If you’ve picked up a health book or magazine lately, you know all about calcium’s role in preventing osteoporosis, the brittle-bone disease that inca­pacitates thousands of women (and men) each year. But if scientific studies are any indication, there may be another, more immediate reason to add a calcium supplement to your medicine chest: It may relieve PMS.

In one study, researchers studied the diet of more than 3,000 women over 10 years and found that those who consumed 1,200 milligrams of calcium and 400 IU of vitamin D a day through food had up to a 40 percent less chance of experiencing PMS. And it appears that choosing the low-fat versions of high-calcium foods made a difference. Women who drank 2 per­cent milk or lower had fewer symptoms than women who drank whole milk.

What is MAD? Is Makes A Difference

The presence of higher magnesium levels seems to correlate with fewer asthma symptoms. In a 2001 cross-sectional study of over 2,500 adults, conducted at the University of Nottingham in England, people who got at least 100 milligrams a day of dietary magnesium had a reduction in airway hyperactivity and reported less wheezing than those who took in less than 100 milligrams a day.

This essential mineral is important for every organ in the body. It’s inti­mately involved in the production of energy and helps regulate levels of vital nutrients. It also has a potential special relevance to asthma sufferers. Large doses of magnesium relax the muscles around blood vessels and airways. Intravenous magnesium is helpful for a person having a life-threatening asthma attack called status asthmatics, which does not respond to the usual drugs.