UL: The Tolerable Upper Intake Level is the maximum daily intake unlikely to cause harmful effects on health. The UL for magnesium is 350 milligrams from supplements only. High-dose supplements can lead to diarrhea, nausea, and cramping in some people.
Magnesium promotes a healthy inflammatory response and healthy endothelial function and helps inhibit oxidative stress to support cardiovascular health. Magnesium also helps maintain already-healthy blood pressure levels. Magnesium plays an important role in the nervous system and helps support healthy brain function.
According to the National Institutes of Health's Office of Dietary Supplements , healthy adult men should generally consume 400 to 420 milligrams (mg) of magnesium daily. Healthy adult women should consume 310 to 320 mg daily. Pregnant women are recommended to consume a higher dose than women who aren't pregnant.
However, by taking supplements, most people get more magnesium than necessary. To avoid an overdose, do not take more than 350 mg of magnesium a day.
High doses of magnesium from supplements or medications can cause nausea, abdominal cramping and diarrhea. In addition, the magnesium in supplements can interact with some types of antibiotics and other medicines.
Nassar says that taking a magnesium supplement every day likely isn't unsafe for most people. Just be sure you're not taking too much magnesium. The maximum dietary allowance for most adults is around 400 mg or less.
Magnesium can decrease the absorption and effectiveness of numerous medications, including some common antibiotics such as tetracycline (Achromycin, Sumycin), demeclocycline (Declomycin), doxycycline (Vibramycin), minocycline (Minocin), ciprofloxacin (Cipro), levofloxacin (Levaquin), moxifloxacin (Avelox) and ofloxacin ...
Healthy adult women should consume 310 to 320 mg daily. Pregnant women are recommended to consume a higher dose than women who aren't pregnant. If you take supplemental magnesium, the most an adult should ingest is 350 mg daily.
Many doctors recommend that adults with type 1 diabetes and normal kidney function supplement with 200 to 600 mg of magnesium per day to maintain normal magnesium status; children with type 1 diabetes may benefit from a lower dose. People with type 2 diabetes tend to have low magnesium levels.
Therefore, magnesium supplements can be taken at any time of the day, as long as you're able to take them consistently. For some, taking supplements first thing in the morning may be easiest, while others may find that taking them with dinner or just before bed works well for them.
Magnesium begins to take effect after one week of consistent supplementation.
Magnesium supplements should be taken with meals. Taking magnesium supplements on an empty stomach may cause diarrhea.
Studies suggest that magnesium ions provided by magnesium oxide interrupts the brain signals that may cause migraine. A dose of 400–500 milligrams per day may be required to be effective. This dose may also cause diarrhea as a side effect, but this can usually be controlled by starting with a smaller dose.
Magnesium supplementation has been used successfully in the treatment of different conditions such as PMS, PCOS, mood disorders, and postmenopausal symptoms and consequent risk factors, particularly in the association with other dietary components with proven antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity.
The standard dosage for magnesium for adults is 250–450 milligrams per day (mg/day). However, the Tolerable Upper Intake Level for elemental magnesium from dietary supplements is 350 mg/day, because this was the highest dose determined not to cause diarrhea in most people. Magnesium should be taken with food.
Magnesium deficiency is diagnosed via a blood test and sometimes a urine test. Your doctor may order the blood test if you have symptoms such as weakness, irritability, abnormal heart rhythm, nausea and/or diarrhoea, or if you have abnormal calcium or potassium levels.
Refining or processing of food may deplete magnesium content by nearly 85%. Furthermore, cooking, especially boiling of magnesium-rich foods, will result in significant loss of magnesium. The processing and cooking of food may therefore explain the apparently high prevalence of low magnesium intake in many populations.
People with diabetes, intestinal disease, heart disease or kidney disease should not take magnesium before speaking with their health care provider. Overdose. Signs of a magnesium overdose can include nausea, diarrhea, low blood pressure, muscle weakness, and fatigue. At very high doses, magnesium can be fatal.
Magnesium does not react with water to any significant extent. This is in contrast with calcium, immediately below magnesium in the periodic table, which does react slowly with cold water.
One study of older adults with insomnia found that magnesium supplementation at a dose of 500 milligrams daily for eight weeks helped them fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, reduced nighttime awakenings, and increased their levels of naturally circulating melatonin.
Long-term magnesium supplementation improves arterial stiffness, a cardiovascular disease risk marker. Effects on endothelial function may be another mechanism whereby increased magnesium intakes affect cardiovascular risk.
Current recommended daily requirements of magnesium for adults 51 and older is 420 milligrams for men and 320 milligrams for women.