Toggle Health Problems and D

Calcium in food increased much more than Magnesium in recent decades April 2010

Possible rise in Ca:Mg ratio from food intake in U.S.A. adults

Andrea Rosanoff Center for Magnesium Education & Research, LLC, Pahoa, HI
FASEB (Federation of American Societies of Experimental Biology) Journal Vol 24 April 2010 917.15

VitaminDWiki

Items in both categories Calcium and Magnesium are listed here:


A growing body of work suggests an importance for Ca:Mg ratio. We calculated the change of Ca:Mg intake from foods over time in the United States of America.

Method: U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Surveys from 1977, 1985, 1994, 2001–2, 2003–4, and 2005–6 provided mean Ca, Mg and Kcal intake per day in adult age-gender groups. (USDA Surveys before 1977 do not include Mg; Data for adults age 50+ were not reported until 1994; Defined age/gender groups changed slightly for age from survey to survey.) Survey means were used to calculate % changes in Ca, Mg, Kcal, and Ca:Mg intakes from food for 1977 to 2006 (1994 – 2006 for age 50+ yrs).

Results: Mean Ca daily intake rose in each age/gender group: a low of 21% for elderly males and a high of 77% for adult females. Mean Mg daily intakes rose in each adult age-gender group, but to a lesser extent than Ca, from 3% for elderly males and a high of 28% in adult females. Caloric intakes rose in each age/gender group comparable to the rise in Mg rather than to the rise in Ca: 7% for elderly males and 26% for adult females.

Conclusion: Large rises in Ca intakes between 1977 and 2005–6 result in an apparent rising Ca:Mg from food, observed from 1977 to 2005–6 for each adult age-gender group; 20 – 38% rise for adult women and 18 – 32% rise for adult men. Supported by Center for Magnesium Education & Research.