🧂
Magnesium
Supplements · Moderate evidence
Evidence
62
Impact
38
Magnesium's most consistent evidence is for modestly lowering blood pressure and reducing type 2 diabetes risk.
- Studies
- 10
- RCTs
- 0
- Meta-analyses
- 10
Research summary
- Multiple independent meta-analyses of randomized trials, spanning from 2002 to 2025, consistently find magnesium supplementation produces a small but real reduction in blood pressure, with effects present across general and diabetic populations.
- On the dietary side, several dose-response meta-analyses of prospective cohorts link higher magnesium intake to lower risk of type 2 diabetes, with a dedicated dose-response analysis also linking intake to lower cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality risk.
- For two commonly marketed uses — muscle cramps and sleep — the evidence is weaker: a Cochrane review found insufficient evidence that magnesium meaningfully reduces skeletal muscle cramps, and a meta-analysis specifically in older adults found only modest support for improving insomnia.
- Overall, magnesium's blood-pressure and diabetes-risk associations are its best-supported effects, while cramps and sleep claims rest on thinner evidence.
Cardiovascular HealthMetabolic Health
Explore on the interactive map →