who consume a higher intake of magnesium-rich foods have a lower risk of sudden
cardiac death. In fact, the highest dietary intakes of magnesium are associated
with a 37 % lower risk of sudden cardiac death compared with the lowest
consumption, according to findings published in the American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition. The protective effects of magnesium appear strongest when measured in
blood levels, with every 0.25 milligram per deciliter increase associated with a 41
percent reduction in the risk of sudden cardiac death.

Dietary sources of magnesium include green, leafy vegetables, meats, starches, grains and nuts, and milk.
Earlier dietary surveys show that most women do not meet the RDA for magnesium (320 mg per day for
women).

Magnesium has been consistently depleted in our soils. It has been further depleted in plants by
the use of potassium and phosphorus laden fertilizers which alter the plant's ability to uptake
magnesium. Water from deep wells supplies additional magnesium not found in food, but surface
water, our common source of supply, lacks magnesium. Food processing removes magnesium.
Broiling, steaming and boiling remove magnesium into the water or drippings. High
carbohydrate and high fat diets increase the need for magnesium as does physical and mental
stress. Diuretic medications and insulin further deplete total body magnesium. As we age
magnesium uptake may be impaired. Dieting reduces intake of already low levels of magnesium
intake.

Interest in magnesium and its potential health benefits have increased recently. Indeed, a report from The
Freedonia Group reported that global demand for nutrients and minerals will reach $12.6bn by 2013; a 6.4
per cent increase on last year’s level.

Hypomagnesemia has been shown to occur frequently among patients with diabetes, especially
those with poor metabolic control. There is also evidence to support an inverse association
between serum or plasma magnesium levels and the risk of type 2 diabetes, indicating a potential
role of magnesium status in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care January 2004
vol. 27 no. 1 134-140 http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/27/1/134.full Studies have
shown that magnesium supplementation improves insulin-mediated glucose disposal and insulin
secretion.

Magnesium is an important component of many unprocessed foods, such as

whole grains, nuts, and green leafy vegetables, and it is largely lost during the
processing of some foods (4). The overprocessing of food and adoption of
western diets have contributed to the substantially reduced magnesium intake
in industrialized countries during the last century.

Hypomagnesemia is a common feature in patients with type 2 diabetes (5).

a consistent inverse association between magnesium intake and risk of type 2 diabetes in men
and women. This association was independent of other risk factors for type 2 diabetes, including
several dietary factors. Moreover, the inverse association with magnesium intake was consistent
across different subgroups defined by the main predictors of type 2 diabetes, such as BMI,
physical activity, and family history of diabetes. A prospective investigation to determine
whether total magnesium intake from food and supplements is related to the risk of developing
type 2 diabetes was performed in a large cohort of US women from the Women's Health Study
(WHS). Magnesium Intake and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in Men and Women suggests that
higher magnesium consumption is likely beneficial for all groups, regardless of
their BMI, physical activity levels, and hypertension status.

Ruy Lopez-Ridaura, MD1, Walter C. Willett, MD123, Eric B. Rimm, SCD123, Simin Liu,
MD34, Meir J. Stampfer, MD123, JoAnn E. Manson, MD234 and Frank B. Hu, MD123

The report, World Nutraceutical Ingredients, highlighted magnesium as one of the minerals with fastest
growth, along with calcium. Other fact growing ingredients included soy proteins and isoflavones, psyllium
and resistant maltodextrin fibres, omega-3 fatty acids, probiotics, and carotenoids.

Heart benefits

Potential cardiovascular benefits of the mineral were highlighted in a review in the Journal of the American
Academy of Nurse Practitioners (2009, Vol. 21, pp. 651-657), which found that increased intakes of
magnesium may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) in men, but the evidence is lacking for
women.

Reviewers Tavia Mathers and Renea Beckstrand from Brigham Young University concluded that, with the
mineral being implicated in more than 300 biochemical reactions in the body, and toxicity issues being rare,
“oral magnesium supplementation is recommended”.

The new study adds to this body of evidence by indicating a protective role in women from sudden cardiac
death. The Boston-based researchers, led by Stephanie Chiuve, analyzed data from 88,375 women
participating in the Nurses' Health Study.

During an impressive 26 years of follow-up, a total of 505 cases of sudden or arrhythmic death were
documented by the researchers. Subsequent analysis of the role of magnesium was performed data from 99
cases of sudden cardiac death and 291 women who did not die.

After adjusting the data for a range of factors that could potentially affect the result, like smoking, age, and
presence of cardiovascular disease, the researchers noted that the highest intakes and the highest blood
level of magnesium were associated with significant decreases in the risk of sudden cardiac death, compared
with the lowest average intakes and blood levels.

“In this prospective cohort of women, higher plasma concentrations and dietary magnesium intakes were
associated with lower risks of sudden cardiac death. If the observed association is causal, interventions
directed at increasing dietary or plasma magnesium might lower the risk of sudden cardiac death,”
concluded the researchers.

The study was supported by Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics and the American Heart Association.

Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Published online ahead of print, doi: 10.3945/ajcn.110.002253
“Plasma and dietary magnesium and risk of sudden cardiac death in women”
Authors: S.E. Chiuve, E.C. Korngold, J.L. Januzzi Jr, M.L. Gantzer, C.M. Albert