How does not having enough magnesium impact our body?

For society and science, aging healthily and having a good quality of life in the last years of life It is a goal that we want to reach little by little. Gene therapies, evidence that do exercise of strength is the best and even having a good diet These are some of the keys we know to be able to have very healthy aging. But to this list now we must add the magnesium.

On everyone’s lips. The magnesium supplementation It is something that is quite fashionable right now in society in general due to the supposed benefits that having optimal levels of this mineral can have. But now it is being seen that magnesium deficiency is not only tremendously common as we age, but it acts as a catalyst for our body to age worse and faster.

There are studies. To verify the effect of magnesium on our old age, we have to look at the research that science has done on the matter. In this case, in the biology of aging they are guided by what they call the ‘hallmarks of aging’that is, marks of aging in the genetic material that dictate how and why our cells deteriorate.

Here is a review from 2024 put on the table that magnesium is directly related to each and every one of these markers. We are talking about DNA instability, shortening of telomeres, which are essential to protect the genetic material, dysfunction of the mitochondria, which are the ‘energy factories’ and the dreaded chronic inflammation.

And it has been seen. Studies done in the laboratory had already warned us of this. In 2008 It was shown that when a type of human cell was cultured in a magnesium-poor environment, it entered programmed senescence. That is, they age suddenly.

Here it was seen how tissue aging markers began to increase and telomeres shortened rapidly. Basically, the cell loses its ability to repair itself and goes into an “early retirement” mode.

Its consequences. This accelerated cellular aging not only remains in the microscope, but has great consequences in the human body that results in what is known in medicine as ‘inflammation‘, that is, the chronic low-grade inflammation that is associated with age.

In this way, chronic magnesium deficiency favors the production of free radicals and pro-inflammatory cytokines, and this oxidative cascade has a direct impact on protein. Klothopopularly known as the “anti-aging protein.” And it is that this protective protein of our cells, without magnesium, it seems to function much worse.

In the day to day. Here science suggests that having low levels of magnesium in the blood increases up to 24% the risk of dementia and cognitive decline. And in the case of muscle, it occurs a loss of muscle mass and strengthwhich is one of the great dangers in the elderly.

Why is there a deficit? As we age, our body becomes inefficient at processing this mineral, which results in the The intestine absorbs less magnesium from food and the kidneys excrete more through urine. Yes to this we add diets which may be poorer at certain ages, along with more typical age-related diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, the result may be a drop in magnesium.

The supplementation. Although it may be very easy, given all this, to start taking magnesium pills daily, the truth is that it is not necessary. In this case, the clinical approach proposed is to have personalized supplementation with a diet rich in magnesiumwith more green leafy vegetables and legumes. But in addition, it is also important to measure how much magnesium we have in our blood with an analysis to decide whether to take supplementation or not.

The problem is that today having a magnesium supplement is within everyone’s reach, finding it on supermarket shelves. But we must insist that, before starting to take a pill, we must see if we really need it.

Images | MIND FAVOR Daniel Franco

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