Abstract
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) contribute approximately one-third to noncommunicable diseases in the UK. The central role of magnesium in CVDs (enzyme activity, cardiac signalling, etc.) is well established. Mortality and morbidity rates for CVDs may be inversely related to water hardness, suggesting a role for environmental magnesium. Published official and quasi-official data sources were evaluated to establish a model magnesium intake for a representative adult: standardised reference individual (SRI), standardised reference male (SRM) or standardised reference female (SRF). For typical dietary constituents, only tap water is probably locally derived and bottled water may not be. Fruits and vegetables are imported from many countries, while meat, dairy and cereal products represent a composite of UK source areas. Alcoholic beverages provide magnesium, there is doubt about its absorptive efficiency, and they are not locally derived. A simple model was devised to examine the effect of varying dietary contributions to total daily intake of magnesium. Omitting tap or bottled water, the combined intake, solid food plus alcoholic beverages, is 10.57 mmol Mg (84.5 % RNI) for the SRM and for the SRF, 8.10 mmol Mg (71.7 % RNI). Consumers drinking water derived from reservoirs or rivers, or supplementing it with the purest bottled water, improve their magnesium intake only slightly compared with water containing no magnesium. Choosing bottled water with high magnesium content when the public supply derives from rivers or reservoirs partially satisfies magnesium needs. Real improvement in SRI magnesium nutrition is seen only where water is hard. However, this conclusion cannot be validated until new measurement technologies for body magnesium become available.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Acton, L. (2011). Allotment gardens: A reflection of history, heritage, community and self. Papers from the Institute of Archaeology, 21, 46–58.
Agus, Z. S., & Morad, M. (1991). Modulation of cardiac ion. Annual Review of Physiology, 53(4), 299–307.
Alwan, L., Armstrong, A., Cowan, T., & Riley, M, (eds) (2011) Non communicable diseases: Country profiles 2011, (p. 209). Geneva: World Health Organization
Ames, B. N., Atamna, H., & Killilea, D. W. (2005). Mineral and vitamin deficiencies can accelerate the mitochondrial decay of aging. Molecular Aspects of Medicine, 26(4–5), 363–378.
Ardagh, J. (2011). The 2011 Uk soft drinks report (p. 24). 20–22 Stukeley Street London WC2B 5LR: British Soft Drinks Association.
Baghurst, K. (2006). Nutrient reference values for Australia and New Zealand (p. 317). Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.
Barbagallo, M., Belvedere, M., & Dominguez, L. J. (2009). Magnesium homeostasis and aging. Magnesium Research, 22, 235–246.
Bates, B., Lennox, A., Prentice, A., & Bates, C. (2012). National diet and nutrition survey (Vol. 3, pp. 1–79). London.
Bennion, H., & Harriman, R. B. (1997). A chemical survey of standing waters in south-east england, with reference to acidification and eutrophication. Fresh water forum, 8, 28–44.
Bohn, T., Davidsson, L., Walczyk, T., & Hurrell, R. F. (2004a). Fractional magnesium absorption is significantly lower in human subjects from a meal served with an oxalate-rich vegetable, spinach, as compared with a meal served with kale, a vegetable with a low oxalate content. The British Journal of Nutrition, 91, 601–606.
Bohn, T., Walczyk, T., Davidsson, L., Pritzkow, W., Klingbeil, P., Vogl, J., & Hurrell, R. F. (2004b). Comparison of urinary monitoring, faecal monitoring and erythrocyte analysis of stable isotope labels to determine magnesium absorption in human subjects. British Journal of Nutrition, 91(01), 113.
Chakraborti, S., Chakraborti, T., Mandal, M., Mandal, A., Das, S., & Ghosh, S. (2002). Protective role of magnesium in cardiovascular diseases: A review. Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, 238, 163–179.
Cowan, J. A. (2002). Structural and catalytic chemistry of magnesium-dependent enzymes. Biometals: An International Journal on the Role of Metal Ions in Biology, Biochemistry, and Medicine, 15, 225–235.
Crawford, T., & Crawford, M. (1967). Prevalence and pathological changes of ischæmic heart-disease in a hard-water and in a soft-water area. The Lancet, 289(7484), 229–232.
Crawford, M., Gardner, M. J., & Morris, J. N. (1968). Mortality and hardness of local water-supplies. The Lancet, 291(7547), 827–831.
Davies, B. E., Bowman, C., Davies, T. C., & Selinus, O. (2013). Medical geology: Perspectives and prospects. In O. Selinus (Ed.), Essentials of Medical Geology (pp. 1–13). Dordrecht: Springer.
Davies, B. E., & White, H. (1981). Trace elements in vegetables grown on soils contaminated by base metal mining. Journal of Plant Nutrition, 3, 387–396.
De Bon, H., Parrot, L., & Moustier, P. (2010). Sustainable urban agriculture in developing countries: A review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 30, 21–32.
DEFRA. (2010). UK Food Security Assessment : Detailed analysis UK food security assessment: Detailed analysis (pp. 1–145). London: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
DEFRA. (2012). Food statistics pocketbook (p. 85). London, England: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
DEFRA. (2013). Basic horticultural statistics 2013 (p. 23). London, England: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Del Gobbo, L. C., Elin, R. J., Poirier, P., & Egeland, G. M. (2012). Serum magnesium: A biomarker of cardiovascular risk revisited? Magnesium Research: Official organ of the International Society for the Development of Research on Magnesium, 25, 49–53.
DH (1991) Dietary reference values for food energy and nutrients for the United Kingdom: Report of the panel on dietary reference values of the committee on medical aspects of food policy; volume 41 of Report on Health and Social Subjects Series; Great Britain. Department of Health; Stationery Office, 1991
DWI. (2009). national tap water consumption study (p. 58). London, England.
Elin, R. J. (1987). Assessment of magnesium status. Clinical Chemistry, 33, 1965–1970.
Elwood, P. C. (1994). Iron, magnesium and ischaemic heart disease. The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 53, 599–603.
Erenstein, O., Oswald, A., & Mahaman, M. (2006). Determinants of lowland use close to urban markets along an agro-ecological gradient in West Africa. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 117, 205–217.
Fawcett, W. J., Haxby, E. J., & Male, D. A. (1999). Magnesium: Physiology and pharmacology. British Journal of Anaesthesia, 83, 302–320.
Fine, K. D., Santa Ana, C. A., Porter, J. L., & Fordtran, J. S. (1991). Intestinal absorption of magnesium from food and supplements. The Journal of Clinical Investigation, 88, 396–402.
Gibney, M. J., Lanham-News, S., Cassidy, A., & Vorster, H. H. (2009). Introduction to human nutrition. In: Gibney, M. J., Lanham-News, S., Cassidy, A., Vorster, H. H. (Ed.) (2nd ed., p. 386). Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ: Wiley-Blackwell.
Harper, D. M. (1990). The ecology of a lowland sandstone river: The river Perry, Shropshire. Field Studies, 7, 451–468.
Ilbery, B., Courtney, P., Kirwan, J., & Maye, D. (2010). Marketing concentration and geographical dispersion: A survey of organic farms in England and Wales. British Food Journal, 112, 962–975.
Ilbery, B., Watts, D., Simpson, S., Gilg, A., & Little, J. (2006). Mapping local foods: Evidence from two English regions. British Food Journal, 108, 213–225.
Jahnen-Dechent, W., & Ketteler, M. (2012). Magnesium basics. Clinical Kidney Journal, 5(Suppl 1), i3–i14.
Johnson, C. J., Peterson, D. R., & Smith, E. K. (1979). Myocardial tissue concentrations of magnesium and potassium in men dying suddenly from ischemic heart disease. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 32, 967–970.
Kobayashi, J. (1957). On geographical relationship between the chemical nature of river water and death-rate from apoplexy. Berichte des Ohara Instituts fur landwirtschaftliche Biologie, 9, 12–21.
Laires, M. J., Monteiro, C. P., & Bicho, M. (2004). Role of cellular magnesium in health and human disease. Frontiers in Bioscience, 9, 262–276.
Macdiarmid, J., Kyle, J., Horgan, G., Loe, J., Fyfe, C., Johnstone, A., & McNeill, G. (2011). Livewell: A balance of healthy and sustainable food choices (p. 64). Aberdeen, Scotland.
Maheswaran, R., Morris, S., Falconer, S., Grossinho, A., Perry, I., Wakefield, J., & Elliott, P. (1999). Magnesium in drinking water supplies and mortality from acute myocardial infarction in north west England. Heart (British Cardiac Society), 82, 455–460.
Maier, J. M. (2003). Low magnesium and atherosclerosis: An evidence-based link. Molecular Aspects of Medicine, 24, 137–146.
Marx, A., & Neutra, R. R. (1997). Magnesium in drinking water and ischemic heart disease. Epidemiologic Reviews, 19, 258–272.
Masironi, R., & Shaper, A. G. (1981). Epidemiological studies of health effects of water from different sources. Annual Review of Nutrition, 1, 375–400.
McCance, R. A., & Widdowson, E. W. (2002). McCance and Widdowson’s The composition of foods (pp 1–537). The Royal Society of Chemistry.
Mensink, G. B. M., Fletcher, R., Gurinovic, M., Huybrechts, I., Lafay, L., Serra-Majem, L., & Stephen, M. (2013). Mapping low intake of micronutrients across Europe. The British Journal of Nutrition, 110, 755–773.
Morrisa, R. W., Walker, M., Lennon, L. T., Shaper, A. G., & Whincup, P. H. (2008). Hard drinking water does not protect against cardiovascular disease: New evidence from the British Regional Heart Study. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, 15, 185–189.
Motulsky, A. G. (1989). Diet and health: Implications for reducing chronic disease risk (p. 766). Washington, DC: National Research Council.
Nantel, G., & Tontisirin, K. (2001). Human vitamin and mineral requirements: Report of a joint FAO/WHO expert consultation Bangkok, Thailand (p. 303). Rome, Italy: FAO–UN.
Otten, J., Hellwig, P., & Mayers, L. D. (Ed.). (2006). Dietary DRI reference intakes (p. 1344). Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
Pearson, T. A., Blair, S. N., Daniels, S. R., Eckel, R. H., Fair, J. M., Fortmann, S. P., et al. (2002). AHA guidelines for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease and stroke: 2002 Update: Consensus panel guide to comprehensive risk reduction for adult patients without coronary or other atherosclerotic vascular diseases. Circulation, 106(3), 388–391.
Pollard, J., Kirk, S. F. L., & Cade, J. E. (2002). Factors affecting food choice in relation to fruit and vegetable intake: A review. Nutrition Research Reviews, 15(2), 373–387.
Reynolds, B., Stevens, P., Brittain, S. A., Norris, D. A., Hughes, S., & Woods, C. (2004). Long-term changes in precipitation and stream water chemistry in small forest and moorland catchments at Beddgelert Forest, north Wales. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 8, 436–448.
Romani, A. M. P., & Maguire, M. E. (2002). Hormonal regulation of Mg2+ transport and homeostasis in eukaryotic cells. BioMetals, 15, 271–283.
Rosanoff, A., Weaver, C. M., & Rude, R. K. (2012). Suboptimal magnesium status in the United States: are the health consequences underestimated? Nutrition reviews, 70, 153–164.
Rosenlund, M., Berglind, N., Hallqvist, J., Bellander, T., & Bluhm, G. (2005). Daily intake of magnesium and calcium from drinking water in relation to myocardial infarction. Epidemiology, 16, 570–576.
Rubenowitz, E., Axelsson, G., & Rylander, R. (1996). Magnesium in drinking water and death from acute myocardial infarction. American Journal of Epidemiology, 143, 456–462.
Rylander, R., Mégevand, Y., Lasserre, B., Amstutz, W., & Granbom, S. (2001). Moderate alcohol consumption and urinary excretion of magnesium and calcium. Scandinavian Journal of Clinical and Laboratory Investigation, 61, 401–405.
Sabatier, M., Pont, F., Arnaud, M. J., & Turnlund, J. R. (2003). A compartmental model of magnesium metabolism in healthy men based on two stable isotope tracers. American journal of physiology. Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, 285, R656–R663.
Saris, N. E., Mervaala, E., Karppanen, H., Khawaja, J. A., & Lewenstam, A. (2000). Magnesium. An update on physiological, clinical and analytical aspects. Clinica Chimica Acta, 294, 1–26.
Sasaki, S., Oshima, T., Matsuura, H., Ozono, R., Higashi, Y., Sasaki, N., Matsumoto, T., Nakono, Y., Ueda, A., Yoshimizu, A., Kurisu, S., Kambe, M., Kajiyama, G. (2000). Abnormal magnesium status in patients with cardiovascular diseases. Clinical Science, 98, 175–81.
Shand, P., Edmunds, W. M., Lawrence, A. R., Smedley, P., & Burke, S. (2007). The natural (baseline) quality of groundwater in England and Wales (p. 84). Keyworth, Nottingham: British Geological Survey and UK Environment Agency.
Shechter, Michael. (2010). Magnesium and cardiovascular system. Magnesium Research: Official organ of the International Society for the Development of Research on Magnesium, 23, 60–72.
Shi, Y., Liu, H., Gai, D., Ma, J., & Chen, X. S. (2009). A computational analysis of ATP binding of SV40 large tumor antigen helicase motor. PLoS Computational Biology, 5(9).
Smedley, P. L. (2010). A survey of the inorganic chemistry of bottled mineral waters from the British Isles. Applied Geochemistry, 25, 1872–1888.
Steinnes, E. (2009). Soils and geomedicine. Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 31, 523–535.
Sutcliffe, D. (2010). The ionic composition of surface waters in the English Lake District, related to bedrock geology, with some singular facts and speculation on the existence of mineral-rich groundwaters. Fresh Water Forum, 11, 30–51.
Townsend, N., Wickramasinghe, K., Bhatnagar, P., Smolina, K., Nichols, M., Leal, J., & Luengo-Fernandez, R., & Rayer, M. (2012). Coronary heart disease statistics (p. 208). Oxford: British Heart Foundation Health Promotion Research Group, Department of Public Health, University of Oxford.
White, H. M. F. (2000). Buyer-supplier relationships in the UK fresh produce industry. British Food Journal, 102, 6–17.
WHO. (2011). Non communicable diseases: Country profiles 2011. In: Alwan, L. Armstrong, A., Cowan, T., & Riley, M. (Ed.) (p. 209). Geneva: World Health Organization.
Wilson, N. (1996). The supply chains of perishable products in northern Europe. British Food Journal, 98, 9–15.
Winter, T. C., Harvey, J. W., Franke, O. L., Alley, W. M. (1998). Ground water and surface water: A single resource (p. 87). Denver, Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1139.
Wolf, F. I., Torsello, A., Fasanella, S., & Cittadini, A. (2003). Cell physiology of magnesium. Molecular Aspects of Medicine, 24, 11–26.
Wu, C., & Kenny, M. A. (1996). Circulating total and ionized magnesium after ethanol ingestion. Clinical Chemistry, 42, 625–629.
Wyss, M., & Kaddurah-Daouk, R. (2000). Creatine and creatinine metabolism. Physiological Reviews, 80, 1107–1213.
Young, V. R. (1997). Dietary reference intakes for calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, vitamin D, and Fluoride (p. 449). Washington: National Academy Press.
Yusuf, S., Reddy, S., Ounpuu, S., & Anand, S. (2001). Global burden of cardiovascular diseases: Part I: General considerations, the epidemiologic transition, risk factors, and impact of urbanization. Circulation, 104, 2746–2753.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Davies, B.E. The UK geochemical environment and cardiovascular diseases: magnesium in food and water. Environ Geochem Health 37, 411–427 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-014-9671-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-014-9671-y