Calcium and magnesium are good for bone health. These two minerals are also important for everyday essential bodily functions, the way your body uses them means the minerals have to work in tandem to be fully effective.
On this page, we explain:
the role magnesium and calcium play in keeping your body healthy why magnesium is key to how your body uses calcium how to make sure you’re getting enough of the minerals, via food and supplements. Magnesium supplements help bones form and remain strong. It enables the small mineral crystals that comprise part of your bone structure to increase in density and gain strength. Magnesium is good for allowing your bones to absorb calcium more readily. The benefits to this are seen in the calcium section.
Aside from strengthening your skeleton, magnesium is good for:
Establishing an energy-yielding metabolism Healthy muscle function Electrolyte balance Routine functioning of the nervous system Traditional protein synthesis Calcium Of all the essential minerals found in your body, calcium is the most abundant. Nearly all of your calcium is stored in your bones and teeth.
Like magnesium, calcium is vital to bone health. It enables bones to develop and grow, keeping them strong and dense up to the age of around 25. After 25 your bones begin to lose density as part of the ageing process. Calcium helps slow this decline.
Calcium also contributes to establishing:
Muscle function Blood clotting Neurotransmission (nerve cells passing signals to each other)Digestive enzyme function Your body doesn’t rely on magnesium to absorb calcium. But without it, calcium can become toxic, depositing itself in soft tissues, kidneys, arteries and cartilage rather than in bones where it has the greatest benefit. This can lead to some quite severe health conditions. Balancing calcium with the right amount of magnesium is good for potentially stopping harmful issues occurring.