Magnesium is a mineral essential to basic human function, particularly for the heart, muscles, and nerves. It may also play a role in supporting a healthy weight by influencing several processes involved in weight loss.
Here are some ways magnesium may help with weight management.
Magnesium helps enhance your body’s response to insulin, a hormone that helps move glucose (sugar) into cells. When your body does not respond to insulin, glucose builds up in the blood. This condition is called insulin resistance.
With insulin resistance, your body makes more insulin to offset high blood sugar levels. High insulin levels may increase body fat storage.
Magnesium’s ability to regulate blood sugar levels may prevent blood sugar spikes and crashes. When your blood sugar levels are balanced, you are less likely to have extreme hunger and cravings.
Magnesium stimulates the small intestine to release a hormone called cholecystokinin (CCK). CCK helps suppress hunger and reduce food intake.
By increasing CCK levels, magnesium may promote feelings of fullness. It might also prevent overeating and decrease body weight.
Magnesium plays a role in adenosine triphosphate (ATP) metabolism. ATP helps store and transfer energy in cells.
ATP must bind to magnesium to become active and form a magnesium-ATP complex. This complex facilitates metabolism, so magnesium helps burn more energy.
Magnesium also affects how your intestines process fats. When it binds with fats, magnesium forms soaps that your body cannot absorb easily. It digests and uses less fat, which decreases calorie intake.
Long-term inflammation is one of the underlying causes of weight gain and obesity. High levels of the inflammatory marker C-reactive protein (CRP) are common in people with obesity.
Magnesium has been shown to lower obesity-related inflammation. It can regulate inflammatory pathways and decrease CRP levels.
The standard Western diet consists of a high intake of processed foods and demineralized water and a low intake of legumes and vegetables. Nearly 50% of people in the United States do not get enough magnesium.
Low magnesium levels can contribute to obesity. Magnesium-rich foods and supplements have been shown to reduce body fat and obesity risk.
Not getting enough magnesium can also result from conditions that affect absorption. Examples include celiac disease and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Aim to get the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for magnesium to prevent magnesium deficiency and support weight loss.
The RDA for magnesium in milligrams depends on age, sex, and health status, such as:
| Age | Men | Women | Pregnant | Breastfeeding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14-18 years | 410 | 360 | 400 | 360 |
| 19-30 years | 400 | 310 | 350 | 310 |
| 31 years and older | 420 | 320 | 360 | 320 |
You can get magnesium in your diet by consuming foods like:
- Pumpkin seeds: 156 milligrams (mg) per 1 ounce (oz)
- Chia seeds: 111 mg per 1 oz
- Almonds: 80 mg per 1 oz
- Boiled spinach: 78 mg per ½ cup
- Cashews: 74 mg per 1 oz
- Soy milk: 61 mg per 1 cup
- Black beans: 60 mg per ½ cup
- Edamame: 50 mg per ½ cup
- Peanut butter: 49 mg per 2 tablespoons (tbsp)
- Potato, with skin: 43 mg per 3.5 oz
It is best to obtain magnesium from food sources, but supplements are also available in various forms.
Your body easily absorbs supplemental magnesium in forms like:
- Magnesium aspartate
- Magnesium chloride
- Magnesium citrate
- Magnesium lactate
Before starting a supplement, check the label to ensure the dosage does not exceed the safe limit of 350 milligrams.
High doses of magnesium are associated with side effects like:
- Diarrhea
- Nausea
- Stomach cramps
Magnesium-rich foods or supplements—along with a balanced diet, physical activity, and good sleep—may support weight loss. This mineral is essential for various bodily processes that may support weight loss, such as appetite control and blood sugar regulation.
