The benefits of a healthy diet and exercise for people with osteoporosis are widely accepted. However, most conventional medical sources touch upon only calcium and vitamin D when it comes to nutrients that help reduce the risk of osteoporosis. In reality, researchers are discovering that bone health and remodeling are complex processes that are influenced by many hormones and nutrients.

The following supplements and nutrients have been shown to reduce the risk of fractures:

* DHEA—suggested starting dose of 15 to 75 milligrams (mg) daily, followed by blood testing in three to six weeks to make sure that optimal levels of this hormone are maintained
* Calcium—1200 mg (dicalcium malate and calcium bisglycinate) daily
* Vitamin D3—800 international units (IU) daily
* Magnesium—340 mg daily
* Zinc—2 mg daily
* Manganese—1 mg daily
* Silicon—5 mg daily
* Boron—3 mg daily
* Melatonin—1 to 3 mg daily at bedtime
* Vitamin C—1 to 3 grams (g) daily
* Vitamin E—400 IU daily (with 200 mg gamma tocopherol)
* Vitamin B12 with folic acid—300 to 1200 micrograms (mcg) B12 and 800 to 3200 mcg folic acid daily
* Vitamin K—up to 10 mg daily
* Whey protein—up to 50 g daily (contains the essential amino acids L-arginine and L-lysine)
* Soy isoflavones (genistein, daidzein, glycitein)—55 to 120 mg daily

The Life Extension Foundation has noted in their newsletter that in a presentation at the American Association for Cancer Research’s Seventh Annual International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, Qi Dai, MD, PhD reported that it may be necessary to have a greater intake of magnesium in order for calcium to protect against colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer, also called colon cancer or large bowel cancer, is the third most common form of cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the Western world.

At this office, Dr. Kerr can test for any magnesium, calcium, or other vitamin deficiencies, and provide you with high-quality supplements to fill your nutritional gaps. If you’re concerned that you might need dietary supplements, or just want to learn how to make sure you eat right for your health, call today to set up an appointment! Invest in your good health!

Another popular supplement here at our office is Natural Calm, an all natural magnesium supplement. Many people suffer from magnesium depletion, which can be caused by lack of dietary magnesium, stress, some medications (diuretics, antibiotics, birth control pills, insulin, cortisone), heavy exercise, diabetes, GI disorders, and excessive calcium in the diet.

Some symptoms of magnesium depletion are: low energy, fatigue, weakness, PMS, inability to sleep, weakening bones, muscle tension/spasms/cramps, abnormal heart rhythms, headaches, anxiousness, nervousness, and irritability.

Our patients take Natural Calm for a variety of reasons, including stress, osteoporosis, weak bones, muscle cramps and pain, heart health, energy booster, healthy blood pressure, PMS, and diabetes. If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comment section, email us, or ask your own chiropractor or natural health practitioner!

For more information on Natural Calm, here’s the link to the website.

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The March 10, 2008 issue of the AMA journal Archives of Internal Medicine revealed the finding of researchers at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, that men who smoke may acquire some protection against stroke by consuming greater amounts of the mineral magnesium.

The current study included 26,556 participants in the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta- Carotene Cancer Prevention (ATBC) Study, a randomized, double-blind trial that tested the preventive ability of alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) or beta-carotene on lung cancer in older male Finnish smokers. Dietary questionnaires administered at the beginning of the study were evaluated for calcium, magnesium and potassium intake levels. The men were followed for an average of 13.6 years, during which 2,702 cerebral infarctions, 383 intracerebral hemorrhages, 196 subarachnoid hemorrhages, and 84 unspecified types of stroke occurred.

Researcher Susanna C. Larsson and her colleagues found that men whose magnesium intake was highest, at an average of 589 milligrams per day, had a risk of cerebral infarction (the most common type of stroke involving blockage of blood flow to the brain) that was 15 percent lower than those whose consumption of the mineral was lowest, averaging 373 milligrams per day. Men who were under 60 appeared to derive the greatest benefit from the mineral. Although potassium intake was also associated with a lower risk of cerebral infarction, adjustment for various factors reduced the significance of the association.

In their introduction to the article, Dr Larsson et al note that because hypertension is a stroke risk factor, nutrients that affect blood pressure could modify stroke risk, and they remark that magnesium has recently been confirmed in a meta-analysis to modestly reduce diastolic blood pressure. The authors observe in their commentary on the current study’s findings that magnesium supplementation has also been shown to have beneficial effects on glucose, triglycerides, HDL, LDL, VLDL and total cholesterol levels in a laboratory study of diabetic rats. Additionally, the mineral has been linked with a reduction of markers of inflammation and endothelial dysfunction, as well as fasting insulin and glucose. Because increased magnesium intake has been shown to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, which has been associated with ischemic stroke, part of the protective benefit of magnesium may be its antidiabetic effect.

“Whether magnesium supplementation lowers the risk of cerebral infarction needs to be assessed in large, long-term randomized trials,” the authors conclude.

For more information, go to the Life Extension Foundation’s website.