Magnesium benefits blood pressure in people withhigh blood pressure
May
20,
2009
Supplementing with magnesium may reduce pressure in people
with high blood pressure that already have normal magnesium levels. On
the other hand, the supplements had no effect on the blood pressure
measurements of individuals with normal blood pressure. The study adds
to findings from epidemiological studies which reported that more
magnesium, potassium and calcium may reduce the risk of hypertension in
certain populations.
The researchers recruited 155 people to take part in a
double-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomised trial. The subjects, who
had an average BMI of 23 kg/m2, were randomly assigned to receive
either daily supplementation with 300 mg of elemental magnesium in the
magnesium oxide form or placebo for 12 weeks. At the end of the study
when the researchers looked specifically at hypertensive individuals,
significant decreases in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure
were observed in the magnesium group (17.1 and 3.4 mmHg, respectively),
compared to placebo (6.7 and 0.8 mmHg, respectively).
A recent meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies by
researchers at Stockholm's Karolinska Institute reported that for every
100 milligram increase in magnesium intake, the risk of developing
type-2 diabetes dropped by 15%. The new study is published online ahead
of print in the journal Nutrition, Metabolism and
Cardiovascular Diseases.