Should I Take a Magnesium Supplement to Prevent Osteoporosis?

Ask Dr. Jen

bojanstory/Getty Images

It seems that the pressure from social media to take various supplements comes and goes in waves, or perhaps it might even be. better to call them fads. Right now, the focus seems to be on magnesium, specifically magnesium for bone health.  

Before we get into the magnesium and bone question, I think it’s fair to point out that we should be highly skeptical of supplement fads. The doctors, naturopaths, functional nutritionists, chiropractors, coaches, and wellness warriors who are financially invested in supplements need a continuous supply of ever-changing products to feed their machine, as it were. Once everyone is taking creatine, or collagen, or turmeric, or whatever they are selling, they need a new, amazing supplement because A) sales taper off because people can only hear about creatine or turmeric or whatever so many times before they start to tune out, and B) the placebo effect wears off, so there needs to be the next “new thing.” But here’s the deal: reliable science, of which there is very little to none for most supplements, often takes decades of work, so the pace at which “new” and “miraculous” supplements are perpetually recommended far outstrips the capacity of scientific study, meaning you should always be skeptical!

With that preamble, on to the question at hand. Can magnesium supplements prevent osteoporosis?

Magnesium and Bone: What’s The Connection?

While most people think of bone, they think of calcium, but about 60% of the body's magnesium is stored in bone. Magnesium is important for bone structure, and some of the magnesium in the bone is metabolically active and enters the blood, where it participates in a wide range of essential functions. Magnesium is also indirectly involved in bone health via its effect on calcium and vitamin D. Low magnesium can reduce parathyroid hormone, decreasing calcium levels. Regarding vitamin D, magnesium is important for absorption, and the enzymes that produce and metabolize vitamin D also require magnesium.

Magnesium is important for health for many other reasons; for example, it is involved in over 300 enzymatic reactions, but here, we will just focus on bone health. 

Magnesium: Some Basics

Clearly, magnesium is important for bone health. How does this affect the risk for osteoporosis?