Anxiety? Elevated blood pressure? Poor Sleep? Diabetes? Magnesium may be your best friend!

Magnesium: How supplementation can be an element of health and disease management. 

Supplementation is a complicated topic to approach for just about anyone. Go into any supermarket’s health section and you will see a wall of vitamins, minerals, herbs, pills, powders, and the like. One among these is magnesium, a vital mineral for general wellbeing and function. Even when just talking about magnesium, there are many different forms of magnesium supplements with differing benefits and ideal uses. 

There has been a growing interest in how supplements can be used to help address specific health conditions and symptoms. When it comes to magnesium, some of the topics getting attention are blood pressure, diabetes, anxiety, and sleep. There are other conditions that magnesium plays a role in, but these four are some of the most prevalent for the largest number of people day to day. The question is what forms of magnesium can best improve which conditions and to what degree. 

Blood Pressure 

High blood pressure is a serious health problem facing many people around the world, especially in the United States. There is evidence that magnesium supplementation can lead to reasonable decreases in blood pressure for people with hypertension. 4 In a perfect world, this magnesium could come from a well-balanced diet, but environmental or medical restrictions abound can limit people from getting what they need from food alone.  

Among the magnesium supplements you can get off the shelf, there are several that have been shown to be effective when combined with hypertensive medications. These include Magnesium oxide, aspartate, chloride, and picolinate. 5 You can determine what specific forms the salts containing the magnesium are in any given supplement by reading through the information label and ingredients list.  

Diabetes 

Much like high blood pressure, diabetes is a widespread and long-lasting issue in millions of people’s lives. Diabetes has equally strong ties in research with magnesium. Several studies with thousands of patients have found significant decreases in the risk of diabetes with the intake of magnesium.2 Given the long-term costs of managing diabetes, magnesium is a valuable option for people to consider when trying to minimize the risk of developing diabetes.  

There is also some evidence regarding magnesium’s ability to manage blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes.6 However, the research is not as strong on this point, so as with any supplementation you should consult a dietitian or other care specialist before starting any new supplement.  Magnesium glycinate is a good form for blood sugar control.

Anxiety and Depression 

Relating to potential benefits for mental well-being, there is some evidence to suggest that magnesium has beneficial effects on symptoms of depression and anxiety, though to a much greater degree with depression.3 The effects are moderate, and similar to blood pressure any use of magnesium to address said conditions should be seen as one tool in the tool belt, not an end all be all solution. 

Sleep  

Sleep is a critical function for just about every part of our bodies, and disorder with it can lead to numerous issues. Some trials have found that the link between low magnesium and poor sleep time/quality can be reduced with magnesium supplementation.1 For this to have the best effect, taking the magnesium close to bedtime is good practice, which can also make it easier to remember as a part of one’s nightly routine.  Magnesium glycinate is a good form to choose for sleep.

In Summary…  

there are many factors to take into account when trying to improve health, and magnesium is one that should be considered. Even for those without the discussed issues, making sure you get an adequate amount of magnesium, whether through diet or with supplementation, is still a good idea. If you want to know more about your specific situation and how magnesium can play a role in it, reach out to a dietitian and learn more about how you can use this and other dietary tools in your life.  —Blake Hauschild, Intern   

References 

1 Elgar K. (2022) Magnesium: A Review of Clinical Use and Efficacy. Nutr Med J., 1 (1): 79-99 

2 National Institutes of Health. Magnesium. National Institutes of Health. Published 2022. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium-HealthProfessional/ 

3 Jacka FN, Overland S, Stewart R, Tell GS, Bjelland I, Mykletun A. Association Between Magnesium Intake and Depression and Anxiety in Community-Dwelling Adults: The Hordaland Health Study. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. 2009;43(1):45-52. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/00048670802534408 

‌ 4 Kass L, Weekes J, Carpenter L. Effect of magnesium supplementation on blood pressure: a meta-analysis. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2012;66(4):411-418. doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2012.4 

‌5 Rosanoff A, Costello RB, Johnson GH. Effectively Prescribing Oral Magnesium Therapy for Hypertension: A Categorized Systematic Review of 49 Clinical Trials. Nutrients. 2021; 13(1):195. doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13010195 

6 Song Y, He K, Levitan EB, Manson JE, Liu S. Effects of oral magnesium supplementation on glycaemic control in Type 2 diabetes: a meta-analysis of randomized double-blind controlled trials. Diabetic Medicine: A Journal of the British Diabetic Association. 2006;23(10):1050-1056. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1464-5491.2006.01852.x