High Magnesium Intake Lowers Colon Cancer Risk in Women

[Guest guest]

Colleagues, the following is FYI and does not necessarily reflect my own

opinion. I have no further knowledge of the topic. If you do not wish to

receive these posts, set your email filter to filter out any messages

coming from @nutritionucanlivewith.com and the program will remove

anything coming from me.

---------------------------------------------------------

High Magnesium Intake Lowers Colon Cancer Risk in Women

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/522993?sssdmh=dm1.180427 & src=nldne

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Feb 06 - The findings from a study of U.S.

women support the results of an earlier study of Swedish women -- that

dietary magnesium intake is inversely associated with colon cancer risk.

Still, the authors note that a clinical trial is needed to confirm that

the benefit is due to magnesium intake rather than some related factor.

As reported in the American Journal of Epidemiology for February, Dr.

R. Folsom and Dr. Ching-Ping Hong, from the University of

Minnesota in Minneapolis, used food frequency questionnaires to assess

magnesium intake in 35,196 Iowa women, between 55 and 69 years old at

baseline, who were followed for colorectal cancer from 1986 through 2002.

During follow-up, 1112 women developed colorectal cancer, the report

indicates. There was a nonsignificant trend toward decreased colorectal

cancer risk as magnesium intake increased.

Further analysis showed that high magnesium intake offered no apparent

protection against rectal cancer, but did significantly decrease the

risk of colon cancer (p = 0.04). Women in the highest quintile of intake

were 23% less likely to develop colon cancer than their peers in lowest

quintile of intake.

In contrast, the Swedish study found that high magnesium intake was

inversely associated with the risks of both colon and rectal cancer. The

reasons for this difference are unclear, the authors note.

Magnesium has been hypothesized to cut the risk of colon cancer by

reducing oxidative stress, improving insulin sensitivity, or through

mechanisms that reduce colon epithelial cell proliferation, the authors

note.

Am J Epidemiol 2006;163:232-235.

--

ne Holden, MS, RD < fivestar@... >

" Ask the Parkinson Dietitian " http://www.parkinson.org/

" Eat well, stay well with Parkinson's disease "

" Parkinson's disease: Guidelines for Medical Nutrition Therapy "

http://www.nutritionucanlivewith.com/