Who should take magnesium – and who should avoid it

Magnesium is the current mineral. At the beginning of this year, they i It called the 2024 supplement and its popularity has grown since then. The number of inquiries about it has seen a rapid rise since January 2023 and has doubled in popularity according to Google Trends, while the global market for magnesium supplements is expected to double from $3.5bn. (equivalent to £2.71bn) by 2023 to $6.8bn (equivalent to £5.27bn) in 2032.

But despite social media claims that they can treat whatever ails you, magnesium supplements aren’t for everyone. And in some cases, they should be actively avoided.

The i spoke to experts to get the inside scoop on who should take magnesium supplements.

Magnesium is a mineral responsible for more than 300 important biochemical reactions in the body. These feelings affect everything from heart and bone health to metabolic health, sleep and even stress management. Having the right conditions is essential to maintaining the performance of all these systems.

And magnesium deficiency can result in nausea, weakness, tremors, palpitations and irregular heartbeats, according to the NHS. The NHS recommends 300mg of magnesium a day for men, and 270mg for women.

Many people may be at risk of low magnesium levels these days. As Chloe Hall, a registered dietitian who specializes in food intolerances, previously reported ithe decrease in the quality of the population’s diet has its effect on magnesium. “Over the years, the amount of food eaten has decreased. People rely too much on things like fast food and refined carbohydrates.” He gives the example of brown rice versus white rice – brown rice has four times the amount of magnesium.

However, magnesium can be found in many common foods in a healthy diet, which means that as long as you eat well and don’t have specific needs or conditions, you may be getting enough. Rich sources of magnesium include nuts, seeds, pulses, whole carbohydrates and leafy greens. For example, 50g of cashew nuts contains 146mg of magnesium.

Registered dietitian Lucy Kerrison tells i that magnesium supplements are not all that they are claimed to be. “It’s something that a lot of people take, but maybe not everyone should take, in my opinion.”

He explains that part of the problem is that it is very difficult to check magnesium levels in the blood because most magnesium is stored in bones, tissues and cells. Your blood magnesium is tightly controlled [normally, only one percent of total body magnesium is present in liquid blood] so it’s not a good indicator of whether your magnesium levels are depleted. That makes magnesium supplementation very difficult. ”

However, there are some situations where a deficiency may exist, and where Lucy has the opportunity to recommend it to patients.

Another example is people with chronic intestinal conditions, such as Crohn’s and Colitis, or people with conditions that affect mineral absorption such as celiac disease. He says: “Where you may have loose bowels you will lose more magnesium. In that case, it is important to supplement.” Another example would be for people who tend to have constipation.

However, the type of magnesium supplement is important. “There are a few different types you can get,” he says, the most common being magnesium glycinate, magnesium oxide and magnesium citrate. And these different types have different effects on the body.

For example, Lucy says, “I would actually recommend something like magnesium citrate or magnesium oxide to my patients with constipation.” This is because they are more ‘osmotic’ and draw water from the intestines. But this is also why taking magnesium with gastrointestinal issues needs to be carefully monitored.

“If you’re supplementing with magnesium and you already have a gut problem,” he adds, “then you need to be careful about the dosage and the type that you have.” You often see clients using very high doses of magnesium, especially oxide or citrate, which can worsen IBS, IBD or diarrhea due to the same osmotic effects.

Another group he would recommend would be the sweaty people lot, as you lose magnesium through sweat.

He is specifically talking about people who are in an athletic level, or who are doing intense, high cardio. “If you’re someone who goes on a four-hour bike ride on the weekend or training for a marathon, then you’re going to sweat a lot with all that cardio and maybe you need to watch your magnesium a little bit.”

Here, again, an additional type is important. He recommends magnesium glycinate in this case as it is “well absorbed”. For those who sweat excessively and may be dealing with muscle fatigue, you can get a magnesium spray that can be applied to the skin where it is needed.

Magnesium glycinate may be beneficial for several others, as well.

He suggests trying it if you have a lot of migraines or trouble sleeping, though this doesn’t work for everyone. Try using a low or medium dose for four weeks and remove it if it doesn’t help. Additionally, “there is little research on things like magnesium for chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia. It’s not very strong, but some people feel better taking magnesium with it.”

As mentioned earlier, magnesium supplements can affect your gut – the same things that make them good for some make them a bad choice for others. As the NHS notes, “taking high doses of magnesium (over 400mg) in a short period of time can cause diarrhoea.”

Lucy stresses that excessive doses of magnesium can be dangerous and should be avoided.

“You can overdose on magnesium if you take too high a dose. This is very important to highlight because people often think that because it’s a supplement and it’s (or sounds) natural, they can’t take it too much equality.”

Excess magnesium can be very hard on your kidneys (which help people get rid of excess magnesium) and can affect other medications, including certain antibiotics and UTI treatments. “If you have a family history of chronic kidney disease, or you’re getting older and your organs aren’t working well, you want to be more careful,” he says.

That’s why he recommends sticking to a daily dose of 270mg to 300mg – “still, you’ll be cutting back on your intake and you don’t want to have huge levels of -supplements.”