A new study out of China shows how getting just the Recommended Daily Allowance of one magnificent mineral could reduce your stroke risk by nearly one-third. It also protects against heart failure, Type II diabetes, and overall death, as I’ll explain in a moment.
But first, let’s back up…
Mainstream medicine is starting to pay more and more attention to the importance of basic vitamin nutrients, such as vitamin D and the B vitamins.
But very often, only the wrong information gets through to your doctor, despite the clear evidence. Plus, most doctors know even less about minerals, an equally important class of micronutrients.
Perhaps this lack of knowledge isn’t so surprising, considering much of the latest new research on minerals — and magnesium, in particular — comes from China. That fact should not surprise you, if you’ve been reading my Daily Dispatch or Insiders’ Cures newsletter for some time. You know China is an important source of good, solid nutritional research.
China outpaces U.S. in nutritional research
You might not think it, but China is an optimal place — in many respects — to conduct large-scale, significant studies on diet, disease and health. And in fact, I started my career working with China on studies of diet, nutrition and chronic diseases more than 30 years ago.
At that time, the U.S. had also started down the road studying diet and disease. But as you know, the National Institutes of Health picked the wrong nutrients to study, virtually across the board. They ignored the most promising nutrients to be studied. Plus, the quality of U.S. research was poor and off the mark. They were barking up the wrong trees, going down the wrong roads. (That’s what happens when the government research agenda is really all about the drugs.)
Not surprisingly, China overtook the U.S. on human diet and nutrition research, as they have in other areas. (Perhaps with the new president in office, this situation may finally come back into some balance.)
In China, they realize they can’t afford to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on drugs and surgery that don’t work. They realize they can’t impose additional, huge costs dealing with the toxic and deadly side effects and failures of blind, mainstream medical treatments.
They know if they can keep people healthy, by getting the right amounts of nutrients to prevent and reverse chronic conditions, it will save huge costs. It will also save lives, health and happiness.
It is simply what the science shows. And more and more of the important science is coming from China. (Even if it often takes a “slow boat” back to the U.S.)
The latest research from Hangzhou Province shows that increasing magnesium intake can help reduce the risks of strokes, heart failure, Type II diabetes, and overall death rates.
Magnesium slashes stroke risk
Dr. Fudi Wang and colleagues examined 70 prospective clinical cohort studies, which involved more than one million participants, from 1999 to 2015. The follow-up period ranged from four to 30 years.
On average, those with the highest magnesium intake had a 10 percent lower risk of coronary heart disease and heart failure. When it came to stroke, for every 100 mg/day increase in magnesium intake, there was an average seven percent decrease in strokes.
So — if you simply take in a recommended 400 mg/day, you could decrease your risk of stroke by nearly one-third.
And how about Type II diabetes, the No. 1 cause of cardio-metabolic heart disease today?
In the new study, higher magnesium intake lowered diabetes risk by 26 percent for every additional 100 mg/day. That means with the highest magnesium intake, you could cut your risk of Type II diabetes by more than half.
Last but not least, these positive effects all added up to a 10 percent reduction in overall death rates for each 100 mg/day increase in magnesium intake.
The researchers stated their results provide the most current evidence showing the protective effects of magnesium against, Type II diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and overall mortality.
That’s a lot to like just from taking more of one magnificent mineral. Make sure to take 400 mg of magnesium per day in supplement form.
And it doesn’t hurt to incorporate more magnesium-rich foods into your diet as well. Some of the best sources include dark leafy greens, avocado, pumpkin seeds, almonds, Brazil nuts, bananas, and dark chocolate.
Source:
- “Dietary magnesium intake and the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and all-cause mortality: a dose–response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies,” BMC Med 2016; 14:210