People who consume many foods high in magnesium suffer fewer strokes, according to study.
People who consume many foods high in magnesium, such as green leafy vegetables, nuts and beans, suffer fewer strokes, according to an international analysis that covered more than 250,000 participants.
But the authors of the study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, did not recommend taking daily magnesium supplements since their analyzes focused on the mineral present in food and the results of the finding could be due to another characteristic of the food.
” Dietary magnesium intake is inversely associated with the risk of stroke, especially ischemic stroke,” wrote author Susanna Larsson, a professor at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.
The results suggest that people consume a healthy diet by eating “foods rich in magnesium, such as leafy green vegetables, nuts, beans and whole grains,” added the expert.
Larsson and his colleagues examined research databases from the past 45 years to detect studies that track how much magnesium people consumed and how many of them had had a stroke.
In seven studies published in the last 14 years, some 250,000 people from the United States, Europe and Asia were followed for an average of 11.5 years. Around 6,500 of them, or 3 percent, had a stroke during the follow-up period.
For every 100 extra milligrams of magnesium a person ate per day, the risk of an ischemic stroke – the most common type that usually causes a blood clot that interrupts the flow – fell 9 percent.
Daily Magnesium
The average magnesium intake of Americans included in the analysis was 242 milligrams daily. The United States recommends that men and women over 31 years of age consume 420 and 320 milligrams of magnesium daily, respectively.
Most studies allowed researchers to rule out other factors, such as family history.
However, Larsson told Reuters Health that he could not say whether other aspects of what people ate partially or completely explained the result.
More in-depth studies are needed before researchers can say that magnesium was what really reduced the risk of stroke, the author added.
Other experts noted that the results were consistent with food recommendations.
“ It is a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and grains. Those are things that have low sodium, high potassium and high magnesium, ”said Larry Goldstein, director of the ACV center at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina.
“Again, it is about the diet itself, not an individual component of the diet,” he added.