Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Each 50mg/day in magnesium intake reduced the risk of colorectal cancer by 5%. 

According to the latest statistics from the Center for Disease Control, colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States and the third most common cancer in men and in women. 142,950 Americans were diagnosed with colorectal cancer and 52,857 deaths were recorded in 2008 (1). A new research review (5) suggests magnesium may also be a benefit. In the study, researchers identified 8 studies completed between 2005 and 2012 containing 338,979 participants, among which 8,000 cases of colorectal cancer were diagnosed.

Across the 8 studies, the average highest intake of magnesium was 350 milligrams per day, while the lowest intake averaged 244 milligrams per day for an average of 13 years. They found the risk of colorectal cancer decreased by 11% when consuming >350 mg/day versus <244 mg/day (p =0.045). Each 50 mg/day increase in magnesium intake produced a 5% decreased colorectal cancer risk. When suggesting possible mechanisms for magnesium’s role in colorectal health, the researchers pointed to research on magnesium’s effect on regulating cell division (7) and maintaining proper function of a protein called c-myc (8). Magnesium has also shown a benefit to blood sugar health (9) as type 2 diabetes is a risk factor for colorectal cancer (10).

For the researchers, “findings from this meta-analysis of prospective studies suggest that a higher or increased intake of magnesium may help to mildly reduce the risk of colorectal cancer” and that “Given the observed association of magnesium intake with colorectal cancer risk is of borderline significance, the findings are required to be confirmed by more large prospective studies.”

Source: Chen, G. C., Z. Pang, and Q. F. Liu. “Magnesium intake and risk of colorectal cancer: a meta-analysis of prospective studies.” European journal of clinical nutrition 66.11 (2012): 1182-1186.

© 2012 Macmillan Publishers Limited

Posted November 12, 2012.

Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Hauppauge, NY.  You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.PitchingDoc.com

References:

  1.  “Colorectal Cancer Statistics” accessed from the CDC website October 31, 2012.
  2. Zick SM.Phase II Study of the Effects of Ginger Root Extract on Eicosanoids in Colon Mucosa in People at Normal Risk for Colorectal Cancer. AACR 2011; Published OnlineFirst on October 11, 2011; DOI:10.1158/1940-6207.CAPR-11-0224.
  3. Fujimori S, et al., Determination of the minimal essential serum folate concentration for reduced risk of colorectal adenoma, Clinical Nutrition (2011), doi:10.1016/j.clnu.2011.04.007.
  4. Yong G. Prospective Cohort Study of Green Tea Consumption and Colorectal Cancer Risk in Women. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007 16: 1219-1223 doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-07-0097.
  5. Wark PA.  Magnesium intake and colorectal tumor risk: a case-control study and meta-analysis. Am J Clin Nutr doi: 10.3945/ajcn.111.030924.
  6. Chen GC.  Magnesium intake and risk of colorectal cancer: a meta-analysis of prospective studies.  Eur J Clin Nutr. 2012 Oct 3. doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2012.135. [Epub ahead of print]
  7. Wolf FI, Trapani V. Cell (patho)physiology of magnesium. Clin Sci (Lond) 2008; 114:27–35.
  8. Mori H, Morishita Y, Mori Y, Yoshimi N, Sugie S, Tanaka T. Effect of magnesium hydroxide on methylazoxymethanol acetate-induced epithelial proliferation in the large bowels of rats. Cancer Lett 1992; 62: 43–48.
  9. Dong JY, Xun P, He K, Qin LQ. Magnesium intake and risk of type 2 diabetes: meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. Diabetes Care 2011; 34: 2116–2122.
  10. Dong JY, Xun P, He K, Qin LQ. Magnesium intake and risk of type 2 diabetes: meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. Diabetes Care 2011; 34: 2116–2122.