Magnesium supplements are important for anyone wanting strong bones....in part because few of us get enough of this important mineral in our daily diet. This is one of the most misunderstood minerals and yet it is important for the regulation of regular heartbeat, for blood pressure control, for your muscles and for the utilization of calcium in building bone.
It is this last function that interests us here. Magnesium helps to make a hormone that your body uses in order to absorb calcium. This is important. If you are taking calcium supplements and not getting enough magnesium, the calcium is NOT able to be used for bone building. It is either going into the toilet or as Dr. Nany Fuchs states, "the calcium ends up in your joints, organs and other soft tissue..." This is one of the causes of painful joints.
People in many developed countries eat diets that are in magnesium. At the same time they eat foods that are high in calcium and some even take calcium supplements. This makes for a Magnesium/Calcium imbalance.
Think about it. Dairy products ( milk, cheese, yogurt) contain 9 times
the as much calcium as magnesium. And today many food products have been fortified with calcium. Orange juice, cereal,
snack food and even water are often fortified with calcium. Companies have found that
this is a good marketing tool. "Extra calcium" sell.
At the same time as extra calcium is added to food, there has been a stripping of magnesium from traditional foods such a breads and rice. Nearly all refined foods: breads, cookies and instant rice have had much of their magnesium stripped away during the refining process. As a result, many people are getting more calcium but they can not absorb this into making strong bone because they do not have the required amounts of magnesium. So all the extra calcium is deposited in their joints, their soft tissue, veins and arteries.
Many persons whose dexa scan showed bone loss add more calcium rich foods and/or calcium supplements to their diet. But unless they are also adding magnesium, they are not really doing their bones much good and they may be creating conditions for high blood pressure, joint pain etc.
Some physicians claim that health problems such as varicose veins, gallstones, hearing loss, high blood pressure and some muscle aches are the result of these calcium deposits.
It make sense for anyone with Osteopenia or Osteoporosis to pay attention to magnesium intake.
For years it was believed that the proper dosage of magnesium supplements is 1/2 the dosage of calcium. Many 'advanced formulas' sold to those concerned about bone loss, Osteopenia or Osteoporosis use this 2 to 1 ratio of calcium to magnesium formula. If a pill has 600 mg of calcium, it will have 300 mg of magnesium.
A number of physicians who practice complimentary
medicine [using nutrition and alternative medicine techniques in addition
to alliopatheic medical procedures] suggest that this traditional
formula is has too much calcium.
They advise that magnesium ought to be 2/3 the amount of calcium. A few even suggest that magnesium intake ought to be equal to that of calcium so if you are taking 600 mg. of calcium, you would be getting 600 mg of magnesium also.
If you are concerned about building strong bones, it would be good to estimate just how much magnesium you may be getting in your daily diet. Here is a chart of foods rich in magnesium supplement
Then you can estimate your calcium intake and figure out if you need to supplement with magnesium so you have enough to build strong bones.