Magnesium - the true bone health mineral

If you suffer with osteoporosis or arthritis, taking a calcium supplement may be detrimental to your health. The chances are, you are already deficient in magnesium, and overloading your system with calcium is further depleting levels of this mineral, and causing other serious health problems. Studies have shown that populations with the lowest calcium intake (as little as 200mg daily), have lower rates of osteoporosis (1,2) and it is in fact magnesium that increases bone density (3,4,13).

“One of the most important aspects of the disease
osteoporosis has been almost totally overlooked.
That aspect is the role played by magnesium.”
Dr. Lewis B. Barnett

The calcium – magnesium relationship

Magnesium regulates calcium levels by suppressing PTH, the hormone that takes calcium out of your bones (5) and even moderately restricting magnesium intake has an adverse effect on bone composition (6). A study showed that a magnesium deficiency lowers levels of osteocalcin, an indicator of bone formation. Adding calcium to a magnesium deficiency significantly increased levels of bone resorption (breakdown) indicators and lowered both calcium and magnesium levels in the bone (7). Dr Guy Abraham concludes that the less calcium you take in, the more effectively it is used by the body (15).

The dangers of excess calcium

Excess calcium in the blood (hypercalcemia) results in magnesium being mal-absorbed or lost in the urine (8,15) and can cause a variety of painful conditions including kidney stones, joint degeneration, high blood pressure, mood disorders, chronic fatigue, soft tissue calcification, irregular heartbeat, constipation and even strokes (9,10,11). All arthritics are deficient in magnesium and prone to having de-mineralized bones (12,13), supplementation will ensure calcium is stored in their bones and not their joints. Japanese scientists have confirmed that magnesium may also suppress the development of rheumatoid arthritis (14).
Barnett studies:

In the 1950’s Dr Barnett conducted studies in two towns where there was a vast difference in the average age that people were getting fractures, as well as the time it took for them to heal. In Dallas, the average age that people incurred fractures was 63 and it took 27 weeks or more to heal. In Hereford, the average age was 82 and it took only 8 weeks to heal. He analyzed the mineral content of the water in both towns and found that in Dallas, there was almost six times more calcium in the water and only half as much magnesium. The magnesium content in the bones of people in Hereford was 1.76% and only 0.05% in Dallas. He concluded that magnesium is “perhaps the most important single element in bone health" because of the role it plays in suppressing the break-down of bone as well as acting as the binding element for calcium and fluorine. (16)

If you still have doubts on how important magnesium is for bone strength, consider the fact that elephant tusks (ivory) contain twice as much of this mineral as human bones (17). Most of us are so caught up in the calcium hype we end up taking in much more than we really need. Perhaps we should rethink those supplements and keep our calcium magnesium ratio closer to that of our cavemen ancestors 1:1 (18). Supplementing this beautiful mineral transdermally is a safe and effective way to increase levels in the body and it can also be applied directly to areas affected with arthritis.

References:
[1] http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/calcium.html
[2] http://list.weim.net/pipermail/holisticweim/2001-July/001023.html
(3) (Stendig-Lindberg G. Tepper R. Leichter I. Trabecular bone density in a two year controlled trial of peroral magnesium in osteoporosis. Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel. Manges Res. 1993 Jun;6(2):155-63.)
(4) (Journal of the American Geriatric Society (November, Vol 53, No 11, pp 1875-1880).
(5)(North Western University; Nutrition Fact Sheet: http://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/nutrition/factsheets/magnesium.html)
[6] Br J Nutr. The effect of moderately and severely restricted dietary magnesium intakes on bone composition and bone metabolism in the rat.1999 Jul;82(1):63-71. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&
dopt=Abstract&list_uids=10655958&query_hl=12&itool=pubmed_docsum
(7) Magnes Res. 2005 Jun;18(2):97-102.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt
=Abstract&list_uids=16100847&itool=iconabstr&query_hl=10&itool=pubmed_docsum
[8] Hypomagnesemia; Mahendra Agraharkar, MD,FACP Updated: June 20, 2002
http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic3382.htm
[9] New York State Department of Health; http://www.health.state.ny.us/diseases/conditions/osteoporosis/qanda.htm
[10] Accu-Cell Nutrition; Calcium and Magnesium http://www.acu-cell.com/acn.html
[11] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001404/
(12) http://www.encognitive.com/files/Arthritis%20--%20Natural%20Control.pdf
(13) http://www.arthritistoday.org/nutrition-and-weight-loss/healthy-eating/n...
(14) http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/24877.php
(15) http://www.mgwater.com/calmagab.shtml
(16) http://www.mgwater.com/rod15.shtml
(17) Otto Carque (1933) - Vital Facts About Foods.
[18] Eades M, Eades A, The Protein Power Lifeplan, Warner Books, New York, 1999