For years, nearly everyone believed calcium was the “healthy bone” vitamin. As long as you got plenty of calcium, your bones would remain strong and youthful.
That belief led to the large-scale fortification of products with calcium. Food manufacturers started adding the mineral to just about everything – cereals, fruit juices, crackers and many other processed foods.
Yet the results weren’t what doctors expected. Even with all this extra calcium, Americans still reported having the same bone health issues, including the breakdown of bone and even the loss of calcium.
How could that happen? What was going on?
Researchers finally began to uncover answers. They realized calcium couldn’t get the job done by itself. It needed help from other essential minerals and vitamins. Plus, they learned calcium might even be harmful if certain conditions existed.
To do its job, calcium needs magnesium, vitamin D3 and vitamin K2. Taking in excess calcium from food or supplements without enough magnesium and vitamins D and K can contribute to heart and artery concerns.
There are other issues, too, with calcium and magnesium.
Taking them together in one supplement can interfere with each nutrient’s absorption. And the type of calcium and magnesium you take matters, as some are poorly utilized by your body and a few have even been found to contain contaminants.
First, let’s take a look at each nutrient separately, and then we’ll see how they work together and why timing is so crucial.
Magnesium: The New Bone Health Mineral
Researchers are now convinced that it is magnesium – and not calcium – that’s so vitally important for bone and overall health. Magnesium, the fourth most abundant mineral in your body:
- Is found primarily in your bones (half of your total body’s magnesium).
- Drives your body’s proper utilization of calcium and other important nutrients.
- Is a key nutrient in the proper functioning of your heart, kidneys, adrenals and your entire nervous system, including your brain, as well as your body’s normal detoxification processes.*
- Plays a vital role in normal bone formation, digestion, blood sugar regulation, energy production, muscle contraction and relaxation, and cell division.*
- Is involved in more than 600 biochemical reactions in your body for optimum health.
As important as magnesium may be, many people don’t get enough. Some experts believe as many as 80% of Americans may be deficient.
Low levels of magnesium are linked to blood sugar and heart issues, so a deficiency can be a grave risk to health.
How can you tell if you’re low in magnesium? You may experience occasional fatigue and weakness, nausea and vomiting, as well as headache and loss of appetite.
But deficiencies often go unnoticed as symptoms tend to be general and may be attributed to a variety of different conditions. The only way to know for sure is to test your levels.
Unfortunately, the standard serum magnesium blood test doesn’t give a clear view of deficiency. It may show magnesium levels as normal even though the red blood cell’s stores of magnesium are depleted.
Instead, I recommend the Vitamin D, Magnesium & Omega-3 Test. It uses the more sensitive red blood cell (RBC) magnesium test to measure levels and detect a potential deficiency.
Choosing the Best Magnesium Supplement for You
You have many choices when it comes to a magnesium supplement – magnesium oxide, magnesium carbonate, magnesium citrate, magnesium glycinate, magnesium malate. This list goes on and on.
With so many choices, how do you know which one is best for you?
You may be surprised to learn the answer depends upon what you want from a magnesium supplement.
Some people appreciate the stool-softening properties of some types of magnesium, but many don’t. And just because a product claims to contain more elemental magnesium, it may not be high on the list for absorption.
Absorption is key when you want support for your brain, energy production, cellular health and your detoxification processes. For your brain to optimally benefit, the magnesium must be able to cross your blood-brain barrier – or the highly protective barrier that guards what enters your brain.
Magnesium Advanced contains the optimal balance of elemental magnesium and it is formulated for absorption rather than laxative effects. The Magtein® in our Magnesium Advanced is the only magnesium compound shown to effectively raise the brain's magnesium levels because it can cross the blood-brain barrier and penetrate cell membranes.*
Calcium and Magnesium Impact More Than Just Mobility
You have more calcium in your body than any other mineral. Nearly all of the calcium in your body – 99% – is stored in your bones and teeth, where it supports their structure and function.
Yet, the remaining 1% is just as important. That small amount is responsible for nerve and muscle function, the secretion of hormones and contractions of your heart.
Your body carefully controls the amount of calcium in your blood, muscles and fluids. When levels fall, your body responds by pulling calcium from your bone tissue, which can put your bone health (and everything else) at risk.
There are at least four reasons why it’s so important to help maintain strong, dense bones with the help of magnesium and calcium:
- You want to live a long, active life and enjoy the activities you love into old age.
- Taking care of your bones may help you maintain a sharp, clear mind. In a study of 987 men and women, those with the lowest bone mass measurements were more than twice as likely to develop cognitive impairment than those with stronger bones.
- Strong, dense bones help protect against falls and other bodily and organ injury that can threaten your independence and long-term well-being.
- Healthy, strong bones are like nutrient insurance. Strong, dense bones are a life-long storehouse for important minerals.
A loss of bone and bone strength occurs when there is more breakdown than rebuilding of bone.
When bones lose mass and density, they also lose their ability to withstand a minor stress, like a fall or blow, and become more likely to break or fracture.
On the other hand, improved bone mineral density is associated with a lower risk of fragility fractures – and an improved quality of life.
The problem is, many people have weak bones and don’t know it. They only discover their bones aren’t as dense and strong as they should be when they slip or fall and break a bone.
A Balanced Calcium Supplement You Can Trust
While so essential for strong, dense bones, calcium supplements have earned themselves a bad rap over the years. One of their issues has been contamination.
A study of 27 commonly used calcium supplements found that only 10% met the US acceptable daily limit for lead. In other words, nine out of 10 calcium supplements in the study contained excessive lead – and the worst offenders were chelated calcium supplements, a popular choice among health-conscious shoppers.
Aluminum has also been found in calcium carbonate supplements labeled “oyster shell” or “natural source.” And some imported calcium supplements tested positive for lead and aluminum, as well as cadmium and mercury – all potentially toxic heavy metals.
Our Calcium with Vitamins D3 and K2 is a much safer, smart choice for several reasons as it contains:
- Whole food calcium from organic eggshells that are much lower in lead than mined minerals.
- Balanced ratios of vitamins D3 and K2 to support the actions of calcium.*
- An advanced patented form of Vitamin K2 – MK7 – the only one that’s shown to help maintain bone density and strength, and promote healthy, flexible arteries.*
- No magnesium stearate or genetically engineered ingredients.
Calcium with Vitamins D3 and K2 provides its nutrients in advanced forms for maximum absorption and superior bioavailability, far exceeding what you’ll find in many other bone health formulas.
Why Source Matters With Calcium
Where your calcium comes from is vitally important for purity and your body’s ability to use it.
We chose eggshell calcium from Certified Organic eggshell for our Calcium with Vitamins D3 and K2 for a number of reasons:
- Eggshells are a 100% natural and sustainable whole food source.
- Only eggshells from organic eggs are used, laid by chickens fed an organic diet without genetically engineered grains like GE corn, and not exposed to potentially risky non-organic pesticides and herbicides.
- Eggshells contain naturally occurring transport proteins for maximum absorption and bioavailability, making this type of calcium nearly 20 percent more absorbable than other forms of calcium carbonate.*
- Other important essential trace minerals are naturally found in eggshell for bone building support.*
- The high elemental calcium in eggshells allows for a smaller dose, which may be healthier for your heart.*
- Multiple studies have shown the effectiveness of eggshell calcium in supporting normal bone mineral density.*
- It’s produced by an eco-friendly manufacturing process without harsh chemicals or solvents in an FDA regulated GMP facility.
- Ultra-refined eggshell calcium promotes digestive comfort, unlike some other calcium formulas.*
A calcium supplement should support your health, not put it at additional risk because of potentially dangerous additives or levels of toxic metals.
Why Calcium and Vitamin D Supplements May Be Risky Without Magnesium and Vitamin K2
Along with calcium, more people than ever take vitamin D supplements today. That’s a good thing – but it also raises some risks that many people may not realize.
Here’s some of the more recent findings we’ve learned about how vitamin D, calcium, magnesium and vitamin K2 interact with each other:
- Maintaining an appropriate calcium-to-magnesium ratio is vital, as magnesium helps keep calcium in your cells so they can function better.
- Higher magnesium intake helps reduce your risk of vitamin D deficiency.
- High levels of vitamin D with too little vitamin K2 may cause an overabsorption of calcium, which can lead to too much calcium in your body (this can also happen with low magnesium).
- With high levels of calcium and not enough magnesium, excess calcium cannot be utilized correctly and may even become toxic in your body.
- Magnesium and vitamin K2 complement each other, as magnesium helps maintain blood pressure levels already in the normal range.*
- Vitamin K2 directs calcium to its appropriate destination – our teeth and bones. Calcium can end up in the wrong place if you don’t take it with vitamin K2.*
- Vitamin D maintains skeletal calcium balance by promoting calcium absorption in your intestines.*
As you can see, calcium, magnesium, and vitamins D3 and K2 play an intricate dance with each other. For optimal function, you all four nutrients.
Why You Need All 4 Nutrients – But Not at the Same Time
Just to summarize, here’s a quick snapshot of how each nutrient contributes to bone health:
Calcium helps make your bones dense, or hard and strong.*
Vitamin D3 plays an important role in protecting your bones by helping your body absorb calcium and supporting muscles.*
Vitamin K2 works synergistically with calcium, magnesium and vitamin D to build strong, healthy bone. Plus, it makes sure calcium ends up in the right place – in your bones and teeth.*
Magnesium works together with calcium, vitamins K2 and D3, and aids calcium absorption.*
While calcium and vitamin D are essential for healthy bones, studies show they aren’t enough by themselves.
For youthful and strong bones, you need all of the essential bone-building nutrients, not just two or three. That’s why we’ve combined Calcium with Vitamins D3 and K2 and Magnesium Advanced in one convenient bundle.
However, taking them both at the same time isn’t advised. Taking large amounts of minerals along with other minerals can reduce absorption. To maximize your calcium and magnesium supplement benefits, aim to take them at least two hours apart.
Ideally, I recommend taking Calcium with Vitamins D3 and K2 with your first meal of the day and Magnesium Advanced with your last meal, or at bedtime.
Strike the ideal balance for health, and order your Calcium & Magnesium Advanced Bundle today.