Magnesium Builds Bones

You may already know that potassium is important for healthy bones and preventing osteoporosis, but magnesium benefits bones, too. One large study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and using subjects from the Framingham Heart Study found people who ate diets high in potassium and magnesium had higher bone density readings and stronger bones than those who didn’t.

“Magnesium is important for bone mineralization and many arthritis patients have demineralized bone, so it would benefit them to include lots of magnesium-rich foods in their diet,” says Carol Henderson, PhD, assistant professor at Georgia State University in Atlanta.

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Magnesium and Bone Formation

About two thirds of all magnesium in our body is found in our bones. Researchers have discovered, however, that bone Bone Health and magnesium magnesium has two very different roles to play in our health. Some of the magnesium in our bones helps give them their physical structure. This magnesium is part of the bone's crystal lattice and is found in this "bone scaffolding" together with the minerals phosphorus and calcium.

Other amounts of magnesium, however, are found on the surface of the bone. This surface magnesium does not appear to be involved in the bone's structure, but instead acts as a storage site for magnesium which the body can draw upon in times of poor dietary supply.

Study:

This study examined the effects of daily oral magnesium (Mg) supplementation on bone turnover in 12 young (27–36 yr old) healthy men. Twelve healthy men of matching age, height, and weight were recruited as the control group. The study group received orally 15 mmol Mg (Magnosolv powder, Asta Medica) daily in the early afternoon with 2-h fasting before and after Mg intake. Fasting blood and second void urine samples were collected in the early morning on days 0, 1, 5, 10, 20, and 30, respectively. Total and ionized Mg2+ and calcium (Ca2+), and intact PTH (iPTH) levels were determined in blood samples. Serum biochemical markers of bone formation (i.e. C-terminus of type I procollagen peptide and osteocalcin) and resorption (i.e. type I collagen telopeptide) and urinary Mg level adjusted for creatinine were measured.

In these young males, 30 consecutive days of oral Mg supplementation had no significant effect on total circulating Mg level, but caused a significant reduction in the serum ionized Mg2+ level after 5 days of intake.

The Mg supplementation also significantly reduced the serum iPTH level, which did not appear to be related to changes in serum Ca2+ because the Mg intake had no significant effect on serum levels of either total or ionized Ca2+. There was a strong positive correlation between serum iPTH and ionized Mg2+ (r = 0.699; P < 0.001), supporting the contention that decreased serum iPTH may be associated with the reduction in serum ionized Mg2+.

Mg supplementation also reduced levels of both serum bone formation and resorption biochemical markers after 1–5 days, consistent with the premise that Mg supplementation may have a suppressive effect on bone turnover rate. Covariance analyses revealed that serum bone formation markers correlated negatively with ionized Mg2+ (r = −0.274 for type I procollagen peptide and− 0.315 for osteocalcin), but not with iPTH or ionized Ca2+. Thus, the suppressive effect on bone formation may be mediated by the reduction in serum ionized Mg2+ level (and not iPTH or ionized Ca2+).

In summary, this study has demonstrated for the first time that oral Mg supplementation in normal young adults caused reductions in serum levels of iPTH, ionized Mg2+, and biochemical markers of bone turnover.

In conclusion, oral Mg supplementation may suppress bone turnover in young adults.

Because increased bone turnover has been implicated as a significant etiological factor for bone loss, these findings raise the interesting possibility that oral Mg supplementation may have beneficial effects in reducing bone loss associated with high bone turnover, such as age-related osteoporosis.