Bone health is especially important as one gets older; women especially suffer from bone density problems due to hormonal changes that their bodies go through during menopause – low oestrogen levels can cause vital loss of calcium and magnesium from the bones themselves.
This loss can make the bones brittle and more likely to break, and the brittle bones themselves can also increase the chances of a fall. These changes can very easily lead to decreased mobility and even the necessity for the elderly to be places in assisted living.
According to a study done in Norway in 2015, where researchers analysed the calcium and magnesium levels in the public drinking water, individuals living in areas where drinking water is naturally higher in magnesium have the fewest incidents of hip fractures.
The study concentrated on magnesium and calcium as these are the two minerals that play a vital role in keeping bones strong and healthy. Researchers wanted to determine whether there is any relationship between the state of an individual’s bones and the water that they are drinking.
The study followed a group of 700,000 elderly patients for seven years, during which time in excess of 13,000 for women reported hip fractures and in excess of 5,000 fractures were reported for men.
Strangely enough though, there was no similar correlation for areas where the levels of calcium in the drinking water were high, which is strange as it is calcium after all that is usually most beneficial and on which most doctors concentrate when talking about bone density and educating individuals on bone health as they get older.
One of the major reasons for this study was that Norway is an aging country, like many developed countries, and the health of the elderly is important, specifically in an attempt to help the aged to remain in their own home for longer and not to have to move to assisted living or a nursing home due to the possibility of falls and fractures, as this is a major financial strain on the individuals, their families, and society as a whole.
This study points to the possible necessity of more countries looking into the role of magnesium in keeping bones healthy and the possibility of introducing it into public drinking water.
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