Magnesium is an essential mineral that helps your body to produce energy, create DNA and RNA, heal wounds and build bones, chromosomes and cell membranes. Your muscles and nerves need magnesium to function; it also keeps your heart beat steady, your immune system strong and your blood sugar and blood pressure levels normal. If you don't consume enough magnesium through your diet, you can take a magnesium supplement.
Magnesium Requirements
The recommended dietary allowance for magnesium is 310 milligrams per day for women between the ages of 19 and 30 and 320 milligrams per day for women 31 and older. Men between the ages of 19 and 30 need 400 milligrams per day of magnesium, and men 31 and older need 420 milligrams per day.
Magnesium in Multivitamins
Multivitamins often contain small amounts of magnesium, usually 100 milligrams or less per vitamin, because including more magnesium would make the pill too large. This does not meet the RDA for magnesium, so some people may want to take separate magnesium supplements to make sure they consume sufficient magnesium during the day, especially if they are at risk for magnesium deficiency because of age, alcoholism, gastrointestinal or kidney problems.
Timing
The University of Maryland Medical Center recommends that you take either a B-complex vitamin or a multivitamin if you take magnesium supplements, since vitamin B-6 is necessary for magnesium absorption. However, magnesium can interfere with the absorption of zinc and calcium, so you may want to take your magnesium supplement at a separate time from your multivitamin so you can benefit from the vitamin B-6 it contains without jeopardizing your absorption of these minerals.
Preventing Toxicity
Too much magnesium from supplements can cause toxicity symptoms, so adults should not consume more than 350 milligrams of magnesium from supplements in any one day, as this is the tolerable upper intake level. Magnesium from foods will not cause toxicity, so meet the rest of your magnesium requirement through magnesium-rich foods including spinach, soybeans, almonds, cashews, oatmeal, halibut, peanuts and baked potatoes.
References
- Linus Pauling Institute; What to Look for in a Multivitamin Supplement; Jane Higdon, Ph.D.; November 2003
- "Nutrition Action"; Multivitamins; January 2003
- Linus Pauling Institute; Magnesium; Jane Higdon, Ph.D.; April 2003
- Office of Dietary Supplements: Magnesium
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Magnesium
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