You might have seen this article in the Guardian about the latest ‘buzzy supplement’ magnesium.
The buzz comes from Tik Tok with a billion views of people claiming magnesium resolved their anxiety.
Tik Tok fads are concerning for nutritionists and health professionals since they vary from misleading to pointless to dangerous. This one has both a positive and negative potential impact.
The good thing is, magnesium is a nutrient many people will genuinely benefit from (unlike another Tik Tok craze that saw people descending on health stores for Celtic Salt. I mean, it’s probably a nice quality sea salt but it’s just sea salt - not going to resolve your chronic health problems!!).
The problem with magnesium supplements
The bad thing about the Tik Tok magnesium fad? The internet is flooded with rubbish quality magnesium supplements. The Tik Tokker that apparently sparked the craze said they used a super high strength 500mg supplement, and shoppers commonly think high strength = better.
Unfortunately that’s not the case when it comes to magnesium. The reason the countless ‘high strength’ magnesium tablets on Amazon are also the cheapest is because they use Magnesium Oxide.
This compound contains around 80% magnesium, but it’s insoluble and accordingly notorious for causing gastric distress!!
A tablet that causes unpleasantly urgent trips to the loo is likely to worsen your anxiety, and the poor absorption means it’s not effective for promoting calming neurotransmitters.
Better quality magnesium supplements
In contrast to poorly absorbed high strength supplements, our blend of Magnesium Citrate and Magnesium Glycinate - the two best absorbed forms of magnesium - is a gentle, effective low dose that relaxes both mind and muscles.
Is magnesium effective for reducing anxiety?
The article notes it’s unknown whether magnesium will only benefit those who have a low magnesium status, compared with those with a good magnesium intake.To that point, note that magnesium intakes are known to be commonly insufficient in the UK.
And magnesium deficiency is associated not only with anxiety but with muscle cramps and spasms, muscular tension and weakness, headaches, migraine, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, depression, insomnia, and PMS.
So, I encourage everyone to increase their intake through both diet and supplements.
You can easily get started with that today by:
- Increasing your intake of varied vegetables, especially the green leafy varieties, and whole grains
- Taking Vital Minerals Magnesium daily
How to take magnesium supplements
We find it wonderful in the evening, to aid relaxation and improve your sleep, or after exercise to speed up muscle recovery and prevent muscle cramps.