Manganese: 9 Facts About How Mineral Affects Your Health

Manganese teams up enzymes in your body to make sure critical chemical processes work as they’re supposed to work.

While this mineral isn’t needed in large amounts, it’s essential for good health.

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Here are nine facts about manganese and your health:

1. It affects metabolism. Manganese activates enzymes that are necessary in metabolizing carbohydrates, amino acids, and cholesterol.

2. It is essential to antioxidant functions in the body. An enzyme containing manganese (manganese superoxide dismutase) is the main enzyme in the mitochondria, which consume more than 90 percent of the oxygen used by cells, Oregon State’s Linus Pauling Institute said.

3. Animals that don’t have enough manganese develop abnormal skeletons, LPI said. It works with enzymes in synthesizing processes that form healthy cartilage and bone.

4. Manganese is part of the process of forming collagen, essential for wound healing.

5. Some experts believe 37 percent of Americans don’t get enough manganese in their diet, the University of Maryland Medical Center said.

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6. Manganese may help decrease some symptoms of premenstrual syndrome, UMMC said. One study found that “women who ate 5.6 mg of manganese in their diets each day had fewer mood swings and cramps compared to those who ate only 1 mg of manganese. These results suggest that a manganese rich diet may help reduce symptoms of PMS. Another clinical study found that 46 patients with PMS found had significantly lower amounts of calcium, chromium, copper, and manganese in their blood.”

7. Various studies have found that people with epilepsy and people who have diabetes have low levels of manganese in their bodies, UMMC said. But those were initial studies and it’s unclear whether the patients’ health conditions caused the low levels or vice versa. More research is needed in those areas.

8. UMMC recommended that no one take more than 10 mg of manganese daily because of the potential for nervous system damage. But the center also said that taken orally, manganese rarely causes side effects. Manganese vapors, often inhaled by industrial workers, can be toxic, though.

9. Manganese does interact with other supplements and drugs, so UMMC said anyone taking it should talk to their doctor about potential issues.

This article is for information only and is not intended as medical advice. Talk with your doctor about your specific health and medical needs.

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