The Requirement of Magnesium by the Normal Adult

Abstract

I T IS hoped that Perspectives in Nutrition will review the literature selectively, interpret it moderately and present a spectrum of ideas that will serve as a continual stimulation to nutritional research applied to medical problems. M AGNESIUM has been accepted as an essential nutrient for the rat since 1932 when Kruse, Orent and McCollum 1 induced an acute magnesium deficiency syndrome in rats. The characteristics of magnesium deficiency were then studied in rats and in other laboratory animals by these investigators, 2-e and byGreenberg,T-10 Tuftsetal.u • 12 and Watchorn and McCance. u •In the past fifteen to twenty years, the early work on the magnesium deficiency syndrome has been verified and interrelationships of magnesium with other dietary • factors have been elucidated. The systems affected in the acute deficiency state are primarily neuromuscular, cardiovascular and renal. Hyperirritability terminating in convulsions, hyperemia, vasodilation and trophic changes in the skin are initial manifestations of acute magnesium deficiency. Calcinosis of heart, muscle and kidney occur later. During the 1930's and early in the war years, there was a fliiriy of interest in the possibility that magnesium depletion might play a role, in both man and farm animals, in conditions characterized by convulsions or by less severe manifestations of neuromuscular irritability. Haury and Hirschfelderu-18 correlated low plasma levels of magnesium with several clini-From the

Magnesium metabolism in hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism.

“…One might, therefore, expect to find less of the ingested magnesium appearing in the feces in our hypothyroid than our hyperthyroid patients-an expectation just opposite to our findings. Furthermore, a comparison of our data to composite balance data and graphs of Seelig (27) indicates that our results cannot be explained on the basis of intake alone. The magnitude of negative balance in our hypothyroid patients during therapy exceeds any recorded for normal subjects on similar intakes of magnesium and calcium, and our hyperthyroid patients had strikingly positive balances in contrast to those reported in normal subjects on similar magnesium and calcium intakes.…”

“…Seelig (27) in an exhaustive review of previously published magnesium balance data, concluded that the reported magnesium requirement of 18 to 25 mEq per day (220 to 300 mg) is low and that with intakes below 0.5 mEq per kg per day (6 mg per kg), negative magnesium balance is likely to develop, particularly in men. High intakes of protein, calcium, vitamin D, or alcohol were found to impede retention or to increase the requirement of magnesium, especially in those on low magnesium intakes.…”

Magnesium Metabolism: A Review

“…As to the intestinal effect of parathyrin and vitamin D, it should be mentioned that contradictory results, i.e. an increase in magnesium absorption, have been reported by other authors (118)(119)(120).…”

Oral Magnesium Therapy Improves Endothelial Function in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease

“…Evidence suggests that the occidental "American diet" is relatively deficient in magnesium, whereas the "Oriental diet," which is characterized by a greater intake of fruits and vegetables, is rich in magnesium. 31 It has also been observed that CAD patients absorb more magnesium during magnesium loading testing than do those without CAD, suggesting that CAD is associated with excessive magnesium loss and a relative magnesium-deficient state. 32 Evidence suggests that endothelial dysfunction may be the initiating event in the atherosclerotic process that subsequently leads to clinical CAD.…”