Vital nutrient has key role in keeping body clocks running on time
The essential mineral magnesium has an unexpected role in helping living things remain adapted to the rhythms of night and day, scientists have discovered. Magnesium -- a nutrient found in many foods -- helps control how cells keep their own form of time to cope with the natural environmental cycle of day and night.
An essential mineral in our diets has an unexpected role in helping living things remain adapted to the rhythms of night and day, scientists have found.
Magnesium -- a nutrient found in many foods -- helps control how cells keep their own form of time to cope with the natural environmental cycle of day and night.
The discovery in cells is expected to be linked to whole body clocks which influence daily cycles -- or circadian rhythms -- of sleeping and waking, hormone release, body temperature and other important bodily functions in people.
The surprising discovery may aid the development of chronotherapy -- treatment scheduled according to time of day -- in people, and the development of new crop varieties with increased yields or adjustable harvesting seasons.
Experiments in three major types of biological organisms -- human cells, algae, and fungi -- found in each case that levels of magnesium in cells rise and fall in a daily cycle.
Scientists found that this oscillation was critical to sustain the 24-hour clock in cells. They were surprised to discover that it also had an enormous impact on metabolism in cells -- how fast cells can convert nutrients into energy -- throughout the course of a day.
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh and the MRC Laboratory for Molecular Biology in Cambridge used molecular analysis to find that concentrations of magnesium rose and fell in a 24-hour cycle in all cell types, and that this impacts on the cells' internal clocks.
Further tests showed that magnesium levels were linked to the cells' ability to burn energy. It was already known that magnesium is essential to help living things convert food into fuel, but scientists were surprised to discover that it also controls when this biological function takes place, and how efficiently.
Their study, published in Nature, was supported by the Royal Society, the Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust.
Dr Gerben van Ooijen, of the University of Edinburgh's School of Biological Sciences, who led the study, said: "Internal clocks are fundamental to all living things. They influence many aspects of health and disease in our own bodies, but equally in crop plants and micro-organisms. It is now essential to find out how these fundamentally novel observations translate to whole tissue or organisms, to make us better equipped to influence them in complex organisms for future medical and agricultural purposes."
The study's other senior author, Dr John O'Neill of the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, said: "Although the clinical relevance of magnesium in various tissues is beginning to garner more attention, how magnesium regulates our body's internal clock and metabolism has simply not been considered before. The new discovery could lead to a whole range of benefits spanning human health to agricultural productivity."
The discovery in cells is expected to be linked to whole body clocks which influence daily cycles -- or circadian rhythms -- of sleeping and waking, hormone release, body temperature and other important bodily functions in people.
The surprising discovery may aid the development of chronotherapy -- treatment scheduled according to time of day -- in people, and the development of new crop varieties with increased yields or adjustable harvesting seasons.
Experiments in three major types of biological organisms -- human cells, algae, and fungi -- found in each case that levels of magnesium in cells rise and fall in a daily cycle.
Scientists found that this oscillation was critical to sustain the 24-hour clock in cells. They were surprised to discover that it also had an enormous impact on metabolism in cells -- how fast cells can convert nutrients into energy -- throughout the course of a day.
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh and the MRC Laboratory for Molecular Biology in Cambridge used molecular analysis to find that concentrations of magnesium rose and fell in a 24-hour cycle in all cell types, and that this impacts on the cells' internal clocks.
Further tests showed that magnesium levels were linked to the cells' ability to burn energy. It was already known that magnesium is essential to help living things convert food into fuel, but scientists were surprised to discover that it also controls when this biological function takes place, and how efficiently.
Their study, published in Nature, was supported by the Royal Society, the Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust.
Dr Gerben van Ooijen, of the University of Edinburgh's School of Biological Sciences, who led the study, said: "Internal clocks are fundamental to all living things. They influence many aspects of health and disease in our own bodies, but equally in crop plants and micro-organisms. It is now essential to find out how these fundamentally novel observations translate to whole tissue or organisms, to make us better equipped to influence them in complex organisms for future medical and agricultural purposes."
The study's other senior author, Dr John O'Neill of the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, said: "Although the clinical relevance of magnesium in various tissues is beginning to garner more attention, how magnesium regulates our body's internal clock and metabolism has simply not been considered before. The new discovery could lead to a whole range of benefits spanning human health to agricultural productivity."
Story Source:
Materials provided by University of Edinburgh. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Materials provided by University of Edinburgh. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Journal Reference:
- Kevin A. Feeney, Louise L. Hansen, Marrit Putker, Consuelo Olivares-Yañez, Jason Day, Lorna J. Eades, Luis F. Larrondo, Nathaniel P. Hoyle, John S. O’Neill, Gerben van Ooijen. Daily magnesium fluxes regulate cellular timekeeping and energy balance. Nature, 2016; DOI: 10.1038/nature17407
Magnesium’s benefits can include reduced symptoms from conditions such as chronic pain, fatigue and insomnia. Magnesium may also provide protection from a number of chronic diseases, especially those associated with aging and stress.
ReplyDeleteOther Magnesium Supplement Benefits. Other benefits of magnesium supplementation include its ability to improve insulin sensitivity and metabolic control in people with type 2 diabetes. Elevated blood sugar levels increase the loss of magnesium in the urine, which in turn lowers blood levels of magnesium.
ReplyDelete1.Depressions. Low levels of magnesium appear to reduce serotonin levels (the feel good hormone)...
ReplyDelete2.Diabetes. A large clinical study of over 2,000 people has shown that increasing the amount...
3.Testosterone levels. New research has shown that taking magnesium increases testosterone levels.
Health benefits of magnesium include prevention of constipation, eclamptic seizures, and asthma. It keeps your nerves, muscles, and bones healthy. It also helps in protein synthesis and cellular metabolism. Magnesium is vital for sustaining a normal heartbeat and is used by doctors to treat irregularities in the heart rhythm. Other health benefits include its positive impact on reducing osteoporosis, and maintenance of sugar level, as well as its favorable effects on diabetes, back pain
ReplyDeleteMagnesium is a mineral found in the earth, sea, plants, animals and humans.
ReplyDeleteAbout 60% of the magnesium in your body is found in bone, while the rest is in muscles, soft tissues and fluids, including blood (1Trusted Source).
In fact, every cell in your body contains it and needs it to function.
One of magnesium's main roles is acting as a cofactor or "helper molecule" in the biochemical reactions continuously performed by enzymes.
In fact, it’s involved in more than 600 reactions in your body, including (2Trusted Source):
Energy creation: Helps convert food into energy.
Protein formation: Helps create new proteins from amino acids.
Gene maintenance: Helps create and repair DNA and RNA.
Muscle movements: Is part of the contraction and relaxation of muscles.
Nervous system regulation: Helps regulate neurotransmitters, which send messages throughout your brain and nervous system.
What is Magnesium?
ReplyDeleteMagnesium is an essential mineral required by our body for maintaining the overall health. It is one of those essential minerals that help in calcium absorption by the human body and plays an important role in the formation and strengthening of teeth and bones.
What is the importance of Magnesium?
Medical experts often highlight the importance of including adequate vitamin and mineral intake into our daily diet. Magnesium is required for more than 300 biochemical reactions in the body. It is the fourth most prevalent mineral in the body and is partially responsible for countless aspects. Roughly 50% of our body’s total magnesium is stored in our bones, while the remaining part is predominantly found in the cells of body tissues and organs. Although the human body is very good at regulating a constant level of this essential mineral, only 1% of it is available in the blood.