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Low level of Magnesium linked to disease-causing DNA damage

If you're getting plenty of leafy greens, dark chocolate, nuts, and beans, you're probably doing fine. But if your diet is lacking, you might want to pay attention to this new eye-opening study that links a mineral deficiency issue to DNA changes.

The study, carried out by researchers at the University of South Australia (UniSA), examined blood samples from 172 middle-aged adults and found that those who had low magnesium also had high levels of an amino acid called homocysteine. "This indicates that sufficiently high magnesium levels in the blood are essential to protect our genes from toxicity caused by homocysteine, which is increased when folate and vitamin B12 are deficient.” The research team believes the damaging results of low magnesium are due to the fact that it can break down the body's ability to produce energy and power cells, which can in turn lead to faster tissue aging.

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