Diabetes Tip: Magnesium Helps Prevent Diabetes and Diabetes Complications

Anyone living with diabetes or worried about their blood sugar levels should include magnesium in their daily supplement regimens. Here’s why:

Swedish scientists reviewed several published trials that examined magnesium intake and found that for every 100 mg increase in daily magnesium, there was a 15 percent decrease in the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Magnesium is even more important if you already have diabetes. Diabetes is a nutritional wasting disease. When blood sugar is high, it becomes a powerful diuretic that leads to increased urination. Unfortunately, increased urine output results in losses of virtually all water-soluble nutrients. This leads to deficiencies in a number of vitamins and minerals—including magnesium.

Low magnesium levels not only make controlling blood sugar more difficult, but also increase risk of diabetes complications. For example, studies show that individuals with the lowest levels of magnesium are the most likely to have severe diabetic neuropathy.

As you can see, shoring up on magnesium is absolutely critical for anyone concerned about blood glucose levels. If you’re at risk or are currently living with diabetes, make sure you get 500–1,000 mg of magnesium daily.