Magnesium L-threonate Provides Cognitive Benefits
The magnesium L-threonate supplements can contribute to improved health for people at risk of a magnesium deficiency or certain health problems.
For nearly 30 years, scientists have been convinced that increasing magnesium levels in the brain can potentially prevent or reverse some age-related changes that contribute to cognitive decline and dementia.
However, it’s been difficult to put this knowledge into practice because taking more magnesium orally does not significantly raise brain levels.
A unique form of magnesium developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is changing that.
Magnesium L-threonate has been shown to boost brain magnesium levels in animals when taken orally. This effect is due to its unique ability to cross the blood-brain barrier.
Another rodent study showed that oral use of magnesium L-threonate raised brain fluid levels of magnesium by 54%.
Brain benefits have also been shown in humans.
In a clinical study of adults with cognitive impairment, magnesium L-threonate reversed measures of brain aging by 9 years.
Magnesium’s Impact on the Brain
Magnesium is an essential mineral found in varying amounts in a range of plant- and animal-based foods. Throughout the body, it works as a cofactor, or helper molecule, required for the normal function of hundreds of enzyme systems.
In fact, magnesium is essential for about 80% of the body’s metabolic functions.
Magnesium plays an especially critical role in the brain, where it protects the functioning of synapses, the communication connection points between brain cells.
For people to learn and form memories, synapses must have a property known as plasticity, the ability to adapt and change in response to stimuli.
Declining synaptic plasticity is a major contributor to loss of cognitive function in older age. And magnesium can help stop this decline.
How it Works
Brain cells release a “messenger” from most synapses, known as neurotransmitters.
Neurotransmitters bind to a receptor for the neurotransmitter on the other brain cell, thereby stimulating it.
In areas of the brain where learning and forming memories take place, the most important receptor is NMDA.
The NMDA receptor requires an additional step to become fully activated – one that involves magnesium.
Magnesium acts as a secondary activator of the NMDA receptor and is vital to the synapses’ plasticity.
Without magnesium, the NMDA receptor and the whole synapse fail to function normally.
In animal studies, researchers have demonstrated that increasing levels of magnesium in the brain increases synaptic plasticity and leads to greater synaptic density.
That means it helps existing synapses work better and also increases the overall number of synapses.
These effects translate into improvements in cognitive function, including better learning and memory.
Boosting Magnesium Brain Levels
Scientists at MIT developed a form of magnesium called magnesium L-threonate.
This form is more easily absorbed, or bioavailable, and results in higher levels of magnesium in the brain compared to other forms.
In fact, oral intake of magnesium L-threonate raises brain fluid levels of magnesium in rodents by 54%. It also increases synaptic density and increases production of NMDA receptors in brain cells.
Most importantly, several studies demonstrate that this boost to brain magnesium directly translates to improvement in mental function.
Synapses: The Point of Connection Between Brain Cells
Neurotransmitters stimulate receptors by binding to them. Information from one neuron flows to another neuron across a synapse.
Making Rodents Smarter
If you have a pet hamster, you might want to give it a little brain boost.
Scientists first tested magnesium L-threonate on aged rats. The results showed an enhanced ability to learn, with improvements seen in both short-term and long-term memory.
Another study pitted magnesium L-threonate against other, common forms of magnesium, including magnesium chloride and magnesium sulphate.10 Magnesium L-threonate led to greater improvements in memory than the other forms of magnesium.
Two mouse studies specifically evaluated magnesium L-threonate in models of Alzheimer’s disease, the most common cause of dementia in older adults. In both studies, it prevented the loss of synapses associated with Alzheimer’s and maintained or improved memory.
Magnesium L-threonate was even effective at improving cognition in very late-stage Alzheimer’s disease.
Another study in mice showed that magnesium L-threonate stimulated the growth of new brain cells in parts of the brain central to memory and learning. Normally, the growth of these brain cells slows or stops in older animals, but magnesium L-threonate prevents this decline.
A Groundbreaking Human Trial
A group of scientists designed a clinical study to test whether these benefits translate to people.
Adults 50-70 years old, with some level of cognitive impairment, received 1,500 mg-2,000 mg (depending on body weight) daily of magnesium L-threonate or a placebo for 12 weeks.
At the end of the study, subjects who were treated with magnesium L-threonate had an improvement in overall cognitive ability.
On average, subjects started out with some degree of impairment of executive functioning, the ability to think abstractly, plan, and make decisions. By the end of the study, the executive functioning of those taking magnesium L-threonate was restored to nearly normal for their age.
At the start of the study, the participants averaged 57 years of age. However, their brain age based on cognitive functioning was 68 years old. By the end of the trial, those receiving magnesium L-threonate improved by 9 years of brain age, a truly remarkable result.
Brain Protection with Magnesium L-Threonate
*The mineral magnesium plays a critical role in the brain, protecting the function of synapses involved in complex cognitive processes such as learning and memory.
*Inadequate magnesium intake is very common, yet most magnesium isn’t absorbed well by the body and can’t enter the brain in sufficient amounts.
*Scientists at MIT developed a new form of magnesium called magnesium L-threonate, which is highly absorbable and has been shown to increase brain levels of magnesium to a much higher degree than other forms.
*Studies in animals and humans show that magnesium L-threonate improves and maintains cognitive function, even in older individuals with prior signs of cognitive decline.
*In one human study, it reversed cognitive measures of brain aging by 9 years.
Getting Enough Magnesium
Most people don’t get nearly enough magnesium from their diet.
In the U.S., approximately 65% of all adults have below-optimal intake of magnesium. That number gets even higher in older age, with more than 80% of people over 71 consuming inadequate amounts of magnesium.
Over time, this leads to magnesium deficiency, which contributes to many chronic conditions including cardiovascular disease and age-related loss of cognitive function.
Fortunately, supplementation with magnesium L-threonate can resolve magnesium deficiency and contribute to improved health and longevity.
Conclusion
Magnesium is a critically important mineral required for the function of hundreds of enzymes in the human body, making it essential for nearly 80% of our metabolic reactions.
In the brain, magnesium is needed for the proper functioning of synapses involved in complex tasks such as learning and memory.
A large majority of the population suffers from inadequate magnesium intake. Because most magnesium supplements are poorly absorbed and do not enter the brain in sufficient quantities, fixing this problem has been difficult.
An improved type of magnesium is finally changing that.
Magnesium L-threonate is easily absorbed and taken up into the brain, providing cognitive benefits as shown by animal and human studies.
This form of magnesium offers tremendous promise to aging people seeking to maximize their neurological potential.
Top 4 magnesium L-threonate Products
Pure Encapsulations Magnesium (Glycinate) – Supplement to Support Stress Relief, Sleep, Heart Health, Nerves, Muscles, and Metabolism* – with Magnesium Glycinate – 90 Capsules
Nature Made Extra Strength Magnesium Oxide 400 mg, Dietary Supplement for Muscle Support, 110 Count
Doctor’s Best High Absorption Magnesium Glycinate Lysinate, 100% Chelated, Non-GMO, Vegan, Gluten & Soy Free, 100 mg, 240 Count
Life Extension Neuro-mag Magnesium L-threonate, Magnesium L-threonate, Brain Health, Memory & Attention, Gluten Free, Vegetarian, Non-GMO, 90 Vegetarian Capsules
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