Could this popular sleep supplement play a role in cancer prevention?

New research suggests that magnesium may help lower the risk of colon cancer by increasing vitamin D levels in the body.Here's what experts want you to know.

Could this popular sleep supplement play a role in cancer prevention?

A new study suggests that taking magnesium supplements may reduce the risk of colorectal cancer in some people.

This may have to do with magnesium's involvement in making vitamin D useful to the body, as vitamin D may also play a role in cancer prevention.

However, more research is needed before experts recommend taking magnesium supplements for this purpose.

Everyone has their favorite way to get a good night's sleep, but it's hard to ignore the fact that magnesium is having a moment.Now, new research shows that this popular supplement can do more than just help you relax before bed.

The study, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, shows that magnesium can affect body processes that are related to the risk of colorectal cancer.So, what is behind this and what is with this information?The doctors are breaking it.

Meet the Experts: Nagy B.Kumar, PhD, RD, is a senior fellow in the Cancer Epidemiology Program at Moffitt Cancer Center.Qi Dai, MD, PhD, is the study's lead author and professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.Martha J.Shrubsole, PhD, is a study co-author and research professor of epidemiology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

What was found in this research?

For the study, the researchers recruited 239 people and divided them into two groups.One group was given a magnesium supplement and the other a placebo.(The exact amount of magnesium each person received was "individualized," according to the study.) The researchers then analyzed the participants' gut microbiomes from stool samples, rectal samples, and rectal tissue samples.The researchers also looked at the participants' TRPM7 genotype, which is a gene that controls how the body absorbs magnesium and calcium.

The researchers found that people with good TRPM7 activity who took extra magnesium had higher levels of Carnobacterium maltaromaticum and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, which can increase vitamin D in the intestines and may have a risk of colorectal cancer.In people with insufficient TRPM7 activity, magnesium supplementation reduced the number of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii in the rectum.

These findings suggest that magnesium supplementation may reduce the risk of colorectal cancer in individuals with sufficient TRPM7 function.However, it also suggests that magnesium may not be equally beneficial for everyone—and that genetics may be important.

Why can magnesium help reduce the risk of colorectal cancer?

This is difficult."Magnesium is involved in many functions in the human body, so magnesium has many ways to help reduce the risk of colorectal cancer," said Qi Dai, MD, PhD, lead author of the study and professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center."One possible way is to make vitamin D that is useful in the body, because vitamin D may also be important in preventing cancer."

Dr. Dai's previous research found that magnesium helps increase blood vitamin D levels when a person's vitamin D levels are already low."In this study, magnesium helped increase the amount of vitamin D-producing bacteria in the gut," he said.

But this is an "initial observation" of a link between magnesium, vitamin D, colorectal cancer and some bacteria, notes Nagi B. Kumar, Ph.D., a senior member of the Cancer Epidemiology Program at the Moffitt Cancer Center. That means more work needs to be done.

What does it mean to move forward?

Kumar reiterated that more research is needed, and don't just douse yourself with magnesium supplements in hopes of reducing cancer risk.However, most people don't get enough magnesium in their diet, says study co-author Martha J.

"While we cannot say with 100% certainty that increasing magnesium intake will reduce a person's colon cancer risk, there are many potential health reasons to increase your magnesium intake through diet and/or supplementation to meet the RDA," he said.

As always, talk to your doctor before taking magnesium - or any other supplement - to make sure it's right for you first.

You might like it too