This warning might surprise many: if you’re not deficient in magnesium, taking extra won’t give you extra health benefits.
While magnesium deficiency is fairly common — estimates suggest that between 9% and 17% of adults, and up to 20% of teenagers, may have low magnesium levels — many people already get enough through diet. Foods like leafy greens, nuts, seeds, beans, and whole grains are rich sources of the mineral.
But despite the growing popularity of supplements, experts say that taking magnesium when you don’t need it is not only unnecessary — it can also cause uncomfortable side effects such as:
Diarrhea
Nausea
Stomach cramping
Vomiting
And if taken in very high doses, those mild symptoms can progress to more dangerous reactions like an irregular heartbeat or low blood pressure.
Dr. Noorhan Nassar, a primary care physician at Houston Methodist, explained:
“The data supporting benefits of magnesium supplementation in otherwise healthy adults isn’t complete. The results are mixed, and the design of many studies isn’t ideal.”
He also pointed out that magnesium is known to act as a natural laxative, which can cause digestive upset even at moderate doses.
Simply put, if you aren’t deficient, magnesium isn’t likely to improve your health — and in some cases, it may make you feel worse.
How Much Magnesium Do You Really Need?
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