A higher intake of magnesium may reduce the risk of hip fractures, according to a study conducted by researchers from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and published in the journal Bone.
Norway has one of the highest rates of hip fractures in the world, with approximately 9,000 cases per year. This is considered a major public health problem, given the seriousness of hip fractures and the high costs of care.
In the United States, there were 258,000 hospital admissions for hip fractures among people aged 65 and older, in 2010, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Although scientists have identified many hip fracture risk factors, including smoking, body mass index, vitamin D levels, diet and exercise, these factors are unable to explain the majority of variation in fracture rates.
Magnesium protects; calcium doesn't
For the study, the researchers collected information from three sources - a prior project in Norway on drinking water, data about Norwegians from the National Population Register from 1994 until 2000 and the registry of hip fractures. The researchers followed 700,000 men and women over the period of seven years. Information from these sources was clubbed to create a list of fractures occurring in areas where calcium and magnesium in drinking water was low. They found about 5,500 hip fractures among men and 13,600 hip fractures for women during this period. The experts said that the absence of magnesium in drinking water could explain the high number of hip fractures in Norway.
"The protective effect of magnesium was unsurprising but the correlation between calcium and magnesium in water and hip fracture was complex and somewhat unexpected," Cecilie Dahl, co-author of the study, said in a statement. "Therefore more research is needed to get a more reliable result of the relationship between drinking water and hip fractures and to get a better picture of the biological mechanism in the body."
If this study's findings are confirmed, the researchers said, utility companies may be able to reduce hip fracture rates simply by adding more magnesium to the water.
But there's no need for individual consumers to rely on water companies to boost their magnesium intake for them. You can increase the amount of magnesium in your diet simply by eating more green leafy vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds.
And it will benefit more than just your bones. A study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that higher magnesium intake was correlated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer, while one in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found an association with lower risk of stroke. And higher magnesium intake may also lower your risk of diabetes, according to a study in the journal Diabetes Care.
Sources: http://www.fhi.no/eway/, http://www.sciencedaily.com/, http://www.eurekalert.org/, http://www.naturalnews.com/, http://www.universityherald.com/