Did you know that the unheralded magnesium helps with diabetes, migraine headaches, asthma and pregnancy problems? This third part of my series will help you understand how it might work for you.
1. Diabetes
A low magnesium blood level is often found in diabetic patients. This deficiency may increase their resistance to insulin and thereby adversely affect blood sugar control. On the other hand, magnesium supplements (i.e. 400 milligrams [mg] a day) improved blood sugar control in older adults with diabetes. So, at the moment, more hard evidence is needed before routine magnesium supplementation could be recommended for all diabetic patients.
RECOMMENDED: Can Magnesium Fight Diabetes?
2. Migraine Headache
Patients with migraines often have low levels of magnesium in their cells. Several studies have shown that supplementing magnesium increases these mineral levels, helping decrease the frequency and severity of migraine headaches. In two reliable studies, taking 600 mg of magnesium every day wound up decreasing the frequency of migraines compared to the placebo-treated patients. Then there are those studies that showed the opposite; and one found that magnesium supplements showed no benefit in preventing migraines. Again, here the role of magnesium is fairly controversial.
3. Asthma
The role of magnesium in an asthma attack is uncertain. In one double-blind, placebo-controlled study involving 38 patients who experienced asthmatic attacks, magnesium administered intravenously resulted in improved lung function and a reduced likelihood of hospitalization. However, in another well-conducted study involving 48 adults with an asthma attack, magnesium supplementation
did not lead to improved lung function.
4. Preeclampsia-Eclampsia (Toxemia of Pregnancy)
Preeclampsia is a condition that develops during pregnancy (20 weeks of pregnancy to six weeks after birth), where women have high blood pressure, protein in the urine, and severe swelling. If they get seizures, too, it’s called eclampsia. Approximately seven percent of pregnant women in the U.S. develop preeclampsia-eclampsia. About five percent of women with preeclampsia will later develop
eclampsia, which is responsible for a significant number of maternal deaths. Magnesium has been successfully used to treat this condition over 70 years for the prevention of seizures. Moreover, magnesium is a standard treatment over the last 40 years for eclampsia with a dramatic reduction in both maternal and neonatal morbidity.
One big study with 1,089 women with eclampsia with high blood pressure found convincing evidence that magnesium was far superior to the standard anticonvulsant, phenytoin, in preventing eclamptic seizures. As you can see, this is one promising mineral, but more evidence is needed (as usual).
See the previous articles in this series: The Most Critical Nutrient in Your Body How This Mineral Could Protect You from Heart Disease and More