Magnesium and calcium: that's the effect

Magnesium and calcium are two minerals that are important for the body. The right interplay of minerals is important for your health.

Magnesium and calcium - tasks of the minerals in the body

Calcium ensures stable bones in the body. The mineral also plays an important role in dental health.

• However, too much calcium is not good for the body. An excess can lead to high blood pressure.
• In order for the stimulus transmission to work properly in the muscles, there must also be sufficient magnesium in the cells.
• Magnesium also ensures that not too much calcium gets into your cells.
• An excess of magnesium is unlikely in a healthy body. If there is an oversupply, magnesium is excreted via the kidney.
• This regulation does not work if the kidney is ill. With renal insufficiency, high magnesium levels can lead to diarrhea, nausea, slow pulse, and low blood pressure.

Interplay of minerals and regulation of intake

Both magnesium and calcium are absorbed by the body through the intestine.

• Calcium intake in particular is regulated by a certain hormone, the so-called parathyroid hormone. This hormone is made in the parathyroid glands.
• If there is already sufficient calcium in the body, less parathyroid hormone is released and thus the absorption via the intestine is regulated downwards.
• If, on the other hand, there is a calcium deficiency, the parathyroid glands produce more parathyroid hormone to stimulate absorption in the intestine.
• The same thing happens with a magnesium deficiency. Here too, more parathyroid hormone is released.