This mineral cannot be ignored in preventing colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer is the third most common malignant tumor in the world. In the past decade, the incidence and death of colorectal cancer in my country have increased significantly. However, compared with other cancers, colorectal cancer is a preventable cancer.

In order to evaluate the impact of factors such as diet and medication on the risk of colorectal cancer, scholars from the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research analyzed the published literature and found that magnesium, folic acid, dairy products, dietary fiber, fruits and vegetables, and soybeans have a preventive effect on colorectal cancer; while meat, especially red meat and processed meat, and drinking alcohol increase the risk of colorectal cancer.

The conclusion drawn from the above literature is that when magnesium intake is greater than 255 mg/day, a preventive effect on colorectal cancer can be observed, which can reduce the risk of colorectal cancer by 13% to 22%. The "Dietary Reference Intake for Chinese Residents" recommends that the recommended daily intake of magnesium for adults is 330 mg. If the daily intake meets the standard, it can play a positive role in the prevention of colorectal cancer.

Like many minerals, magnesium is an activator of many enzymes. Magnesium is involved in the metabolism of the three major heat-producing nutrients in the body, as well as nerve transmission, muscle contraction, etc. In addition, magnesium also plays an important role in bone metabolism. In addition to preventing colorectal cancer, magnesium deficiency is also closely related to insomnia, depression, hypertension, osteoporosis, diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis and other diseases.

As living conditions improve, many people's protein and fat intake exceeds the standard, and the staple food is becoming more and more refined. One of the adverse consequences of such a diet is that magnesium intake is often insufficient. Among common foods, nuts, seafood, whole grains, green leafy vegetables, etc. have high magnesium content.

According to the second edition of the Chinese Food Composition Table, the magnesium content of various dried fruits is as follows: hazelnuts (fried) 502mg/100g, watermelon seeds (fried) 448mg/100g, pumpkin seeds (fried) and white melon seeds 376mg/100g, almonds 286mg/100g, sunflower seeds (fried) 267mg/100g, pine nuts (fried) 186mg/100g, peanut kernels (fried) 176mg/100g. I would like to remind you that although nuts are rich in magnesium, healthy adults only need to eat about 10g a day, which is equivalent to a small handful. Do not eat too much and change the variety frequently.

Since chlorophyll contains magnesium, dark green vegetables have a higher magnesium content. For example, fresh celery leaves contain 58 mg/100 g of magnesium, while fresh fennel contains 46 mg/100 g of magnesium. The Chinese Dietary Guidelines recommend that adults consume 300 to 500 g of vegetables per day, and suggest that more than half of the vegetables consumed should be green leafy vegetables.

In addition to vegetables and nuts, seafood and whole grains also contain relatively high amounts of magnesium. In addition, it should be noted that one should not be too partial to meat, nor should one be too partial to vegetarian food and neglect protein intake, as these will lead to insufficient magnesium absorption. Finally, the cooking method must be scientific. When cooking dark green vegetables, do not add too much vinegar to avoid exacerbating magnesium loss.

(Yu Kang, chief physician of Peking Union Medical College Hospital)