Magnesium & Stroke: What's the Link?

We are what we eat.  I've heard that phrase over & over again.  I think about this every time I come across kettle chips, Polish dogs, Coca Cola, and my close friends, Ben & Jerry.  Do I really want to consume this?  How long will the short term euphoria last?  Aren't I better than this?  Isn't there a better option?

Along those same lines, I stumbled upon a meta-analysis published this month in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in which dietary magnesium was inversely linked to ischemic stroke risk.  The authors arrived at their conclusion by analyzing 7 prospective cohort studies involving 241,378 individuals of whom 6,477 had a stroke.  For every increase of dietary magnesium by 100mg, the authors noted an 8% decrease in total stroke, mostly due to ischemic stroke.  This finding was present in all studies.  

Of note, magnesium consumption was not associated with a decrease in intracerebral hemorrhage or subarachnoid hemorrhage, the latter two representing the proverbial burst pipe in a home as opposed to ischemic stroke's clogged pipe.  Either way, you end up with a mess (loss of neurologic function) but clinically speaking 80% of strokes are ischemic in nature w/hemorrhagic strokes representing the other 20%.

As stated previously in other posts, observational studies such as these are useful for developing hypotheses & theories but cannot be used to demonstrate cause & effect.  However, given that green leafy vegetables, beans, nuts, and whole-grain products are rich in magnesium, there's no reason we can't improve overall health and lower stroke risk at the same time.

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