Does your nutritional status affect mortality? Yes, especially for these two nutrients. Scientists based their query on the n the hypothesis that magnesium -- either alone or by its interactions with vitamin D -- influences vitamin D status. Vitamin D has previously been shown to decrease the risk of certain diseases, particularly heart disease and colon Could magnesium affect mortality, too? The scientists looked at U.S. population studies data and came up with a pretty definitive answer for you.

If you're like most people, you believe that calcium plus vitamin D equals stronger bones, celebrity-wearing milk mustaches of the "got milk?" ads. Research presented at the annual Pediatric Academic Societies meeting challenges this notion. According to lead researcher Professor Steven Abrams of the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, “dietary magnesium intake may be an important, relatively unrecognized factor in bone mineral accretion".