Marc Joseph Nutrition - Blog

In a meta-review study published in the Journal of Internal Medicine, researchers found that for every 100 mg increase in magnesium intake, the risk for type 2 diabetes fell by 15 percent.

Magnesium is an essential mineral cofactor used in many enzyme reactions throughout the body, and is especially important in energy production. Several studies indicate that magnesium may help to improve insulin sensitivity and, in turn, glucose tolerance.

Deficiency Widespread, Impact Costly

Magnesium deficiency is common. The Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) is 420 mg and 320 mg per day for men and women, respectively. But the average adult intake is less than 320 mg/day for men and less than 230 mg/day for women. Magnesium intake in seniors may be even lower. And realize that the RDA is a level set to avoid deficiency, not a level to encourage optimal health.

Likewise, diabetes is widespread and costly in both personal and financial terms. In the U.S., 7 percent of the population, or 20 million people, have diabetes. Those afflicted are at greater risk for many serious conditions, including heart disease, hypertension, stroke, kidney disease, vision loss, amputations, and dementia.

The annual cost of taking care of diabetics is estimated at more than $130 billion. One out of every eight U.S. federal health care dollars goes toward treating people with diabetes. And the costs are estimated to soar going forward.

What You Can Do

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In a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers have found that many Americans, especially men, ethnic minorities, and individuals with less education, are not getting adequate intake of calcium.

Specifically, only 40% of the US men and women included in the 1999–2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey met the Adequate Intake (AI)* for calcium. And that’s with nearly half (48%) of the survey participants taking calcium supplements.

* The government doesn’t set a Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for calcium. Instead, an AI level (representing the daily suggested total intake from both diet and supplements) is set because of the lack of definitive knowledge regarding how nutrition, genetics, hormone balance, physical activity, etc. interact to affect bone health. The AI for adults ages 19 to 50 is 1000 mg, and for adults over age 50 it is 1200 mg.

Several groups in the study were more likely to have adequate calcium intake :

• Women - 60% more likely than men
• Caucasians - 90% more likely than non-Caucasians
• Education beyond high school - 50% more likely than those with less than high school education
• Individuals diagnosed with osteoporosis - 90% more likely than people over age 50 without the condition

Not Just Calcium

There are many factors other than calcium intake that can also affect your risk for developing osteoporosis, including:

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Over the course of the last couple of years, there have been numerous articles and reports in the mainstream press on the negative effects of taking supplements. The most recent subject of scorn are antioxdiant supplements, which, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), apparently increase our risk of death.

The analysis, which pooled data from 68 studies involving more than 232,000 people, found no evidence that taking beta carotene, Vitamin A or Vitamin E extends life span and, in fact, indicated that the supplements increase the likelihood of dying by about 5 percent. Vitamin C and selenium appeared to have no impact — either way — on longevity …

… “The message is: We shouldn’t be putting anything in our mouths until we know whether it works,” said Christian Gluud of the Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark, who led the study. “It appears as if these substances may be harmful.”

The Whole Story?

As a meta-review analysis (essentially an analysis of the existing body of research in aggregate), a key factor determining this study’s outcome is the selection of the studies to include in the analysis. As the study’s abstract notes, the meta-review included all randomized studies examining antioxidants in primary and secondary prevention trials published prior to October 2005.

But the researchers didn’t stop there. They then …

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With many baby boomers about to retire, maintaining independence and the ability to live an active, engaged retirement are top of mind. A recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that deficiencies in several micronutrients may increase the risk for having difficulty performing daily tasks as people age.

Specifically, the study looked at women over the age of 65 and found that deficiencies in selenium, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12 were all associated with significantly greater risk of experiencing disability, which was defined as self-reported difficulty in performing two or more activities such as bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring and eating.

Selenium is an essential trace mineral that is used by the body in important antioxidant-related enzymes. Selenium also plays an important role in immune function and may help to prevent the onset of certain cancers, such as prostate cancer.

Vitamin B6 and B12 are involved in important enzyme reactions, nervous system function, and help to maintain low homocysteine levels. High homocysteine levels are associated with oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction, vascular diseases (heart disease, stroke), and, in particular, with decline of cognitive function.

Nutritionally, your best bet for avoiding the potential problems highlighted by this study are to follow a good diet, including mostly whole foods, lots of fresh vegetables & fruits, healthy fats, and lean protein sources.

Also, supplementation with a broad-based multi-vitamin/mineral containing at least 200 mcg selenium and the B vitamin equivalent of a B-50 complex, may help to ensure that you get adequate amounts of these essential nutrients on a regular basis and to prevent/delay the onset of disability. It’s important to select supplements containing both adequate and well-absorbed forms of the different nutrients.

Pretty amazing:

“The bottom line is it’s more hazardous than the Pentagon admits,” Fahey said, “but it’s not as hazardous as the hard-line activist groups say it is. And there’s a real dearth of information about how DU [depleted uranium] affects humans.”

There are several studies on how it affects animals, though their results are not, of course, directly applicable to humans. Military research on mice shows that depleted uranium can enter the bloodstream and come to rest in bones, the brain, kidneys and lymph nodes. Other research in rats shows that DU can result in cancerous tumors and genetic mutations, and pass from mother to unborn child, resulting in birth defects.

Iraqi doctors reported significant increases in birth defects and childhood cancers after the 1991 invasion.

Iraqi authorities “found that uranium, which affected the blood cells, had a serious impact on health: The number of cases of leukemia had increased considerably, as had the incidence of fetal deformities,” the U.N. reported.

Depleted uranium can also contaminate soil and water, and coat buildings with radioactive dust, which can by carried by wind and sandstorms.

In 2005, the U.N. Environmental Program identified 311 polluted sites in Iraq. Cleaning them will take at least $40 million and several years, the agency said. Nothing can start until the fighting stops.

Unfortunately, there aren’t really good treatments for quickly/safely removing uranium from the body. Supplementing with iron may help to reduce the body’s levels.

You can find more info on heavy metal detox here.