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Like protein, creatine, and vitamin D, magnesium is one of a handful of nutrients that has achieved escape velocity from niche wellness circles and routinely makes the rounds through the broader conversation—and not undeservedly so. “The importance of magnesium cannot be overstated,” says J. Rand Baggesen, MD, founder and medical director at Executive Health Group.
While magnesium tends to come up on podcasts in the context of improving sleep or supporting healthy muscle function, the mineral actually plays a vital, much broader role in all kinds of bodily functions across the nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular, and musculoskeletal systems, says Daniel Chavez, RD, CSCS, a registered dietician at Fay Nutrition—everything from regulating blood sugar to repairing DNA. “You could actually be so broad as to say magnesium supports every function of the body,” says Laura Purdy, MD, MBA, founder and CEO of Swell Medical.
You get the picture: Magnesium is a big deal. However, experts explained to GQ that magnesium intake is actually pretty far down the list of things you should likely be concerning yourself with. Here’s why.
You’re probably already getting enough magnesium through your diet.
“Most people are not deficient in magnesium,” says Dr. Purdy. For one, the nutrient is relatively abundant in most modern diets. “Magnesium is found in all kinds of food, whether that be grains, fruits, vegetables, fish—just about anything that you can find in nature to eat, it’s going to have some form of magnesium in it,” she says.
Moreover, magnesium isn’t the kind of nutrient you need to bomb your system with on a daily basis to reap the benefits—unlike, for example, protein. “Because it is such an important substance, your body does a good job of storing it,” says Dr. Purdy. “It’s absorbed in the intestines and stored in the bone marrow. So if you have a period where you’re maybe not eating as much, you still have some magnesium to pull from.”
Magnesium supplements can be helpful—in specific cases.
While magnesium is undeniably an important factor in supporting sleep, muscle function, and mood—the kinds of things people tend to seek quick-fix solutions for—it’s not something you’ll want to throw at a specific problem. As mentioned, you’re probably already getting enough through your diet, but also, overdoing it could potentially be harmful, says Dr. Purdy, given magnesium’s broader implications throughout the body.
“With magnesium, more is definitely not more,” says Dr. Purdy, who advises anyone using a magnesium supplement to stay close to the recommended daily value, unless otherwise directed by a doctor. (The NIH’s Office of Dietary Supplements recommends healthy adult males aim for 400–420 milligrams of magnesium per day.) “The purpose of a recommended daily value is it’s been tested and it’s been studied so that you know that you will be safe and healthy ingesting that amount,” she says.
