Menopause describes the transition period when a woman's ovaries stop producing eggs and the level of the female hormones estrogen and progesterone falls significantly. Although a natural part of life, menopause causes physical symptoms and increases your risk for chronic diseases like heart disease and osteoporosis. Magnesium, an essential mineral, affects parathyroid hormone, which regulates calcium levels in the body, making magnesium important in preventing osteoporosis. Since menopause and magnesium both affect bone density, women must take steps to lower their risk for osteoporosis during and following menopause.
Osteoporosis
Bones consist of living tissue, and your body continually breaks down old bone and replaces it with new bone. During childhood and adolescence, your body builds bone faster than it breaks it down. Once you reach your peak bone mass, sometime between age 18 and 25, the process of building new bone slows down. When your body begins to break down bone faster than it can build new bone your bones become weak, brittle and vulnerable to fracture, a condition known as osteoporosis. Osteoporosis affects nearly 10 million people in the United States with another 34 million at risk for the disease, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation. Although osteoporosis can affect men, women account for more than 80 percent of all cases because menopause increases their risk.
Effect of Menopause
For men and women, the rate of bone loss increases as you age. For women, the decrease in estrogen levels that occurs during menopause stimulates the osteoclasts, the cells that break down bone material, to absorb bone faster. This causes some women to lose up to 20 percent of their bone density in the five to seven years following menopause. To decrease your risk for osteoporosis, you need to stimulate your body to produce new bone, which requires a consistent supply of calcium and vitamin D. To meet the Institute of Medicine's daily recommended calcium intake of 1,200 mg per day, your doctor may recommend taking calcium supplements in the years following menopause.
Parathyroid Hormone
To produce new bone tissue, specialized cells known as osteoblasts use minerals like calcium, magnesium and phosphate. Your body needs calcium for other functions too, like transmitting nerve signals, contracting muscle cells and regulating your heartbeat. These functions are so important that when the level of calcium in your blood falls, it stimulates your parathyroid gland to secrete parathyroid hormone. This hormone stimulates the breakdown of bone material to release calcium. Over time, a calcium deficiency contributes to osteoporosis.
Magnesium Effect
The level of magnesium in your body also affects the activity of parathyroid hormone. Research published in the "Journal of Endocrinology" concluded that a magnesium deficiency stimulates the secretion of parathyroid hormone. You can avoid a magnesium deficiency by eating plenty of green vegetables, nuts and beans, but your doctor may also recommend taking magnesium supplements to ensure you get the 320 mg per day of magnesium as recommended by the Institute of Medicine.
References
- National Osteoporosis Foundation: Fast Facts
- "Journal of Endocrinology"; Comparison of the Feedback Effect of Magnesium and Calcium on Parathyroid Hormone; Ferment, O. et al.; 1986
- University of Washington: Calcium Homeostasis
- Endocrinweb.com; Osteoporosis In women; Norman, J; October 2010
- Linus Pauling Institute: Magnesium; Victoria Drake; August 2007
- National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements: Magnesium; July 2009
