Does magnesium hold the way to vitamin D benefits?
New research finds that magnesium may hold the way to seeing how nutrient D levels identify with wellbeing and malady.
Vitamin D, also known as the sunshine vitamin, has enjoyed something of a celebrity status, receiving praise for a multitude of health benefits.
Yet, in the complex web of biological processes that govern our health, few players ever work in isolation.
New evidence shifts the focus onto magnesium, implicating it in playing a central role in determining how much vitamin D our bodies can make.
In a study that features in the December issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, a research team from Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN concludes that optimal levels of magnesium may play an important role in the vitamin D status of an individual.
The link between magnesium and vitamin D
Dr. Qi Dai, a professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the lead study author, previously reported on the relationship between magnesium intake and vitamin D levels in over 12,000 individuals taking part in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2001–2006 study.
Here, Dr. Dai and team found that individuals with high levels of magnesium intake, whether from dietary sources or taking supplements, were less likely to have low levels of vitamin D.
Importantly, the researchers also found a possible association between magnesium intake and a reduction in mortality, particularly when they looked at mortality due to cardiovascular disease and bowel cancer.
So, how does magnesium affect vitamin D biology in the body? It is a cofactor in the synthesis of vitamin D from both exposure to sunlight and dietary sources.
"Magnesium deficiency shuts down the vitamin D synthesis and metabolism pathway," Dr. Dai explains.
Digging deeper
While the data from the NHANES study indicated a link between magnesium, vitamin D, and mortality, the team did not design the study to show whether giving an individual extra magnesium would change their vitamin D levels.
To look at the link between magnesium supplementation and vitamin D levels in more detail, Dr. Dai and colleagues worked with a subset of 180 individuals taking part in the Personalized Prevention of Colorectal Cancer Trial, which enrolled a total of 250 individuals.
Treatment with a magnesium supplement led to an increase in vitamin D levels in people who had low levels initially, but it reduced levels of the sunshine vitamin in those with high levels.
This is important because there is an association between too much vitamin D and excess calcium in the blood (hypercalcemia), which can cause serious health complications.
On the other hand, researchers have linked low levels of vitamin D with a variety of symptoms, and Dr. Dai is particularly interested in its role in bowel cancer.
Vitamin D, magnesium, and bowel cancer
The results of recent studies looking at the link between vitamin D and bowel cancer are contradictory.
Earlier this year, Medical News Today reported on a study that pooled data from 17 study cohorts and included 5,706 individuals with bowel cancer and 7,107 control participants.
In this study, the authors found that people with vitamin D levels below the national guidelines had a 31 percent increased risk of developing bowel cancer.
Notwithstanding, a month ago, an alternate report found that review members who took nutrient D supplements fared no uniquely in contrast to the individuals who took a fake treatment when it came to creating disease, including entrail malignancy.
Could magnesium be the missing fixing?
"Nutrient D inadequacy is something that has been perceived as a potential medical issue on a genuinely extensive scale in the [United States]," clarifies Martha Shrubsole, Ph.D., an examination educator of drug and senior investigation creator.
Shrubole takes note of that, as a rule, human services experts have prescribed nutrient D enhancements to people whose blood tests have uncovered low dimensions of the daylight nutrient.
New research finds that magnesium may hold the way to seeing how nutrient D levels identify with wellbeing and malady.
Vitamin D, also known as the sunshine vitamin, has enjoyed something of a celebrity status, receiving praise for a multitude of health benefits.
Yet, in the complex web of biological processes that govern our health, few players ever work in isolation.
New evidence shifts the focus onto magnesium, implicating it in playing a central role in determining how much vitamin D our bodies can make.
In a study that features in the December issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, a research team from Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN concludes that optimal levels of magnesium may play an important role in the vitamin D status of an individual.
The link between magnesium and vitamin D
Dr. Qi Dai, a professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the lead study author, previously reported on the relationship between magnesium intake and vitamin D levels in over 12,000 individuals taking part in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2001–2006 study.
Here, Dr. Dai and team found that individuals with high levels of magnesium intake, whether from dietary sources or taking supplements, were less likely to have low levels of vitamin D.
Importantly, the researchers also found a possible association between magnesium intake and a reduction in mortality, particularly when they looked at mortality due to cardiovascular disease and bowel cancer.
So, how does magnesium affect vitamin D biology in the body? It is a cofactor in the synthesis of vitamin D from both exposure to sunlight and dietary sources.
"Magnesium deficiency shuts down the vitamin D synthesis and metabolism pathway," Dr. Dai explains.
Digging deeper
While the data from the NHANES study indicated a link between magnesium, vitamin D, and mortality, the team did not design the study to show whether giving an individual extra magnesium would change their vitamin D levels.
To look at the link between magnesium supplementation and vitamin D levels in more detail, Dr. Dai and colleagues worked with a subset of 180 individuals taking part in the Personalized Prevention of Colorectal Cancer Trial, which enrolled a total of 250 individuals.
Treatment with a magnesium supplement led to an increase in vitamin D levels in people who had low levels initially, but it reduced levels of the sunshine vitamin in those with high levels.
This is important because there is an association between too much vitamin D and excess calcium in the blood (hypercalcemia), which can cause serious health complications.
On the other hand, researchers have linked low levels of vitamin D with a variety of symptoms, and Dr. Dai is particularly interested in its role in bowel cancer.
Vitamin D, magnesium, and bowel cancer
The results of recent studies looking at the link between vitamin D and bowel cancer are contradictory.
Earlier this year, Medical News Today reported on a study that pooled data from 17 study cohorts and included 5,706 individuals with bowel cancer and 7,107 control participants.
In this study, the authors found that people with vitamin D levels below the national guidelines had a 31 percent increased risk of developing bowel cancer.
Notwithstanding, a month ago, an alternate report found that review members who took nutrient D supplements fared no uniquely in contrast to the individuals who took a fake treatment when it came to creating disease, including entrail malignancy.
Could magnesium be the missing fixing?
"Nutrient D inadequacy is something that has been perceived as a potential medical issue on a genuinely extensive scale in the [United States]," clarifies Martha Shrubsole, Ph.D., an examination educator of drug and senior investigation creator.
Shrubole takes note of that, as a rule, human services experts have prescribed nutrient D enhancements to people whose blood tests have uncovered low dimensions of the daylight nutrient.
Does magnesium hold the way to vitamin D benefits?
![Does magnesium hold the way to vitamin D benefits?]()
Reviewed by Sparly
on
December 30, 2018
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