Friday, May 1, 2009

Minerals help protect against cancer

The Facts:

* Over 4,000 middle-aged men in France were studied over an 18-year period to see how blood levels of copper, zinc and magnesium affect the risk of developing cancer or cardiovascular disease.

* High blood levels of copper markedly increased the risk of death by any cause, and the risk of death as a result of cancer or cardiovascular disease. When low zinc levels were also seen this increased the risk of death even further.

* High magnesium levels reduced the risk of death by cancer or cardiovascular disease and when combined with low zinc levels this reduction was more noticeable.

Shaun’s comment: This was an enormous study in an excellent journal, and so its findings are important. Although the mechanism of action was not examined in this study, the message was clear: magnesium reduced the risk of death or cancer in middle-aged men. Many supplements are available and so if you are going to take a supplement, you may want to either take magnesium or a product that contains several supplements including magnesium.

Study Reference:

http://www.epidem.com/pt/re/epidemiology/abstract.00001648-200605000-00017.htm

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