A new meta-analysis published in the open access journal BMC Medicine, based on a huge data set of more than 1 million persons shows that a diet rich in magnesium may reduce the risk of diseases including coronary heart disease, stroke and type-2 diabetes.

The researchers, from Zhejiang University and Zhengzhou University in China, found that people in the highest category of dietary magnesium consumption had a 10% lower risk of coronary heart disease, 12% lower risk of stroke and a 26% lower risk of type 2 diabetes compared to those in the lowest category. Their results also indicate that an extra 100mg per day of dietary magnesium could also reduce risk of stroke by 7% and type 2 diabetes by 19%.

Dr Fudi Wang, lead author from the School of Public Health at Zhejiang University, said "the current health guidelines recommend a magnesium intake of around 300mg per day for men and 270mg per day for women. Despite this, magnesium deficiency is relatively common, affecting between 2.5% and 15% of the general population. Our findings will be important for informing the public and policy makers on dietary guidelines to reduce magnesium deficiency related health risks." Diet is the main source of magnesium as the element can be found in foods such as spices, nuts, beans, cocoa, whole grains and green leafy vegetables. Magnesium is vital for human health and normal biological functions.

In this analysis, data from 40 epidemiological studies covering a period from 1999 to 2016 were used to investigate associations between dietary magnesium and various diseases. Their findings reinforce the notion that increased consumption of magnesium rich foods could be beneficial for overall health.

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