Most people don’t often think about magnesium. It’s not one of those minerals that we monitor in standard blood tests for deficiency. However, it could be important for your general health and to help to decrease your risk of allergic disease, including asthma and other allergic conditions.

New research shows that mice given an extra dose of a new magnesium compound called magnesium-L-threonate (MgT) benefited with better brain power, including working memory, long-term memory and learning ability. This doesn’t guarantee that humans will benefit in the same way, but it does open the door for more research to see if we will.

While we don’t talk much about magnesium in nutrition circles, it is one of the essential elements in our diets, found in some fruits and dark leafy greens. You need it for your immune system to function properly: get less than 400 mg a day and your risk for allergies, asthma and heart disease all increase.

MgT worked in a number of ways in rat studies. MgT increased “plasticity” in brain synapses as well as connections between neurons. It also apparently increased the number of synapses in critical brain areas for learning and memory.

The research is published in the journal Neuron.

Source: Yahoo News