A higher intake of magnesium in the daily diet leads to better brain health, according to scientists from the Australian National University. A new study has shown that increased intake of magnesium-rich foods, such as spinach and nuts, may also help reduce the risk of dementia.
A study of more than 6.000 cognitively healthy participants in the UK, aged 40 to 73, found that people who consumed more than 550 milligrams of magnesium each day had a brain age that was about a year younger by age 55 compared to people who have a normal daily magnesium intake of about 350 milligrams.
The study was conducted by having its participants complete an online questionnaire five times over a 16-month period. The answers obtained were used to calculate the daily intake of magnesium for the participants and were based on 200 different foods with different portion sizes.
The Australian scientists focused on magnesium-rich foods such as green leafy vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds and whole grains to create an average estimate of participants' dietary magnesium intake.
"Our study shows that a 41 percent increase in magnesium intake could lead to less age-related brain shrinkage, which is associated with better cognitive function and a lower risk or delayed onset of dementia in later life. This research highlights the potential benefits of a magnesium-rich diet and the role it plays in promoting good brain health," says Havlah Alatek of ANU's National Center for Epidemiology and Population Health and lead author of the study.
Australian scientists claim that a higher intake of magnesium in the diet from childhood can protect against neurodegenerative diseases and cognitive decline until the forties.
The study shows that higher magnesium intake in the diet may contribute to neuroprotection earlier in the aging process, and the preventive effects may begin in the forties or even earlier. This means that people of all ages should pay more attention to their magnesium intake.
The scientists also found that the neuroprotective effects of higher dietary magnesium benefited women more than men, and more so in postmenopausal women than in premenopausal women, although this may be due to magnesium's anti-inflammatory effects, Alatek concluded.
Advice, recommendations, topics about health await you on Thursday, April 6 in the new issue of the Zdravlje supplement, which you get for free with the printed edition of Vijesti.
Bonus video:
