Magnesium is a mineral needed by every cell of your body. About half of your body's magnesium stores are found inside the cells of body tissues and organs, and the other half are combined with calcium and phosphorus in bone. Because of this, magnesium is important for bone health.

Magnesium is also important for the cardiovascular system. Studies have shown that magnesium intake is inversely related to the risk of stroke in men. Because magnesium aids in carbohydrate metabolism, a deficiency has been found to contribute to metabolic syndrome and diabetes.

References

Kao WHL, Folsom AR, Nieto J, et al. Serum and dietary magnesium and the risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus (editorial). Arch. Int Med. 1999; 159:2151-2159.He, K., Liu, K., Daviglus, M. L., Morris, S. J., Loria, C. M., Van Horn, L., Jacobs, D. R. Jr., Savage, P. J.Magnesium intake and incidence of metabolic syndrome among young adults. Circulation 2006 Mar 27; [Epub ahead of print]. Klevay LM, Milne DB. Low dietary magnesium increases supraventricular ectopy. Am J Clin Nutr 2002 Mar;75(3):550-4. Martini LA. Magnesium supplementation and bone turnover. Nutr Rev. 1999; 57:227-229.Ryder KM, Shorr RI, Bush AJ, Kritchevsky SB, Harris T, Stone K, Cauley J, Tylavsky FA.agnesium intake from food and supplements is associated with bone mineral density in healthy older white subjects.J Am Geriatr Soc. 2005 Nov;53(11):1875-80.