Health Benefits of Manganese - Food and Health

Health Benefits of Manganese

The health benefits of manganese manganese is a trace but a central mineral for human health it's a fifth most abundant metal in the world and the twelfth most abundant element overall in the body the highest concentrations are found in the bones liver kidneys and pancreas manganese is a component of superoxide dismutase which helps fight free radicals free radicals are known to play a role in aging and health conditions like heart attacks strokes and cancer superoxide dismutase like other antioxidants can help reduce the negative effects of these free radicals the metabolic activity which refers to the things in the body we know manganese is involved with includes proper immune function regulation of blood sugar and cellular energy reproduction bone growth blood coagulation and hemostasis defense against reactive oxygen species which is a reference to free radicals connective tissue and then digestion and carbohydrate metabolism potential health benefits include treating osteoporosis there's no evidence looking at manganese specifically but in a study of multi mineral supplementation that contained manganese bone loss was lessened in postmenopausal women folks with arthritis may also benefit from and make any supplementation the studies are mixed whether this actually helps but theoretically it boosts superoxide dismutase this helps fight the free radicals that can contribute to arthritis some studies have found a benefit and others have not the jury is still out for premenstrual syndrome also known as PMS one study compared women with 5.6 milligrams of manganese consumption per day to those who consumed only one milligram and found that

The higher consumers of manganese had fewer mood swings and cramps another study found that patients with PMS had lower levels of manganese in addition to lower levels of calcium chromium and copper studies have shown that diabetic individuals have lower levels of manganese it's unclear whether diabetes causes those low levels or if low levels of manganese are a risk factor for diabetes more research is needed similarly for seizure disorders low levels of mega knees are linked to them but like diabetes we don't know if this is a cause or an effect more research is needed to investigate this and it is worth noting that manganese is known to play a role in neurological health chronic obstructive pulmonary disease may also benefit from manganese early evidence suggests that it does but more research is needed the best dietary sources are whole grains rice and nuts notable levels of manganese are also found in seafood seeds chocolate tea leafy greens spices in some fruits because it is commonly found in a variety of foods nutritional deficiency is very rare but low levels can contribute to infertility bone malformation weakness and seizures toxicity is also rare however possible and is termed mechanism which resembles Parkinson's disease with notable changes in your cognition motor activity and emotion folks at risk for this typically work specifically with manganese alloys depending on where you look you'll get different recommended daily allowances I use the Institute of Medicine which it shows two milligrams per day is adequate for adults and one point two to one point five milligrams per day is adequate for children so in summary we can make the following statements manganese is a trace but essential mineral for human health it has multiple important uses in our body including immune function metabolism bone growth reproduction antioxidant activity and blood hemostasis it may help with bone health PMS and also possibly diabetes seizure disorder and COPD the best dietary sources are whole grains rice and nuts both toxicity and deficiency are rare and the Institute of Medicine recommends 2 milligrams per day in adults and 1 point 2 to 1 point 5 milligrams per day in children...