iHerb’s Chief Scientific Advisor, Dr. Michael Murray, appeared on The Dr. Oz Show to highlight the importance of magnesium supplementation in promoting health. 

What Are the Health Benefits of Magnesium?

The benefits of magnesium supplementation have had tremendous scientific support.

While many cases have shown benefits from reversing magnesium deficiency, others have shown benefits in increasing magnesium to activate chemical reactions and processes within cells.1-3 

Magnesium is critical for heart function and blood pressure control.4,5 It is also required to maintain standard blood sugar control and exert a calming effect on the brain to fight against stress.6,7 Magnesium is also as essential as calcium in bone health.8

Some conditions associated with low magnesium status or that benefit from ensuring optimal magnesium levels:

  • Anxiety and stress
  • Cardiovascular conditions
  • Fatigue 
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Glaucoma
  • Headaches (both migraine and tension)
  • Insomnia and poor sleep quality
  • Irritable bowel syndrome
  • Kidney stones
  • Migraine
  • Premenstrual syndrome and dysmenorrhea

Is Magnesium Deficiency Common?

Detailed national dietary surveys in the United States and other data indicate that most people consume only about half of the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) and have suboptimal magnesium stores in their bodies.1 In addition to insufficient dietary intake, factors that reduce absorption or increase the loss of magnesium can also lead to low magnesium status. These factors include high calcium intake, alcohol or caffeine excess, diuretics, liver disease, kidney disease, and use of drugs that reduce absorption like proton-pump inhibitors that block gastric acid production, birth control pills, and others.

In addition to the health conditions listed above associated with low magnesium status, magnesium deficiency signs and symptoms can include fatigue, irritability, weakness, heart disturbances, muscle cramps, loss of appetite, insomnia, and a predisposition to stress. Low magnesium levels can also trigger headaches (both migraine and tension-type headaches).9,10

What Foods Are High in Magnesium?

Magnesium is highest in nuts and seeds, legumes, green leafy vegetables, and whole grains.  

What Is the Best Form of Magnesium Supplement?

Magnesium is available in several forms, with magnesium citrate, bisglycinate, and malate generally the most popular and best absorbed.11 These forms are easily absorbed and gentle on the intestinal tract at higher dosages (> 200 mg). Inorganic forms of magnesium such as magnesium chloride, oxide, or carbonate are generally less well-absorbed and are more likely to cause diarrhea at doses >200 mg. Magnesium hydroxide should not be used as a magnesium supplement because of its strong laxative effect. 

How Much Magnesium Should You Take?

The usual recommendation for a daily dosage of a magnesium supplement is 400 mg per day for adult males and 300 mg per day for adult females. Taking magnesium at night in a powdered form added to water has become a popular time because of its ability to produce a calming effect and promote improved sleep quality.12

Cautions With Magnesium

If you suffer from a severe kidney disorder, please consult a physician before taking any magnesium supplement.

Learn More

Watch the entire segment here.

References: 

  1. Rosanoff A, Weaver CM, Rude RK. Suboptimal magnesium status in the United States: are the health consequences underestimated? Nutr Rev 2012;70:153-64.
  2. Schwalfenberg GK, Genuis SJ. The Importance of Magnesium in Clinical Healthcare. Scientifica. 2017;2017:4179326. doi:10.1155/2017/4179326
  3. Guerrera MP, Volpe SL, Mao JJ. Therapeutic uses of magnesium. Am Fam Physician 2009;80:157-62.
  4. DiNicolantonio JJ, Liu J, O'Keefe JH. Magnesium for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease. Open Heart. 2018;5(2):e000775. 
  5. Zhang X, Li Y, Del Gobbo LC, et al. Effects of Magnesium Supplementation on Blood Pressure: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trials. Hypertension. 2016;68(2):324-333. 
  6. Piuri G, Zocchi M, Della Porta M, Ficara V, Manoni M, Zuccotti GV, Pinotti L, Maier JA, Cazzola R. Magnesium in Obesity, Metabolic Syndrome, and Type 2 Diabetes. Nutrients. 2021 Jan 22;13(2):320. 
  7. Pickering G, Mazur A, Trousselard M, Bienkowski P, Yaltsewa N, Amessou M, Noah L, Pouteau E. Magnesium Status and Stress: The Vicious Circle Concept Revisited. Nutrients. 2020 Nov 28;12(12):3672.
  8. Castiglioni S, Cazzaniga A, Albisetti W, Maier JA. Magnesium and osteoporosis: current state of knowledge and future research directions. Nutrients. 2013 Jul 31;5(8):3022-33.
  9. Zhang X, Li Y, Del Gobbo LC, et al. Effects of Magnesium Supplementation on Blood Pressure: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trials. Hypertension. 2016;68(2):324-333. 
  10. Maier JA, Pickering G, Giacomoni E, Cazzaniga A, Pellegrino P. Headaches and Magnesium: Mechanisms, Bioavailability, Therapeutic Efficacy and Potential Advantage of Magnesium Pidolate. Nutrients. 2020;12(9):2660. 
  11. Pardo MR, Garicano Vilar E, San Mauro Martín I, Camina Martín MA. Bioavailability of magnesium food supplements: A systematic review. Nutrition. 2021;89:111294.
  12. Abbasi B, Kimiagar M, Sadeghniiat K, et al. The effect of magnesium supplementation on primary insomnia in elderly: A double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial. J Res Med Sci. 2012 Dec;17(12):1161-9.
  13. Kass L, Weekes J, Carpenter L. Effect of magnesium supplementation on blood pressure: a meta-analysis. Eur J Clin Nutr 2012;66:411-8. [PubMed abstract]
  14. Champagne CM. Dietary interventions on blood pressure: the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) trials. Nutr Rev 2006;64:S53-6. [PubMed abstract]
  15. Peacock JM, Ohira T, Post W, Sotoodehnia N, Rosamond W, Folsom AR. Serum magnesium and risk of sudden cardiac death in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study. Am Heart J 2010;160:464-70. [PubMed abstract]
  16. Chiuve SE, Korngold EC, Januzzi Jr JL, Gantzer ML, Albert CM. Plasma and dietary magnesium and risk of sudden cardiac death in women. Am J Clin Nutr 2011;93:253-60. [PubMed abstract]
  17. Joosten MM, Gansevoort RT, Mukamal KJ, van der Harst P, Geleijnse JM, Feskens EJM, Navis G, Bakker SJL. Urinary and plasma magnesium and risk of ischemic heart disease. Am J Clin Nutr 2013;97:1299-306. [PubMed abstract]
  18. Del Gobbo LC, Imamura F, Wu JHY, Otto MCdO, Chiuve SE, Mozaffarian D. Circulating and dietary magnesium and risk of cardiovascular disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies. Am J Clin Nutr 2013;98:160-73. [PubMed abstract]
  19. Larsson SC, Orsini N, Wolk A. Dietary magnesium intake and risk of stroke: a meta-analysis of prospective studies. Am J Clin Nutr 2012;95:362-6. [PubMed abstract]
  20. Song Y, Liu S. Magnesium for cardiovascular health: time for intervention. Am J Clin Nutr 2012;95:269-70. [PubMed abstract]
  21. Larsson SC, Wolk A. Magnesium intake and risk of type 2 diabetes: a meta-analysis. J Intern Med 2007;262:208-14. [PubMed abstract]
  22. Rodriguez-Moran M, Simental Mendia LE, Zambrano Galvan G, Guerrero-Romero F. The role of magnesium in type 2 diabetes: a brief based-clinical review. Magnes Res 2011;24:156-62. [PubMed abstract]
  23. Simmons D, Joshi S, Shaw J. Hypomagnesaemia is associated with diabetes: not pre-diabetes, obesity or the metabolic syndrome. Diabetes Res Clin Pract 2010;87:261-6. [PubMed abstract]
  24. Schulze MB, Schulz M, Heidemann C, Schienkiewitz A, Hoffmann K, Boeing H. Fiber and magnesium intake and incidence of type 2 diabetes: a prospective study and meta-analysis. Arch Intern Med 2007;167:956–65. [PubMed abstract]
  25. Dong J-Y, Xun P, He K, Qin L-Q. Magnesium intake and risk of type 2 diabetes: meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. Diabetes Care 2011;34:2116-22. [PubMed abstract]
  26. Evert AB, Boucher JL, Cypress M, Dunbar SA, Franz MJ, Mayer-Davis EJ, Neumiller JJ, Nwankwo R, Verdi CL, Urbanski P, Yancy WS Jr. Nutrition therapy recommendations for the management of adults with diabetes. Diabetes Care 2013;36:3821-42. [PubMed abstract]
  27. Lima MDL, Cruz T, Pousada JC, Rodrigues LE, Barbosa K, Canguco V. The effect of magnesium supplementation in increasing doses on the control of type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care 1998;21:682-6. [PubMed abstract]
  28. Rodriquez-Moran M, Guerrero-Romero F. Oral magnesium supplementation improves insulin sensitivity and metabolic control in type 2 diabetic subjects: a randomized double-blind controlled trial. Diabetes Care 2003;26:1147-52. [PubMed abstract]
  29. de Valk HW, Verkaaik R, van Rijn HJ, Geerdink RA, Struyvenberg A. Oral magnesium supplementation in insulin-requiring Type 2 diabetic patients. Diabet Med 1998;15:503-7 [PubMed abstract]
  30. Rude RK, Singer FR, Gruber HE. Skeletal and hormonal effects of magnesium deficiency. J Am Coll Nutr 2009;28:131–41. [PubMed abstract]
  31. Tucker KL. Osteoporosis prevention and nutrition. Curr Osteoporos Rep 2009;7:111-7. [PubMed abstract]
  32. Mutlu M, Argun M, Kilic E, Saraymen R, Yazar S. Magnesium, zinc and copper status in osteoporotic, osteopenic and normal post-menopausal women. J Int Med Res 2007;35:692-5. [PubMed abstract]
  33. Aydin H, Deyneli O, Yavuz D, Gözü H, Mutlu N, Kaygusuz I, Akalin S. Short-term oral magnesium supplementation suppresses bone turnover in postmenopausal osteoporotic women. Biol Trace Elem Res 2010;133:136-43. [PubMed abstract]
  34. Sun-Edelstein C, Mauskop A. Role of magnesium in the pathogenesis and treatment of migraine. Expert Rev Neurother 2009;9:369–79 [PubMed abstract]
  35. Schürks M, Diener H-C, Goadsby P. Update on the prophylaxis of migraine. Cur Treat Options Neurol 2008;10:20–9. [PubMed abstract]
  36. Holland S, Silberstein SD, Freitag F, Dodick DW, Argoff C, Ashman E. Evidence-based guideline update: NSAIDs and other complementary treatments for episodic migraine prevention in adults. Neurology 2012;78:1346-53. [PubMed abstract]
  37. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Databaseexternal link disclaimer. Magnesium. 2013.
  38. Kutsal E, Aydemir C, Eldes N, Demirel F, Polat R, Taspnar O, Kulah E. Severe hypermagnesemia as a result of excessive cathartic ingestion in a child without renal failure. Pediatr Emerg Care 2007;23:570-2. [PubMed abstract]
  39. McGuire JK, Kulkarni MS, Baden HP. Fatal hypermagnesemia in a child treated with megavitamin/megamineral therapy. Pediatrics 2000;105:E18. [PubMed abstract]
  40. Onishi S, Yoshino S. Cathartic-induced fatal hypermagnesemia in the elderly. Intern Med 2006;45:207-10. [PubMed abstract]
  41. Dunn CJ, Goa KL. Risedronate: A review of its pharmacological properties and clinical use in resorptive bone disease. Drugs 2001;61:685-712. [PubMed abstract]
  42. Arayne MS, Sultana N, Hussain F. Interactions between ciprofloxacin and antacids–dissolution and adsorption studies. Drug Metabol Drug Interact 2005;21:117-29. [PubMed abstract]
  43. Sarafidis PA, Georgianos PI, Lasaridis AN. Diuretics in clinical practice. Part II: electrolyte and acid-base disorders complicating diuretic therapy. Expert Opin Drug Saf 2010;9:259-73. [PubMed abstract]
  44. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Proton Pump Inhibitor Drugs (PPIs): Drug Safety Communication—Low Magnesium Levels Can Be Associated With Long-Term Use.external link disclaimer March 2, 2011.