The lipid hypothesis of heart disease is rapidly being supplanted by the inflammatory hypothesis, which, for my money, is much more on the mark. The researchers who have spent their careers doing cholesterol research are not going down without a fight, however. Whereas most of the speakers at medical conferences always used to show graphs demonstrating that as cholesterol levels went up, so did the risk for heart disease. Now most speakers are showing graphs demonstrating that elevated cholesterol in combination with an elevated C-reactive protein (a measure of inflammation) is a better gauge of heart disease risk. I predict that over the next few years, the cholesterol part of these graphs will slowly disappear.

As the inflammatory hypothesis becomes more accepted, more and more physicians will be checking C-reactive protein levels along with a few other inflammatory yardsticks to determine the inflammatory status of their patients. If the C-reactive protein level is found to be elevated, then steps can be taken, not just to reduce the C-reactive protein, but to treat the underlying inflammation so that the C-reactive protein a marker of this underlying inflammation will normalize.

One easy step in the inflammation reduction process is to make sure magnesium intake is high. (emphasis mine)

And here is another article on the subject:

Magnesium – The Anti-Inflammatory Mineral

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 – Byron Richards, CCN

A new study of 3,713 postmenopausal women shows that magnesium is a powerful anti-inflammatory nutrient. Each 100 mg of magnesium per day was associated with a significant reduction in various inflammatory markers.

Magnesium is the most lacking mineral in the human diet. This is due primarily to Big Agribusiness farming practices that have stripped our soils of vital minerals needed for human health. It is complicated by processed diets lacking in magnesium-containing fresh fruits and vegetables. When you consider that inflammation is behind almost all health problems the consequence of eating a magnesium deficient diet becomes obvious.

The study showed that inflammatory markers such as CRP (C-reactive protein), TNFa (tumor necrosis factor alpha), and IL6 (interleukin 6) were all reduced when magnesium intake was higher. These are common inflammatory markers that are often elevated with the diseases of aging.

Furthermore, various inflammatory markers relating to the walls of arteries were also reduced when magnesium was adequate. Inflammation on the lining of the arteries is required for plaque formation. Reducing such inflammation is highly protective to arterial health.

It is not a stretch to say that if public health officials did nothing other than ensure vitamin D and magnesium sufficiency the entire health of a nation would be drastically improved and health care costs would be significantly lower.




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