According to this study published in the Journal of Nutrition consuming at least 327mg of magnesium reduces a man’s risk of colon cancer by 52% when compared to those men that consume less than 238mg. The same results were not observed in women. Interestingly the RDA for magnesium is between 400 and 420mg for men (310 – 320mg for women). It would be curious to know what impact reaching the RDA would have on colon cancer risk. In animal studies a magnesium deficiency has been linked to bone tumors and lymphomas. The average American consumes approximately 200mg of magnesium per day, far less than the RDA.
For those of you that want to make certain you consume an adequate amount of magnesium here are good sources of magnesium:
Nuts (almonds, cashews, peanuts)
Beans (soy, lentil, black eyed peas, kidney, pinto)
Spinach
Oatmeal
Wheat Bran and Germ
For more specifics on how much magnesium foods contain check out this list from the NIH. If you consume alcohol you should know that it can cause a loss of magnesium.
From my perspective this is another study that shows the benefits of eating a healthy varied plant based diet.
Unrelated note:
Sorry I didn’t come back last night for a dinner post. Dan called me at 6pm and told me to be ready at 7:30pm for dinner. We had dinner with our architect friend Phil from Missouri who was back in town this week. It was a great evening as always, Ian cooked which always means yummy. I was so busy getting ready that I forgot to take my cell phone. Sorry, I didn’t get any pictures. But I did get some good ideas for things to veganize. Ian is always such a great inspiration!
This morning the sun is shining and I am anxious to get outside in the fresh air. I will be back later this morning with another recipe from the back log. I hope you are all having a wonderful morning.
Thanks for the magnesium tip. Jason eats lots of oatmeal and spinach too. He keeps almonds to snack on at work as well. Hope you guys had a great evening!
ReplyDeleteHeather,
ReplyDeleteI was surprised by how little magnesium the average American eats. It proves the point that while most Americans are overweight they are malnourished. Gotta love the standard American diet (not!).
It was a great evening. Unplanned, but great!
talk to you later,
Alicia
Lots of good info., thanks for sharing it Alicia! Glad you had a nice time out too:)
ReplyDeleteJanet,
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing that at plant based diet seems to be the answer for so many current health problems.
Last night was great fun. Between Phil's company and Ian's food there was no way we could have had a bad time.
Alicia
Thanks for sharing such a useful info..
ReplyDeleteNithu,
ReplyDeleteYou are very welcome! I try to post links to articles like this when I see them.
Alicia
Thanks for such great info, Alicia! We always eat nuts esp. almonds, oatmeal and spinach. I'll make sure my hubby reads this study:)
ReplyDeleteOraphan,
ReplyDeleteIt helps to get dietary compliance from my hubby whent I can point to studies. I hope that helps at your house too. ;-)
Alicia