Magnesium Deficiency Symptoms: 9 Signs, Tests & How to Fix It

The most common signs of magnesium deficiency are tight muscles and cramps, fatigue and weakness, low appetite and nausea, tingling or numbness, an irregular heartbeat, anxiety or low mood, rising blood pressure, trouble sleeping, and headaches.18 They tend to be quiet signs that most people blame on stress or getting older.8 Maybe you're tired for no clear reason, your shoulders never fully let go, or sleep won't come when you need it.

So how can one mineral be behind so many different signs? As I said on my show, "Magnesium is a crucial mineral that affects almost every function of the body."8 It works like a master key that turns on energy inside your cells.8 Your body also uses it in more than 300 enzyme systems, including the ones behind muscle and nerve function, blood sugar control and blood pressure.1 So when magnesium runs low, the strain shows up wherever that work happens: in your muscles, your nerves and mood, your sleep and your heartbeat.

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The shortfall is common, and you can correct it. Nearly half of Americans eat less magnesium than they need, and the usual blood test looks at only a tiny share of what's in your body.1 Pumpkin seeds, leafy greens, beans and the right supplement form can bring your levels back.

This guide covers the nine signs, how a shortfall builds, what drains magnesium, the test that looks inside your cells, and the food, forms and doses that restore it. If your main complaint is that you're always tired, that guide covers the other causes worth checking alongside magnesium.

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What is magnesium deficiency?

Magnesium does five main jobs in your body. It calms nerve signaling, lets muscles relax after they contract, steadies your heart rhythm, helps turn food into usable energy and signals your brain that it's safe to rest.8 Keep that list in mind, because each of those jobs lines up with one of the signs below.

An adult body holds about 25 grams of magnesium. About 50% to 60% of it sits in your bones, and most of the rest is inside the cells of your muscles and other soft tissues. Less than 1% is in your blood serum.1 Think of that small blood share as your checking account and your bones and cells as savings, and your body guards the checking balance closely. Healthy kidneys excrete about 120 mg of magnesium a day and hold more back when you run low, and your bones release magnesium to keep the blood level steady.19 That protection is good design, but it's also why a shortfall can hide on a routine blood test for a long time: the checking balance looks fine while your savings run down.

How common is low magnesium?

Low magnesium intake is common: in national survey data from 2013 to 2016, 48% of Americans got less magnesium from food and drinks than they need, and men over 70 and teenagers were the most likely to fall short.18

That's nearly one American in two, but it's harder to say how many people are low inside their bodies, because the national health survey hasn't measured blood magnesium since 1974.1 The standard serum range of 0.75 to 0.95 mmol/L was also set from the spread of values in people presumed healthy, and a 2016 perspective from an expert panel argues that a subclinical deficiency can sit inside that range.7 So a normal serum result can still hide a shortfall inside your cells.

The everyday shortfall is the slow, long-running kind, and it starts on your plate, with a mineral-poor diet. Severe deficiency from diet alone is uncommon in otherwise healthy people, because healthy kidneys hold on to magnesium when intake runs low. When it does appear, it usually traces to a health condition, a medication or heavy alcohol use.1 Testing tells you which one you're dealing with.

What are the signs of magnesium deficiency?

If two or more of these sound like you, keep reading, because the foods and the right supplement forms to correct a shortfall come later on this page.8 Each of these signs can have other causes too, so test, don't guess.

1. Tight muscles, cramps and twitches

Muscles that stay tight, especially the trap muscles across the tops of your shoulders, head my list of signs.8 That's because magnesium moves calcium and potassium across your cell membranes, which your nerves and muscles need in order to fire and then relax. As a deficiency deepens, cramps and involuntary muscle contractions set in.1 A cramp is like a fist that clenches and won't open, and if calf cramps wake you at night, or your muscles twitch or your shoulders never let go, that fits the pattern.

As I explained in a 2024 episode, cramps can also mean low potassium, but either way it's an electrolyte shortfall, and magnesium is the most likely one.10 So ask for RBC magnesium and potassium together, and read our guide to low potassium if your levels come back low.

Testing first matters here, because the cramp trials so far enrolled people with cramps rather than people tested low in magnesium. A 2020 Cochrane review pulled together 11 trials. In older adults with everyday nighttime leg cramps (3 placebo-controlled trials, 177 people), weekly cramps fell about 10 percentage points more on magnesium than on placebo after 4 weeks, a gap small enough to be chance. In pregnancy, results vary: of three placebo-controlled trials, one found fewer and milder cramps.11 For tight, sore muscles, a warm Epsom salt soak is a simple place to start, and the food list below rebuilds your stores.

2. Fatigue and weakness

Feeling tired, weak or sluggish for no clear reason is one of the earliest signs of a shortfall.18 The reason a mineral can leave you drained comes down to ATP, the energy molecule your cells spend all day long. As I explained on my show, "ATP is only biologically active when it's bound to magnesium."8 Much of what we call ATP is really magnesium-ATP, so when magnesium runs low, your energy production feels it.81 That's the master key from earlier, and without enough of it, your cells can't fully use the energy they make.

Tiredness has many possible causes, and our guide to always feeling tired walks through the full workup. For your next blood draw, test RBC magnesium alongside ferritin, a vitamin D test and B12.

3. Low appetite and nausea

Loss of appetite and nausea, sometimes with vomiting, are among the first signs of low magnesium.1 You may simply notice that you're not hungry, or that your stomach feels unsettled for no clear reason. It can work the other way, too, since ongoing digestive trouble can itself cause a shortfall: chronic diarrhea from conditions such as Crohn's disease and celiac disease drains magnesium over time.1 If digestive trouble is your main sign, put RBC magnesium on your test list early.

4. Tingling and numbness

Tingling and numbness, especially in your hands and feet, show up as a deficiency deepens.18 Magnesium helps keep your nerve signaling steady, and a severe deficiency can pull blood calcium and potassium down with it.1 But low B12 causes the same pins and needles, and our guide to vitamin B12 deficiency explains why methylmalonic acid (MMA), a marker of B12 status, is the better B12 test. So test MMA at the same draw as your magnesium.

5. An irregular heartbeat

Your heart is a muscle too, and magnesium helps regulate its rhythm. Abnormal heart rhythms and spasms of the heart's arteries are signs of a worsening deficiency.18 The Framingham Heart Study followed 3,530 adults for up to 20 years. People in the lowest quarter for blood magnesium were about 50% more likely to develop atrial fibrillation, a common irregular rhythm, than those with higher levels. That's a link found by following people over time, and it held after the researchers set aside people taking diuretics.12

If you notice skipped beats or a fluttering feeling during a stressful week, that's worth testing for, so put RBC magnesium on your next blood draw.

6. Anxiety, low mood and stress

Magnesium calms nerve signaling and tells your brain it's safe to rest, so it makes sense that there's growing evidence linking low magnesium to anxiety and depression.8 The trials point the same way. In a University of Vermont trial, 126 adults with mild to moderate depression spent 6 weeks taking 248 mg of magnesium a day, as magnesium chloride, and 6 weeks without it. Each person tried both, and people knew which treatment they got. Among the 112 people whose results could be analyzed, depression scores fell 6.0 points and anxiety scores 4.5 points more on magnesium. The change showed up within 2 weeks, too, and it held regardless of people's starting magnesium level.13

You don't have to rely on one trial, either, because a 2023 pooled analysis of 7 placebo-controlled trials in 325 adults with depression found a large drop in depression scores on magnesium.14 For anxiety, a 2017 review of 18 studies found magnesium eased self-reported anxiety in 4 of the 8 studies of anxious people, though the reviewers rated the quality of those studies as poor.15

Stress runs both ways, too: I describe stress as a sponge that pulls magnesium out of your body.8 A 2020 review describes the same loop: stress raises the magnesium you lose, and low magnesium leaves you more reactive to stress.16 If anxiety and low mood travel with your other signs, see our natural remedies for anxiety and the free Stress, Anxiety & Mood protocol. For anxiety in particular, I recommend magnesium glycinate or magnesium threonate.8

7. Rising blood pressure

Magnesium helps relax your blood vessels, and without enough of it, your blood pressure may rise.10 It works like a garden hose: squeeze it and the pressure inside climbs, and when you loosen your grip, it eases. In my High Blood Pressure Protocol, low magnesium and potassium are one of the eight root drivers of high blood pressure, because these minerals relax vessel walls and balance sodium.17

If your magnesium starts low, the trials show bigger drops. A 2025 pooled analysis in the journal Hypertension gathered 38 randomized trials with 2,709 people. Each trial lasted at least 4 weeks, and magnesium was typically given at about 365 mg a day for about 12 weeks. Across all 38 trials, systolic pressure fell 2.81 points and diastolic pressure 2.05 points more than on placebo. In the 8 trials of people with low magnesium, systolic pressure fell 5.97 points and diastolic pressure 4.75, about twice the overall drop. In people with normal blood pressure, the change wasn't significant. But if you already take medicine for high blood pressure, note that in people like you, systolic pressure fell 7.68 points.18

For the full food and lifestyle plan, see these natural ways to lower blood pressure. To start, check your blood pressure at home, test RBC magnesium and potassium, and put a magnesium-rich food on your plate at every meal.17

8. Trouble sleeping

Magnesium has a calming effect on your nervous system, and low levels can make it harder to fall asleep or stay asleep.8 A 2025 German trial tested the form I use for sleep. It randomly assigned 155 adults aged 18 to 65 with poor sleep to 250 mg of magnesium a day as magnesium glycinate (bisglycinate) or a placebo for 4 weeks. Neither the people nor the researchers knew who got what. Among the 153 analyzed, insomnia scores fell 28% on magnesium and 18% on placebo, a small but significant difference. And in a follow-up look, people who reported eating less magnesium at the start tended to improve more, the same pattern the blood-pressure trials showed.5

An earlier placebo-controlled trial was set up the same way, with neither side knowing who got what. It gave 46 older adults with insomnia 500 mg of magnesium a day, as magnesium oxide, for 8 weeks. Magnesium improved their insomnia scores, sleep efficiency and the time it took to fall asleep. It also raised the sleep hormone melatonin and lowered cortisol.19 A 2026 review of 12 trials found the results varied, with modest benefits for some sleep measures in some adults.20

Our guides to magnesium for sleep and natural sleep aids cover the rest of a good night. As for the form, magnesium glycinate is the first nutrient my Deep Sleep Protocol says to start with, at 300 to 400 mg about an hour before bed.4

9. Headaches and migraines

I put lingering headaches right alongside tight trap muscles as a warning sign.8 Most forms of magnesium can help headaches, because they all have a relaxing effect.21 For migraine, the trial results are encouraging. In a multicenter German trial, 81 adults aged 18 to 65 with migraine tracked their attacks for 4 weeks first and then took 600 mg of magnesium a day, as magnesium citrate, or a placebo for 12 weeks. As in the sleep trial above, neither side knew who got what. In weeks 9 to 12, migraine attacks fell 41.6% on magnesium and 15.8% on placebo, compared with each group's first month of tracking, so the drop on magnesium was well over twice the drop on placebo. Migraine days and the use of headache medicine fell significantly too. Diarrhea was the most common side effect, in 18.6% of the people taking magnesium.6

For more help, see how to get rid of a migraine and our guide to tension headaches. For frequent headaches, I recommend about 500 to 600 mg of magnesium at a time, as a chelate, threonate or citrate powder.21

When a shortfall lasts for years

Your bones hold about half of your body's magnesium, and magnesium helps build bone and activate vitamin D.122 As I said on my show, "Long-term magnesium deficiency can contribute to the development of osteoporosis."8 Population studies link higher magnesium intake to higher bone density.1 See the best foods for bone health for the minerals that work alongside it.

Long-term intake also tracks with type 2 diabetes and stroke risk. In 13 studies that followed 536,318 people over time, those who ate the most magnesium had a 22% lower risk of type 2 diabetes than those who ate the least.23 In 7 such studies of 241,378 people, each extra 100 mg of magnesium a day went with an 8% lower risk of stroke.24 That extra amount is less than the ounce of pumpkin seeds in the food table below. Studies like these show a link rather than proof of cause, and the food section below is the everyday way to raise your intake.

How does magnesium deficiency develop?

A magnesium shortfall starts with what you eat and what drains you, and because your body keeps your blood level steady for as long as it can, the shortfall hides well at first. Here's how it builds:

What causes low magnesium?

Low magnesium comes from taking in too little, losing too much, or both. As I put it on my show, we're living with calorie excess and mineral scarcity, and refined foods make the gap wider.81 That's how you can eat plenty and still run short.

What drains magnesium, and where to start

How do you test for magnesium deficiency?

If you've been told your magnesium is normal while the signs keep coming, it may be because serum magnesium has little connection to the total amount in your body, since your body keeps the blood level steady.1 That's why I ask for RBC magnesium, which gives a closer look at what's inside your cells.8 Magnesium isn't part of a routine blood panel, though, so you usually have to ask for it by name.1

In the table below, you'll see the optimal range first. Conventional lab ranges are built to catch disease, but optimal ranges are narrower, so they flag a shortfall earlier, like a smoke alarm that sounds at the first wisp of smoke.2 In a 2011 systematic review of 21 supplementation and depletion studies, serum, RBC and urine magnesium all moved with changes in magnesium intake.27 Still, no single magnesium test is perfect, so read your results alongside your symptoms.1

Magnesium tests, and how to read them

Because cramps, tingling and tiredness overlap with other gaps, test potassium, vitamin D (25-hydroxy) and MMA for B12 at the same draw.102 See our guide to vitamin D deficiency for what a low result means, and a functional medicine practitioner can read the full picture with you.

What foods are highest in magnesium?

Food is the first medicine for a mineral shortfall. I want you getting the bulk of your magnesium from food, because magnesium-rich foods also bring the B6, calcium and other nutrients that work alongside it.8 I call magnesium the lifeblood of plants because it sits at the very center of chlorophyll, the green pigment plants use to capture sunlight. That's why dark leafy greens such as spinach and Swiss chard carry so much of it.8 Seed-bearing plants and fruit trees were the first foods God gave people in Scripture: "And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat" (Genesis 1:29, KJV).

Magnesium in everyday foods. Per 100 g values are from USDA FoodData Central; per-serving values are calculated from them using the serving weights shown.3

On a plate, an ounce of pumpkin seeds, a cup of cooked spinach and half a cup of black beans add up to 385 mg of magnesium, close to a full day for most adults.31 Pumpkin seeds are one of the richest food sources of magnesium, and they bring zinc too.8 I suggest steaming spinach or sautéing it in extra virgin olive oil with garlic and sea salt.8

Our full list of foods high in magnesium has more ideas, but two of the magnesium-rich meals I shared on my show make it easy to start. Try wild-caught salmon with quinoa, sautéed greens and a little dark chocolate for dessert. Or make a tuna salad over arugula and spinach with extra virgin olive oil, beans, avocado, pumpkin seeds and apple cider vinegar.8

Which magnesium supplement is best for a deficiency?

I take magnesium nearly every day, mostly a food-based chelate and magnesium glycinate, and the biggest difference I've noticed is in my sleep.8 About the food-based form, I said on my show, "I recommend it the most to patients."8 Glycinate is magnesium bound to the amino acid glycine, and it's one of the forms least likely to upset your digestion.8 Forms that dissolve well in liquid are absorbed more completely, and the NIH lists aspartate, citrate, lactate and chloride as better absorbed than oxide and sulfate.1 That's why the form on the label matters.

Common forms of magnesium and their best matches

Magnesium oxide isn't a form I typically recommend, because it's poorly absorbed and can upset digestion.10 Our guides to types of magnesium and magnesium supplements cover what to look for on the label. And when you want to unwind, I recommend a warm Epsom salt bath, soaking for about 20 minutes.8 My bloodwork protocol suggests magnesium baths two to three times a week.2

How much magnesium should you take for a deficiency?

The Recommended Dietary Allowance depends on your age and sex:1

In Heal Your Cells, Dr. Will Cole and I list magnesium glycinate or chelate at 300 to 400 mg a day of elemental magnesium, ideally in divided doses or at night for relaxation.26 What does elemental mean? It's the mineral itself rather than the weight of the whole compound, like weighing the passenger instead of the whole car. It's also the number the Supplement Facts panel lists, so add it up along with any magnesium in your multivitamin.1

Vitamin D and magnesium work like teammates: magnesium helps activate vitamin D, so take them together.822 Our guide to how much vitamin D to take covers the other half of that pair.

Expect the changes to come gradually: in the trials above, mood scores improved within 2 weeks, insomnia scores by 4 weeks, and the migraine trial measured its result in weeks 9 to 12.1356 Then retest RBC magnesium to confirm your levels are back in range.

When to get care

Medications. If you take any of these, don't stop or change a prescription on your own; work with the doctor who prescribed it.

• Acid-blocking proton pump inhibitors (PPIs): Taken for more than a year, they can lower magnesium. The FDA advises checking magnesium before long-term use and periodically after, and in about a quarter of the low-magnesium cases it reviewed, supplements alone didn't bring levels back up.1 Ask your prescriber to check your magnesium, and see the free Acid Reflux & GERD protocol for the food side.
• Diuretics: Loop and thiazide diuretics raise the magnesium you lose in urine, while potassium-sparing diuretics reduce it.1
• Tetracycline and quinolone antibiotics: Magnesium binds them, so take the antibiotic at least 2 hours before or 4 to 6 hours after a magnesium supplement.1
• Bisphosphonates for bone loss: Keep magnesium supplements at least 2 hours apart from them.1
• Blood-pressure medicine: Magnesium lowered blood pressure in trials, so your prescriber may need to adjust your dose as your numbers improve.18

Supplement cautions:

• Kidney disease. Healthy kidneys clear extra magnesium, but impaired kidneys can let it build up to toxic levels, so check with the doctor who manages your kidney disease before you take any magnesium supplement.1

• The supplement limit. The upper limit for magnesium from supplements is 350 mg a day for adults; food doesn't count toward it. Because typical migraine-prevention doses run above it, the NIH advises taking them under a health care provider's direction.1

• Loose stools. High doses from supplements often cause diarrhea, and magnesium carbonate, chloride, gluconate and oxide are the forms most often reported to cause it. If the top of the 300 to 400 mg range loosens your stools, stay closer to 300 mg or switch forms.1

• Pregnancy and breastfeeding. Adults need 350 to 360 mg a day in pregnancy and 310 to 320 mg while breastfeeding, and food is the place to start; if you take a magnesium supplement while pregnant or nursing, confirm the dose with your OB.1

The bottom line

Magnesium deficiency: frequently asked questions

References

1. Office of Dietary Supplements, National Institutes of Health. Magnesium: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. Updated January 6, 2026.
2. Axe J, Cole W. The 25 Root-Cause Bloodwork Markers That Matter Most. DrAxe.com protocol. 2026. Marker 11, RBC magnesium (functional range 5.5 to 6.5 mg/dL; conventional lab range 4.0 to 6.4 mg/dL; root causes; actions, including magnesium baths 2 to 3 times a week).
3. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central (SR Legacy): Seeds, pumpkin and squash seed kernels, dried (FDC 170556); Spinach, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt (FDC 168463); Nuts, almonds, dry roasted, without salt added (FDC 170158); Nuts, cashew nuts, dry roasted, without salt added (FDC 170571); Chocolate, dark, 70-85% cacao solids (FDC 170273); Beans, black, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt (FDC 173735); Seeds, chia seeds, dried (FDC 170554); Avocados, raw, all commercial varieties (FDC 171705); Fish, mackerel, Atlantic, cooked, dry heat (FDC 175120); Lentils, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt (FDC 172421); Quinoa, cooked (FDC 168917). Accessed October 8, 2026.
4. Axe J. The Deep Sleep Protocol: The 30-Day Healing Protocol. DrAxe.com. 2026. "Top 8 sleep nutrients" (p. 20): magnesium glycinate, 300 to 400 mg, 1 hour before bed.
5. Schuster J, Cycelskij I, Lopresti A, Hahn A. Magnesium Bisglycinate Supplementation in Healthy Adults Reporting Poor Sleep: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial. Nat Sci Sleep. 2025;17:2027-2040. doi:10.2147/NSS.S524348. PMID:40918053
6. Peikert A, Wilimzig C, Köhne-Volland R. Prophylaxis of migraine with oral magnesium: results from a prospective, multi-center, placebo-controlled and double-blind randomized study. Cephalalgia. 1996;16(4):257-63. doi:10.1046/j.1468-2982.1996.1604257.x. PMID:8792038
7. Costello RB, Elin RJ, Rosanoff A, Wallace TC, Guerrero-Romero F, Hruby A, et al. Perspective: The Case for an Evidence-Based Reference Interval for Serum Magnesium: The Time Has Come. Adv Nutr. 2016;7(6):977-993. doi:10.3945/an.116.012765. PMID:28140318
8. Axe J. The #1 Mineral for Sleep That 48% of People Lack. The Dr. Josh Axe Show, Episode 329. February 16, 2026. Quoted or paraphrased lines at 0:00, 0:57, 3:38, 5:31, 7:27, 7:53 (pull quote), 8:14, 10:01, 10:36, 10:45, 11:08, 12:09, 13:17 (pull quote), 16:23, 19:33, 21:29, 24:21, 28:30, 30:48, 32:24, 33:48, 34:27 and 35:01. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1vB4UTuW6I
9. Elin RJ. Assessment of magnesium status for diagnosis and therapy. Magnes Res. 2010;23(4):S194-8. PMID:20736141
10. Axe J. 10 Signs You Have a Magnesium Deficiency (How to Boost Magnesium Naturally). The Dr. Josh Axe Show. October 22, 2024. Lines at 3:37, 5:42, 6:36, 7:44, 8:08 and 16:07. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgNbX00pJec
11. Garrison SR, Korownyk CS, Kolber MR, Allan GM, Musini VM, Sekhon RK, et al. Magnesium for skeletal muscle cramps. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020;9(9):CD009402. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD009402.pub3. PMID:32956536
12. Khan AM, Lubitz SA, Sullivan LM, Sun JX, Levy D, Vasan RS, et al. Low serum magnesium and the development of atrial fibrillation in the community: the Framingham Heart Study. Circulation. 2013;127(1):33-8. doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.111.082511. PMID:23172839
13. Tarleton EK, Littenberg B, MacLean CD, Kennedy AG, Daley C. Role of magnesium supplementation in the treatment of depression: A randomized clinical trial. PLoS One. 2017;12(6):e0180067. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0180067. PMID:28654669
14. Moabedi M, Aliakbari M, Erfanian S, Milajerdi A. Magnesium supplementation beneficially affects depression in adults with depressive disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials. Front Psychiatry. 2023;14:1333261. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1333261. PMID:38213402
15. Boyle NB, Lawton C, Dye L. The Effects of Magnesium Supplementation on Subjective Anxiety and Stress-A Systematic Review. Nutrients. 2017;9(5):429. doi:10.3390/nu9050429. PMID:28445426
16. Pickering G, Mazur A, Trousselard M, Bienkowski P, Yaltsewa N, Amessou M, et al. Magnesium Status and Stress: The Vicious Circle Concept Revisited. Nutrients. 2020;12(12):3672. doi:10.3390/nu12123672. PMID:33260549
17. Axe J. The High Blood Pressure Protocol. DrAxe.com; 2026. p. 7, "Root Causes: The Eight Drivers" (driver 2, magnesium and potassium); p. 11, "Step 2 · Remineralize" (a magnesium-rich food at every meal).
18. Argeros Z, Xu X, Bhandari B, Harris K, Touyz RM, Schutte AE. Magnesium Supplementation and Blood Pressure: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Hypertension. 2025;82(11):1844-1856. doi:10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.125.25129. PMID:41000008
19. Abbasi B, Kimiagar M, Sadeghniiat K, Shirazi MM, Hedayati M, Rashidkhani B. The effect of magnesium supplementation on primary insomnia in elderly: A double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial. J Res Med Sci. 2012;17(12):1161-9. PMID:23853635
20. Lopresti AL, Smith SJ, Drummond PD. Magnesium Supplementation for Sleep in Adults: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials. J Diet Suppl. 2026;23(5):553-581. doi:10.1080/19390211.2026.2719670. PMID:42661485
21. Axe J. Natural Fixes for Frequent Headaches, Hormone Imbalance, and Infertility. The Dr. Josh Axe Show. November 28, 2023. Lines at 2:53. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnuOd0siKOM
22. Uwitonze AM, Razzaque MS. Role of Magnesium in Vitamin D Activation and Function. J Am Osteopath Assoc. 2018;118(3):181-189. doi:10.7556/jaoa.2018.037. PMID:29480918
23. Dong JY, Xun P, He K, Qin LQ. Magnesium intake and risk of type 2 diabetes: meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. Diabetes Care. 2011;34(9):2116-22. doi:10.2337/dc11-0518. PMID:21868780
24. 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(2):362-6. doi:10.3945/ajcn.111.022376. PMID:22205313
25. Srinutta T, Chewcharat A, Takkavatakarn K, Praditpornsilpa K, Eiam-Ong S, Jaber BL, et al. Proton pump inhibitors and hypomagnesemia: A meta-analysis of observational studies. Medicine (Baltimore). 2019;98(44):e17788. doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000017788. PMID:31689852
26. Axe J, Cole W. Heal Your Cells. Avery; 2026. Magnesium (glycinate or chelate), 300 to 400 mg a day of elemental magnesium, in divided doses or at night (pp. 345 and 367); drug-nutrient depletion table, proton pump inhibitors and diuretics (p. 25).
27. Witkowski M, Hubert J, Mazur A. Methods of assessment of magnesium status in humans: a systematic review. Magnes Res. 2011;24(4):163-80. doi:10.1684/mrh.2011.0292. PMID:22064327
28. Firoz M, Graber M. Bioavailability of US commercial magnesium preparations. Magnes Res. 2001;14(4):257-62. PMID:11794633

Dr. Josh Axe, DC, DNM, CNS

Doctor of Natural Medicine · Founder, DrAxe.com

Dr. Axe is a certified doctor of natural medicine, clinical nutritionist, and multiple New York Times bestselling author. He has spent 20+ years in clinical practice helping people heal at the root cause and founded one of the most-visited natural-health platforms in the world.

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This article is for educational purposes. See our medical disclaimer.