Liquid minerals....dig a little deeper

The idea that liquid nutrition is more bioavailable has been bantered around forever. I recently came across a magnesium formula and the marketing for the product was good. One only had to dig a little deeper to discover that the science backing up their claims was sadly lacking.

I have added the conclusions derived from digging a little deeper into Nano magnesium and encourage all to do some research and ask some qualified, technical people in the nutritional field before jumping on the marketing social media, nutritional network marketing bandwagon...Anyone on the Internet can make claims about anything, BUT can they back it up with solid science or human clinical trials or proven facts?????


In simple terms, the “Upgraded Magnesium”(by Upgraded Formulas) claim to be 100% bioavailable, directly absorbed Into the body – bypassing digestion - by using angstrom-size minerals”... is great marketing, but is lacking any solid science…

As Dr. Mark Kaye points out, "Magnesium has an atomic radius of approximately 1 angstrom. What do they mean "angstrom sized"? Compared to what?”… For example, nano magnesium may simply be (in this case) magnesium chloride in reverse-osmosis (mineral free) water. Is the only benefit that it is a liquid versus pill?”…  

The ingredients listed in the “Upgraded Magnesium” are magnesium as chloride (a decently utilized form of magnesium), plus reverse-osmosis (mineral free) water. Nothing else. 

As is pointed out below, "All Magnesium supplements are a combination of Magnesium with another substance such as a salt.”… The ingredient lists the “Upgraded Magnesium” as magnesium chloride (magnesium bonded to chloride)… So, based on eveything I can find, the “Upgraded Magnesium” is merely a decent form of magnesium suspended in a (mineral free) water… Nothing to indicate a advantage over any other comparable form of magnesium in either tablet, capsule or powder form.

There are no research studies on their site, or that I can find, documenting a “enhanced uptake” of their "angstrom-size minerals and a patented zero point technology" as compared to any good form of magnesium. 

In fact their only suggested "Proof of effectiveness", is to do a clinical hair analysis before and after 3-6 months of supplementation. (please note that "Hair Trace Mineral analysis” is not considered a reliable assessment of magnesium status and even if of some value, it would only be of interest as compared to a good form of natural magnesium such a magnesium glycinate or citrate)

Bioavilabilty Of Different Magnesium supplements

All Magnesium supplements are a combination of Magnesium with another substance such as a salt. Every salt provides different amounts of elemental Magnesium. The amount of Magnesium and its bioavailability alter the effectiveness of the supplement. Other factors affecting absorption of Magnesium are the existing Magnesium levels of the individual, as Magnesium will be less rapidly absorbed if body levels are already adequate and excreted through the urine or stools if given in excess. Also all the points mentioned above will have an influence on Magnesium absorption.

Bioavailability refers to the amount of elemental Magnesium actually absorbed by the body.

In short, the amount of Magnesium that your tissues can use readily is based on how soluble the Magnesium product is and the amount of elemental or ionic Magnesium that is released.

A value called the “stability constant” is based on the metal-ligand complex. Stability constants are a measure of the strength of the bonds of the compound molecule and vary from 0 upwards.

The lower the stability constant, the more easily it dissolves or dissociates into its metal ions due to weak ionic bonds).  This means the body can easily absorb the metal in ionic form in a pH from 2 (stomach acid) to 7.4 (serum and lymph) ( Thomas E. Furia. 1972).

Metal ions easily pass between the cells. They are under the control of gravity, moving body fluids and the electric charge of the cell membrane.  Metal ions may react with the cell membranes or be taken into the cell. Magnesium ions are present in much greater concentration inside cells than in the serum, being actively brought into the cell, as the cell needs them.

For example, although Magnesium oxide has the highest elemental Magnesium (60%), it also has a high stability constant, meaning that it does not dissociate, or ionize and is therefore poorly bioavailable Gut absorption is believed to be as low as 4%( leaving 288mg of a 500mg capsule unabsorbed in the intestines).

You will find that Magnesium oxide is very common in poor quality supplements simply because it is cheap however, only about 4% of its elemental magnesium is absorbed, equivalent to about 12 mg out of a 500 mg tablet.

Remember to always do your homework on what you put in and on your body. You deserve the best and highest quality nutritional products and food. It is your responsibility to ensure your body is taken care of.  It is the only one you have. Cherish it.

The argument about soy and cancer

Soy and Cancer? 

2017: 'This study puts that argument to rest’

Soy may not pose a risk for women with breast cancer after all, according to a study published in the journal Cancer, March 6, 2017

On the contrary, it actually might be associated with a reduced risk of death over a nine-year period in some women, said Dr. Fang Fang Zhang, a cancer epidemiologist and assistant professor at Tufts University's Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.

"Results from our study and those from others are consistent that soy food consumption in women with breast cancer does not have a detrimental effect on prognosis or survival," said Zhang, lead author of the study.

The study involved data on 6,235 American and Canadian women with breast cancer, including their diets, and cancer survival and death rates, between 1995 and 2015. The data came from the Breast Cancer Family Registry, an international database funded by the National Cancer Institute.

Zhang and her colleagues analyzed the data, taking a close look at each woman's diet and survival outcome, which were tracked over 113-month (or about 9.4-year) follow-up periods in the data.

The researchers controlled for other factors that might influence death rates, such as socioeconomic status, exercise, weight and habits such as smoking or drinking alcohol.

Then, the researchers sorted the women into four groups based on the amount of isoflavones they consumed through soy foods.
The researchers found that the women in the highest quartile -- who consumed the most isoflavones, about a half to one serving a week -- were 21% less likely to die compared with the lowest quartile over the nine-year period in which mortality data were measured.

"I would say this study is probably the strongest one that we have right now in North American women, showing that soy consumption in breast cancer patients is not only safe but also beneficial,” said Dr. Omer Kucuk, a medical oncologist at Emory University's Winship Cancer Institute.

He wrote an editorial about the new study in the journal Cancer.

"Previous studies were in Asian women in China, Japan and Korea," Kucuk said. "And one of the things that people criticizing soy will say is that, 'Oh, well, soy may prevent breast cancer in China and Japan because they eat it all their lives, but in the US, it may not prevent it because US women don't start eating it as a child, they may start it later, and this may not be beneficial.' Well, this study puts that argument to rest.”

Kucuk added that more research is needed to investigate the impact of soy foods on public health.

"Where there is a great need is more clinical studies looking at both prevention of cancer, not just breast cancer but other cancers as well, and also one area that soy isoflavones can be beneficial is preventing the side effects of the cancer treatments we use, like chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormone therapy," Kucuk said.

In his editorial, Kucuk noted that most Americans don't consume appreciable levels of soy foods, even though the US is the top soy producer in the world, producing about 40% of the global soy supply.

"Imagine in areas of low socioeconomic status where a lot of women have a high risk of breast cancer, especially African-American women, and, for example, there could be some large public health type of studies where people can be given vouchers to obtain soy milk or have soy products given to them at a discount or some kind of health policy," Kucuk said.

"Imagine, this could result in huge health care savings," he said. "So far, we know that soy foods are good, soy foods are safe, soy foods prevent breast cancer, and also improve treatment results and decrease mortality in breast cancer patients."

Cancer. 2017 Jun 1;123(11):2070-2079. doi: 10.1002/cncr.30615. Epub 2017 Mar 6.

Dietary isoflavone intake and all-cause mortality in breast cancer survivors: The Breast Cancer Family Registry.

Zhang FF1, Haslam DE1, Terry MB2, Knight JA3,4, Andrulis IL3,4, Daly MB5, Buys SS6, John EM7,8.

Abstract

BACKGROUND

Soy foods possess both antiestrogenic and estrogen-like properties. It remains controversial whether women diagnosed with breast cancer should be advised to eat more or less soy foods, especially for those who receive hormone therapies as part of cancer treatment.

METHODS

The association of dietary intake of isoflavone, the major phytoestrogen in soy, with all-cause mortality was examined in 6235 women with breast cancer enrolled in the Breast Cancer Family Registry. Dietary intake was assessed using a Food Frequency Questionnaire developed for the Hawaii-Los Angeles Multiethnic Cohort among 5178 women who reported prediagnosis diet and 1664 women who reported postdiagnosis diet. Cox proportional-hazard models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

RESULTS

During a median follow-up of 113 months (approximately 9.4 years), 1224 deaths were documented. A 21% decrease was observed in all-cause mortality for women who had the highest versus lowest quartile of dietary isoflavone intake (≥1.5 vs < 0.3 mg daily: HR, 0.79; 95% confidence interval CI, 0.64-0.97; Ptrend = .01). Lower mortality associated with higher intake was limited to women who had tumors that were negative for hormone receptors (HR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.29-0.83; Ptrend = .005) and those who did not receive hormone therapy for their breast cancer (HR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.51-0.91; Ptrend = .02). Interactions, however, did not reach statistical significance.

CONCLUSIONS

In this large, ethnically diverse cohort of women with breast cancer living in North America, a higher dietary intake of isoflavone was associated with reduced all-cause mortality. 

Cancer 2017;123:2070–2079. © 2017 American Cancer Society.