Magnesium and gallstones

[Guest guest]

I recently came across the article pasted below, which came from from

the people at this site:

http://www.phmiracleliving.com/index.html

and thought it might be of interest to folks on this list.

A diet rich in magnesium appears to reduce

the risk developing painful gallstones,

according to findings from a US study.

Consumption of magnesium has been declining

over the years, due in part to the overprocessing

of foods, Dr. Chung-Jyi Tsai and associates note

in their report in the American Journal of

Gastroenterology.

Magnesium deficiency is known to raise

triglyceride levels and decrease HDL ( " good " )

cholesterol levels in the blood, both of which

may increase the risk of developing gallstones.

According to Dr. O. Young, a research

scientist at the pH Miracle Living Center,

" magnesium is a major alkaline buffer of

dietary and metabolic acids, which can cause

brain stones, breast stones, liver stones

and gallbladder stones. When we increase

magnesium the body can better regulate

fluid pH, temperature and oxidative

reduction potential. It is also important

to understand that all stones, wherever they

may appear in the body are nothing more then

dietary and/or metabolic acids that have

been chelated or buffered with alkaline

mineral salts in protecting and preserving

the delicate alkaline design of the body. "

http://www.phmiracleliving.com/pHourSalts.htm

To investigate, Tsai, from the University of

Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, and

colleagues analyzed data from 42,705 men,

between 40 and 75 years of age, who were

enrolled in the Health Professionals Follow-up

Study. The men were followed from 1986 to 2002.

The subjects were surveyed every 2 years to

assess the occurrence of new illnesses,

including gallbladder dis-ease. Magnesium

consumption was determined with a semiquantitative

food frequency questionnaire sent to the participants

every 4 years.

During follow-up, 2195 men were diagnosed with

acidic gallstones, the researchers found.

Compared with the lowest level of total magnesium

intake, the highest intake reduced the risk of

acidic galltones by 33 percent. The same risk

reduction was seen when considering just dietary

magnesium, when supplements were excluded.

" From many studies by this group and others, it

appears that a generally healthy dietary pattern,

with more plant-based foods, fiber, and increasing

complex carbohydrates, and now increasing magnesium

intake will decrease the risk of symptomatic

gallstones, " Dr. W. Ko, from the University

of Washington in Seattle, writes in an accompanying

editorial. " This 'healthy' alkaline dietary pattern

will also help in prevention of other chronic

dis-eases in addition to gallstones. "

Resource:

American Journal of Gastroenterology, February 2008