Reuters - Calcium Supplementation Without a Proper Balance of Magnesium Can Increase Risk of Heart Attack, Osteoporosis and Kidney Stones

According to Dr. Carolyn Dean, MD, ND, magnesium expert and Medical Director of the nonprofit Nutritional Magnesium Association (www.nutritionalmagnesium.org), approximately 30 to 40 years ago, doctors began prescribing calcium on a routine basis to many men and almost all women over the age of 40 to counter the effects of bone loss due to aging. The conventional wisdom was that bone loss is due to calcium deficiency. “After 40 years, it has become clear that taking calcium alone does not stop or even slow bone loss and does not prevent osteoporosis.” 2

The new wisdom now emerging is that magnesium is actually the key to the body's proper assimilation and use of calcium as well as vitamin D. Dr. Dean says, “If we consume too much calcium without sufficient magnesium, the excess calcium is not utilized correctly and may actually become toxic, causing painful conditions such as some forms of arthritis, kidney stones, osteoporosis and calcification of the arteries leading to heart attack and cardiovascular disease.

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