Magnesium: Hype and Health Benefits

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Magnesium plays an indispensable role in human health and is intricately involved in many crucial physiological and metabolic pathways. True biochemical magnesium deficiency is rarely encountered in clinical practice but subclinical and functional deficiency of magnesium appears to be more common and is reported in many chronic health disorders. RECENT FINDINGS: Estimating magnesium status is challenging and best evaluated by a combination of serum magnesium, urinary magnesium, and dietary magnesium intake. Many randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have demonstrated the efficacy of magnesium supplementation in various chronic disorders such as constipation, dyspepsia, mood disorders, metabolic diseases, and bone health. However, magnesium supplements are heavily advertised for several purported and hyped benefits, which require more high-quality evidence to support these claims. Caution should be exerted when supplementing magnesium to people who are predisposed to adverse effects, such as in renal insufficiency. Studies noted the significant role of magnesium in the acute management of eclampsia, asthma, and migraine. RCTs have noted a significant role of magnesium supplements in many chronic disorders, such as constipation, gastroesophageal reflux disease, metabolic dysfunction (diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and obesity), and mood disorders.