There has been a serious rise in the number of diabetes cases over the past several years. This unfortunate increase affects not just our adult population. Many overweight children have developed type 2 diabetes. Is there a connection between diabetes and magnesium deficiency?

Studies show that there is a correlation between a low magnesium level and insulin resistance. Diabetes, or insulin resistance occurs when the cells cannot or will not absorb insulin, a protein produced in the pancreas, in the conversion of glucose into energy.

Diabetes in children is more strongly associated with excess weight, and being overweight is also connected with a deficiency of the electrolyte magnesium. Over 75 percent of our population is known to be deficient in magnesium. In children that deficiency is in 55 percent of the population. Seven percent of our population now suffers from diabetes, and the numbers keep rising.

In 2005 a study was conducted at the University of Virginia. This study looked at the magnesium level in the body as well as insulin sensitivity in children. The magnesium intake through a dietary question was reviewed as well. This study showed a connection between magnesium deficiency and insulin resistance in children.

Our western diets are woefully lacking in nutrients such as magnesium, but magnesium is vital to our healthy body function and interaction with over 300 enzymes in the body. One method for introducing additional magnesium to the body is transdermally, or through the skin. The affect can be seen quickly, and many report feeling calmer and sleeping better after applying transdermal magnesium.

The study conducted by the University of Virginia, Magnesium Deficiency is Associated with Insulin Resistance in Obese Children, was originally presented in Diabetes Care 28:1175-1181, 2005. The conclusion states that by improving the magnesium level in children we may be able to prevent the onset of juvenile type two diabetes.