Magnesium, inflammation, insulin resistance and diabetes

Magnesium is important for a multitude of functions and functional deficiencies of magnesium are extremely common. A study just published in the journal Diabetes Care illuminates the role of magnesium in the chronic inflammation associated with insulin resistance and diabetes. The authors set out...

"To investigate the long-term associations of magnesium intake with incidence of diabetes, systemic inflammation and insulin resistance among young American adults."

They examined 4,497 Americans, aged 18-30 years and without diabetes, for magnesium intake and the subsequent onset of diabetes; along with key inflammatory markers (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and fibrinogen) and the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). What did the data show?

"During 20-year follow-up, 330 incident diabetic cases were identified. Magnesium intake was inversely associated with incidence of diabetes [those with the lowest magnesium had 53% more chance of developing diabetes]...Consistently, magnesium intake was significantly inversely associated with hs-CRP, IL-6, fibrinogen, and HOMA-IR; and serum magnesium levels were inversely correlated with hs-CRP and HOMA-IR."

The association between magnesium and the inflammation markers hs-CRP, IL-6 and fibrinogen is significant for more than diabetes because chronic inflammation is a hallmark of most chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease and cancer. The same goes for insulin resistance as indicated by HOMA-IR. Serum magnesium is not a sensitive indicator of deficiency. Measuring magnesium concentration in the red blood cells is a more accurate representation. Urinary organic acids can also indicate when key metabolic pathways are impaired due to magnesium deficiency. Muscle cramps at rest are very often associated with magnesium deficiency and clear up when magnesium sufficiency has been restored.