Magnesium Supplements Help Ward off Osteoporosis

Magnesium could be as important to bone health as calcium, new research suggests. A team from the University of Tennessee investigated …

…the links between magnesium intake and bone mineral density (BMD) by studying data on 2,038 black and white men and women aged between 70 and 79 years. The participants were enrolled in the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study (Health ABC) initiated in 1996 by the Geriatric Epidemiology Section of the National Institute on Aging. Participants were given tests to measure their BMD, and the results were compared with data from questionnaires covering food and supplement intake of magnesium. Analysis showed that magnesium intake was significantly linked to higher BMD throughout the whole body, but only in the white men and women. The effect was stronger in women than men – BMD was higher by 0.04g per square centimeter in women and 0.02g/cm2 higher in men in the top fifth for magnesium intake compared with the bottom fifth. This effect was independent of several other factors including age, osteoporosis or bone fractures, calorie intake, calcium and vitamin D intake, BMI, smoking, alcohol and exercise.

The researchers believe that magnesium’s role is similar to that of calcium. They calculate that for every 100 milligram per day increase in magnesium intake, there is a one per cent increase in BMD. They report that although this one per cent increase seems small, across a population it may have large impact, and explain that most older adults get far less than the recommended daily allowance of magnesium (320 mg/day for women and 420/mg day for men). They add that black people might process vitamin D and other calcium regulating hormones slightly differently to whites, but magnesium may still have an association with BMD. Previous observational and clinical studies have suggested an association between low magnesium status and increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, osteoporosis, diabetes, and other chronic diseases.

Ryder, K.M. et al. Magnesium Intake from Food and Supplements Is Associated with Bone Mineral Density in Healthy Older White Subjects. The Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, Vol. 53, November 2005, pp. 1875-80

Magnesium Improves Bone Strength

MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE. Many atrial fibrillation patients have found magnesium supplementation highly beneficial in preventing ectopic beats (PACs and PVCs) and even afib (Atrial Fibrillation) episodes. Now there is evidence that an adequate daily magnesium intake also materially improves the density of skeletal bone and helps prevent osteoporosis and hip fractures. Researchers at the University of Tennessee measured bone mineral density (BMD) in a group of older men and women (black and white between the ages of 70-79 years). The 2038 participants were enrolled in the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study initiated in 1997. The researchers also determined the participants™ daily intake of magnesium, calcium, potassium, vitamin D, and vitamin C. Less than 26% of the study group met the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for magnesium (320 mg/day for women and 420 mg/day for men over the age of 70 years). Twenty-five per cent took a magnesium supplement providing an average of 83 mg/day of elemental magnesium. Black men and women had a significantly higher BMD than did white persons and did not benefit from higher magnesium intake.

White women with the highest magnesium intake had a significantly higher BMD than women with lower intakes with an increase in daily intake from 220 mg/day to 320 mg/day corresponding to an increase of 0.020 g/cm2 in whole body BMD (after adjusting for other relevant variables). For white men, an increase from 320 mg/day to 420 mg/day corresponded to an increase of 0.010 g/cm2 in whole body BMD. These increases are roughly equivalent to those that would result from increasing daily calcium intake by about 400 mg. The researchers speculate that the beneficial effects of an increased magnesium intake on bone density may be due to one or more of the following factors:

Improved synthesis of vitamin D with subsequent suppression of parathyroid hormone function.
Increased alkalinity of a diet high in magnesium and lower net acid production.
Substitution of calcium with magnesium in the formulation of bone hydroxyapatite, resulting in greater structural strength.

NOTE: Strontium may have a similar effect.

The researchers conclude that a higher magnesium intake through dietary change or supplementation may provide an additional strategy for preventing osteoporosis.

Ryder, KM, et al. Magnesium intake from food and supplements is associated with bone mineral density in healthy older white subjects. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, Vol. 53, November 2005, pp. 1875-80

Magnesium Supplementation Reduces Bone Loss

LOMA LINDA, CALIFORNIA. It is generally assumed that an adequate calcium intake is essential in promoting the achievement of peak bone mass in growing children and young adults. Now researchers at the University of Graz Medical School in Austria and the Loma Linda University in California suggest that an adequate magnesium intake may be equally important. About half the body’s reservoir of magnesium is found in soft tissue while the other half is found in bone. Excess magnesium is excreted in the urine. The researchers recently completed an experiment in which 12 healthy, young men received 350 mg of magnesium as a daily oral supplement for a 30-day period. A comparison of the level of biomarkers for bone turnover in the supplemented group and in an age-matched control group showed a statistically significant decrease in the level of these biomarkers in the supplemented group. Neither the supplement group nor the control group were deficient in magnesium and had a dietary intake of about 300 mg/day (RDA is 300-350 mg/day). The researchers conclude that magnesium supplementation (over and above the current RDA) may suppress bone turnover in young adults and speculate that it may also help prevent age- related osteoporosis.

Dimai, H.P., et al. Daily oral magnesium supplementation suppresses bone turnover in young adult males. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, Vol. 83, August 1998, pp. 2742-48

Magnesium Effective in Treatment of Osteoporosis

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA. Dr. Ivor Dreosti of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization has just released a major report detailing the current knowledge of the importance of magnesium in human nutrition. Magnesium is involved in the functioning of more than 200 enzymes and is a key player in the body’s energy (ATP) cycle. The recommended dietary intake is 300-400 mg/day (in the U.S.A.), an amount which many scientists now feel may be insufficient. It is also clear that many people do not even get the recommended intake and that this can lead to problems with muscle spasms and idiopathic mitral valve prolapse. Dr. Dreosti points out that the body’s requirement is increased markedly by both stress and vigorous exercise. Recent tests have also shown that exercise capacity can be significantly increased by the use of magnesium supplements. Many researchers are now also reporting that magnesium deficiency plays a significant role in the development of osteoporosis. Studies have shown that women suffering from osteoporosis tend to have a lower magnesium intake than normal and also have lower levels of magnesium in their bones. It is also clear that recommendations to postmenopausal women to increase calcium intake can lead to an unfavourable Ca:Mg ratio unless the magnesium intake is increased accordingly; the optimum ratio of Ca:Mg is believed to be 2:1. A magnesium deficiency can also affect the production of the biologically active form of vitamin D and thereby further promoting osteoporosis. Some very recent research shows that magnesium supplementation is effective in treating osteoporosis. A trial in Israel showed that postmenopausal women suffering from osteoporosis could stop further bone loss by supplementing with 250-750 mg/day of magnesium for two years. Some (8 per cent) of the treated women even experienced a significant increase in trabecular bone density. Untreated controls lost bone mass at the rate of 1 per cent per year. Another experiment in Czechoslovakia found that 65 per cent of women who supplemented with 1500 to 3000 mg of magnesium lactate daily for two years completely got rid of their pain and stopped further development of deformities of the vertebrae. Other studies have shown that magnesium is helpful in the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias and that an adequate intake may help prevent atherosclerosis.