What Magnesium Supplements Can Actually Do

Spend too much time in certain social media circles and you might get the impression that a magnesium supplement is a miracle pill that can cure just about any disease. One supplement that can fix your sleep, get rid of a headache, or act as a natural anxiety reliever. Not surprisingly, many of these claims are exaggerated. No, magnesium is not a panacea. But a number of studies do suggest that a daily supplement may provide modest benefits, from reducing headaches to improving sleep. Here’s what a magnesium supplement can actually do.

Magnesium may help reduce the frequency of migraines

While the evidence is still mixed, a number of studies suggest that a daily magnesium supplement may help those who suffer from frequent migraines . As a result, it has received a B rating from the American Headache Society and the American Academy of Neurology, indicating it is a safe, well-tolerated supplement with potential benefit for people with migraines or as a stand-alone therapy. or in combination with other medicines. If you are taking magnesium to prevent migraines, the recommended daily intake is 400 to 600 milligrams .

“There is some clinical evidence to support its use,” said Stacey Smith, a physician at the Houston Methodist Hospital who specializes in treating headaches. “These are not just jokes.” In her experience, she will see a wide range of reactions to magnesium supplementation, with some patients reporting significant relief, while others report either modest or no effect at all.

If you’re adding a magnesium supplement to prevent migraines, Smith suggests sticking with it for at least two to three months, during which time it may be helpful to keep a headache diary to track if it affects the frequency or duration of your headache attacks. migraine.

Magnesium can also be taken during a migraine when it can provide additional relief. If you’ve ever been to the emergency room for a migraine, the intravenous injections they give to migraine sufferers often include around 1,000 milligrams of magnesium , which has been shown to help relieve the symptoms of an acute attack.

Magnesium can help with sleep, anxiety, and high blood pressure.

Recently, the use of magnesium as a sleep aid has been gaining popularity, but the evidence for its effectiveness is still limited . Adding a magnesium supplement does not compensate for poor sleep habits, although it may slightly improve the quality of your sleep. There is also some evidence that it may help improve sleep quality in people with restless leg syndrome.

Magnesium supplementation has also been shown to reduce feelings of anxiety , although the studies in which this was done were small, had no control group, and were based on data provided by the researchers themselves. More reliably , magnesium supplementation may result in a small decrease in blood pressure , especially in patients with prediabetes or insulin resistance, although the drop is very small.

How to Add Magnesium to a Supplement

There are several different forms of magnesium, each of which is absorbed by the body in slightly different ways. “Start with what you can find and what’s cheap,” Smith said.

The most common form is magnesium oxide , which is the least expensive but also has one of the slowest absorption rates. It can also have a laxative effect, which can be both good and bad, depending on what you are going to do. If you start with a form like magnesium oxide and don’t see any noticeable benefit, it’s worth trying a different form before giving up magnesium entirely.

Some other common forms of magnesium include magnesium citrate, magnesium lactate, magnesium malate, magnesium taurate, and magnesium glycinate. Depending on what you are taking magnesium for, you may want to try one form against another. For example, magnesium citrate is easier to digest, while magnesium lactate is gentler on the digestive system. (Some supplements contain a mixture of different types.) The average recommended daily amount of magnesium from all sources is usually 300 to 400 milligrams. When it comes to supplements, it is generally recommended not to exceed 350 milligrams per day , unless directed otherwise by a doctor. Excess magnesium from food is considered safe.