Did you know that magnesium is an essential mineral for the body? It is involved in more than 300 enzyme systems that regulate diverse biochemical reactions in the body, including protein synthesis, muscle and nerve function, blood glucose control, and blood pressure regulation.
Our bodies use magnesium for energy production, oxidative phosphorylation, and glycolysis. This amazing mineral contributes to the structural development of bone and is required for the synthesis of DNA, RNA, and the, underrated, antioxidant glutathione. It also plays a role in the active transport of calcium and potassium ions across cell membranes, a process that is important to nerve impulse conduction, muscle contraction, and normal heart rhythm.
An adult body contains approximately 25 g of magnesium, with 50% to 60% present in the bones and most of the rest in soft tissues. Less than 1% of total magnesium is in blood serum, and these levels are kept under tight control. The normal serum magnesium concentrations range between 0.75 and 0.95 millimoles (mmol)/L.
However, despite its importance, some studies suggest that approximately 50% of U.S. adults get less than the recommended daily amount of magnesium. (1, 2)
Magnesium deficiency is associated with a variety of diseases, such as infections and cancer. Studies have shown that cancerous growths spread faster in the bodies of mice when the animals received a low-magnesium diet – and that their defense against flu viruses was also impaired. However, there has been little research into exactly how this mineral affects the immune system.
The level of magnesium in the blood is an important factor in the immune system’s ability to tackle pathogens and cancer cells. Researchers have reported that T cells, an essential part of our immune system, need a sufficient quantity of magnesium to operate efficiently. Their findings may have important implications for cancer patients.
How Magnesium helps our immune system?
According to researchers from the University Hospital Basel the level of magnesium in the blood is an important factor in the immune system’s ability to tackle pathogens and cancer cells. They have reported that T cells need a sufficient quantity of magnesium to operate efficiently and these findings may have important implications for cancer patients. (3).
Potentially important findings for cancer patients
The fact that magnesium is essential for the functioning of T cells may be a highly significant finding for modern cancer immunotherapies. These therapies aim to mobilize the immune system – in particular cytotoxic T cells – to fight cancer cells. In experimental models, the researchers were able to show that the immune response of T cells against cancer cells was strengthened by an increase in the local magnesium concentration in tumors.
They do this by looking for ways to increase the concentration of magnesium in tumors in a targeted manner and using data from previously completed studies of cancer patients, the researchers were able to show that immunotherapies were less effective in patients with insufficient levels of magnesium in their blood.
Whether a regular intake of magnesium impacts the risk of developing cancer is a question that still needs to be answered, new studies are trying to test the clinical effect of magnesium as a catalyst for the immune system.
Knowing how important this mineral is for health and our immune systems is enough for me to include magnesium-rich foods in my diet like almonds, spinach, and cacao. I also like to supplement with magnesium and always look for a magnesium complex rather than just one single substrate.
1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26404370/