Magnesium – making calcium work
Another important nutrient and perhaps one of the most important minerals with regard to treating Osteoporosis is Magnesium. Some say it’s more important than calcium. (7) Magnesium makes things work together better, and that includes calcium. Magnesium and calcium are minerals that have very specific duties within the body. However, they also have several shared responsibilities. Both minerals work together to regulate the contraction and relaxation of the muscles and cell membrane maintenance. Together, these minerals also regulate the contraction and relaxation of capillaries. Lastly, both calcium and magnesium are needed to build strong bones and teeth.” (24)
Magnesium is actually the key to the body’s proper absorption and use of calcium, as well as other important nutrients. If we consume too much calcium, without sufficient magnesium, the excess calcium will not be utilized correctly and may actually become toxic. Many researchers and nutritionists now believe magnesium is more important than calcium to maintain healthy bones” (25)
According to one study, “Magnesium may be the real key to stronger and healthier bones.”
Researchers Make Surprising Discovery – Magnesium, NOT Calcium, Is the Key To Healthy Bones
Steven A. Abrams, M.D., was the head of a study at the Baylor College of Medicine that focused on the intake and absorption of magnesium during childhood. What they found was surprising – while calcium intake and absorption were not significantly associated with the total bone mineral content and bone density, magnesium intake and absorption clearly were.
“Dietary magnesium intake may be an important, relatively unrecognized, factor in bone mineral accretion in children,” the researchers revealed.
“Magnesium intake isn’t just important for children – the elderly, who are at increased risk for bone fractures, should be getting plenty of magnesium as well, according to a report by Kathryn M. Ride and colleagues from the University of Memphis, Tennessee. The ideal ratio of calcium to magnesium in the diet appears to be a 1:1 ratio.” (7) “Some have even said Magnesium should be twice that of Calcium, the exact opposite of the old school of thought. Dr. Randy Baker of the University of Michigan Medical School says, though some suggest a Calcium @ 2:1 ratio to Magnesium, and others @ 1:2 to Magnesium, he believes a 1:1 ratio is adequate.”(26) “The DRI/RDA is around 350-400 mg. My research indicates the need is best set at 600 mg/day, taken in two divided doses” (27)
Some choice foods that contain Magnesium would be avocados, bananas (unripe is best), bitter gourd leaves, chestnuts, cranberry, coconut (dried), cod, coriander (dried), fatty fish (salmon, tuna), fish (mackerel, sablefish, pollock, ling, haddock, sturgeon, kippered herring, turbot), grape leaves, hemp seeds, Irish moss, kelp, potato with skin, pumpkin, seafood (abalone, crab), sea vegetables, squash, sweet potato, watermelon, whelk, wild rice; other choices are organic, raw kefir from heavy cream, dates, figs, flax/flaxseed oil, leafy greens, prickly ears, sunflower seeds, and tamarinds. (27) For more details on foods with magnesium, see Foods With Magnesium.
A lack of magnesium may be one explanation for the low correlation between osteoporosis and calcium. Magnesium regulates active calcium transport, and magnesium supplementation has been shown to increase bone density. (Sojka JE, Weaver CM. Magnesium supplementation and osteoporosis. Nutr Rev. 1995 Mar;53(3):71-4. And: Dimai HP, Porta S, Wirnsberger G, Lindschinger M, Pamperl I, Dobnig H, Wilders-Truschnig M, Lau KH. (27)
Naturally Better Bones 