Nutrition & bone health
Key minerals for bone health — manganese
by Dr. Susan E. Brown, PhD
Like zinc and copper, manganese is a trace element that can profoundly affect bone health.
Yet for a long time it was one of the most overlooked nutrients, and to date no
RDA for manganese has been established.
One reason cited for this lack of an RDA in the past was that scientists weren’t really sure what people’s
typical manganese intakes were. It appears manganese intake can vary widely depending
on basic food choices. For example, we now know that intake of manganese is greatly
reduced when whole grains are replaced in the diet with foods made from refined
flour. This gives us pause because grain products constitute nearly 40% of our daily
manganese intake. Beverages (particularly tea) contribute about 20%, and vegetables
less than 20%. Other dietary patterns can inhibit the absorption of manganese, such
as getting too much calcium, phosphorus, iron, or zinc.
In recent decades research has uncovered the special role manganese plays as a co-factor
in the formation of bone cartilage and bone collagen, as well as in bone mineralization.
Osteoporotic changes in bone can be brought about by manganese deficiency, which
appears to increase bone breakdown while decreasing new bone mineralization. In
a Belgian study, blood levels of manganese of severely osteoporotic women were found
to be just one-fourth those of non-osteoporotic women their same age. What’s
more, of the 25 variables studied, only manganese was significantly different between
the two groups. Fortunately, manganese deficiency is relatively easy to address
and dietary sources are extremely safe.
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Original Publication Date: 04/11/2000
Last Modified: 04/14/2010
Principal Author: Dr. Susan E. Brown, PhD