Magnesium: The Secret To Building Stronger Bones

The #1 Secret For Building Stronger Bones, Avoiding Osteoporosis & Improving Heart Health

By Carolyn Dean, MD, ND.

More calcium supplements are consumed by Americans than any other group in the world. Calcium is added to many foods, including orange juice. And yet the United States experiences one of the highest rates of osteoporosis — a painful and incapacitating disease. What are we missing?

Several recent studies point to the harm that too much calcium can cause. The British Medical Journal recently published a large analysis based on the results of 5 clinical trials conducted in the US, Great Britain and New Zealand that involved more than 8,000 people. The analysis concluded that, “Calcium supplements…increase the risk of cardiovascular events, especially myocardial infarction (heart attack)… A reassessment of the role of calcium supplements in osteoporosis management is warranted.” 1

What’s missing from this picture is that magnesium supplementation is more important than calcium in order to maintain healthy bones as well as a healthy heart. Magnesium keeps calcium dissolved in the blood. Without the proper balance of magnesium to calcium, about a 2:1 ratio, calcium ends up in coronary arteries where it can lead to clogged arteries, depositing in kidneys which can create kidney stones; and in joint cartilage, rather than in bones where we need it most.

Adequate levels of magnesium in the body are essential for the absorption and metabolism not only of calcium but of Vitamin D, because magnesium converts Vitamin D into its active form so that it can help calcium absorption. So, there’s no point in taking Vitamin D if you don’t also take magnesium and with magnesium you don’t require high doses of Vitamin D. Magnesium also stimulates a particular hormone, calcitonin, which helps to preserve bone structure and draws calcium out of the blood and soft tissues back into the bones, lowering the likelihood of osteoporosis, some forms of arthritis, heart attack and kidney stones.”

With magnesium, the body can:

•    Properly absorb calcium
•    Regulate calcium transport
•    Stimulate calcitonin
•    Suppress parathyroid, another hormone that breaks down bone
•    Activate an enzyme required for new bone to form
•    Convert vitamin D into its active form for calcium absorption

“If you make the wise decision to supplement with magnesium, use twice as much magnesium than calcium. But choose your calcium from the following food sources and obtain your magnesium from well absorbed sources like magnesium citrate powder.”

Food                                                      Calcium in milligrams
1 cup of milk…………………………………     300
6 oz of yogurt………………………………..     350
1 oz hard cheese (cheddar)……………….      240
2 slices processed cheese…………………… 265
1/4 cup cottage cheese………………………. 120
1/2 cup soft serve frozen yogurt…………….  100
1/2 cup ice cream……………………………..   85
1/2 cup tofu………………………………….     258
1 Tbsp sesame seeds…………………………..90
1 Tbsp Tahini…………………………………     63
8 medium sardines (canned)………………….370
3 oz salmon…………………………………..   180
1 cup kale……………………………………      94
1 cup broccoli………………………………..    178
10 medium dried figs………………………….. 269
1 cup calcium-fortified orange juice…………  300
1 cup enriched soy milk……………………….300
1 cup enriched rice milk……………………….300

About Carolyn Dean, MD, ND

Carolyn Dean, MD, ND – Author of “The Magnesium Miracle” and Medical Advisory Board Member of the non-profit Nutritional Magnesium Association at www.nutritionalmagnesium.org

For over 30 years, author and medical doctor, Carolyn Dean, MD, ND has been inspiring and motivating people to be their healthy best. She is a health expert who was one of the first to see the coming obesity, diabetes and chronic health issues epidemic in the U.S. As a result of modern farming methods, she saw the depletion of vital minerals and nutrients from our soils and foods as a root cause of America’s health problems with over 75% of Americans not getting their RDA of the vital nutrient “magnesium”.

References:

(1) Bolland MJ, Grey A, Avenell A, Gamble GD, Reid IR. Calcium supplements with or without vitamin D and risk of cardiovascular events: reanalysis of the Women’s Health Initiative limited access dataset and meta-analysis.BMJ. 2011 Apr 19;342:d2040. doi: 10.1136/bmj.d2040.
(2) Okyay E, Ertugrul C, Acar B, Sisman AR, Onvural B, Ozaksoy D. Comparative evaluation of serum levels of main minerals and postmenopausal osteoporosis. Maturitas. 2013 Aug 22. pii: S0378-5122(13)00251-X. doi: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2013.07.015.
(3) Kuipers AL, Zmuda JM, Carr JJ, Terry JG, Patrick AL, Ge Y, Hightower RC, Bunker CH, Miljkovic I. Association of volumetric bone mineral density with abdominal aortic calcification in African ancestry men. Osteoporos Int. 2013 Aug 22.