Nutrition experts discuss whether a balanced diet can meet human needs for magnesium. Researchers have now noted that the lack of this mineral leads to significantly faster cell aging.
Magnesium is involved in numerous metabolic processes in the body and is essential for humans, animals and plants. Many enzymes in the body require this mineral to function. Deficiency can lead to a series of acute symptoms, from nervousness and muscle cramps to psychosis or heart attacks.
Scientists from the University of California at Berkeley found in laboratory experiments that magnesium deficiency also accelerates cell aging and, in cases of chronic insufficient supply, can trigger or even worsen typical aging-related diseases such as arteriosclerosis, high blood pressure and osteoporosis. The team, led by David Killile and Bruce Ames, reports on this in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (doi: 10.1073/pnas.0712401105).
Scientists examined the cultures of human fibroblasts, which are an important component of human connective tissue. They observed that cells held in conditions of magnesium deficiency were normally divided for a long time, but aging significantly faster than cellular cultures held at normal magnesium concentrations.
The authors suspect that magnesium deficiency leads to premature telomere shortening in cells. These are DNA sequences crucial for cell division, which protect the ends of the chromosomes. With each cell division, these telomeres are shortened until the cell can no longer divide and programmed cell death occurs. The breakdown of these DNA segments is closely related to aging processes and cancer development.
The human body contains approximately 24 to 28 grams of magnesium. More than two thirds of it is stored in the muscles and skeleton. Magnesium is primarily found in green vegetables, bread and mineral water. Adults should consume about 300 milligrams of this mineral per day, which nutritionists say can be achieved with a balanced diet. However, other nutritional studies suggest that 20 to 40 percent of the population suffers from latent magnesium deficiency.
Magnesium deficiency can occur primarily due to unilateral or inadequate diet; For example, about a third of patients in intensive care suffer from magnesium deficiency. Physical exertion such as sports, stress or chronic alcohol consumption also significantly lowers magnesium levels.
