Lee Swanson Research Update

Magnesium May Help Prevent Colorectal Cancer

July 2005

magnesium

A recent study conducted with humans shows that dietary magnesium may play a role in the prevention of colorectal cancer. Previously, scientists had seen a link between magnesium and colorectal cancer in animal studies, but data involving humans has been lacking.

To back up the belief that a high magnesium intake may reduce the risk of colorectal cancer, researchers evaluated the Swedish Mammography Cohort, a group of 61,433 women aged 40 to 75 years who had no previous diagnosis of cancer. The Swedish Mammography Cohort had a 14-year follow-up period.

At the end of 14 years 805 incident colorectal cancer cases were diagnosed. Researchers found that women who had lower levels of magnesium had a higher risk of developing colorectal cancer, leading them to conclude, "a high magnesium intake may reduce the occurrence of colorectal cancer in women."

Journal of the American Medical Association 293(1):86-89, 2005

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