Manganese deficiency may lead to osteoporosis

Manganese deficiency may lead to osteoporosis

 Spanish researchers suggest calcium deficiency, usually associated with the disease, may actually be the effect & not the cause.

 According to the,, manganese which has a role in fixation of calcium in bones, could be the real culprit. Manganese is a micro nutrient, which plays a vital role in several enzymes of the body & this is crucial for normal performance of almost all systems. Some of its common sources include grapes, cloves, garlic, spinach, eggplant, pineapple, strawberries & brown rice.

Their previous antler studies show that manganese is necessary for calcium absorption. Our hypothesis is that when the human body absorbs less manganese or when it is sent from the skeleton to other organs that require it, such as the brain, the calcium that is extracted at the same time is then not properly absorbed & is excreted in the urine. That is why osteoporosis strikes. Though this study  needs to be validated with more studies & trials, but it is a step in a totally new direction in osteoporosis research as it considers calcium loss to be a consequence of the disease & not the origin.

This research started when deer in the Spanish forests started having a lot of antler breakages. When they started analyzing, they found that because of the harsh winter that year, the manganese concentration in plants had waned & the amount of manganese in the deer’s diet had gone down causing breakages.

UCLM researchers, meanwhile have gone a step ahead & said that given the important role manganese plays in neurological functions, osteoporosis could even be treated as one of the markers to screen people for brains diseases like Alzheimer’s & Parkinson’s. the theory for this is that when manganese is in short supply, it is extracted from bones to maintain brain functions which are more vital for the body.