But if your lived experience says it works, it doesn't really need to have scientific evidence.
The real question is if there is evidence that relevant doesea of magnesium supplements are harmful, and if so, how those harms compare to the cramps you're experiencing.
There's all sorts of unscientific stuff out there, some of which is harmful. But if it's not harmful, it's worth trying.
If you get frequent cramps and you don't want to try magnesium supplements, you could try going out of your way to eat more foods that are known to be high in magnesium, most of which are generally considered healthy and there you go; choosing to eat a bit more leafy greens doesn't feel risky unless you've got an alergy. Having a banana to get potasium should be fine for most too, unless the fruit sugar is a problem or if there's an allergy.
Running for a year now, it doesn't seem to make a difference.
Source: I can reproduce this on demand.
Maybe it depends on technical cause of what seems to be cramps. And maybe it helps indirectly by helping some other process in the body. But in ny experience there’s direct correlation between magnesium intake and cramps and nail health.
I’ve a feeling genetics may be involved since my kid also has similar tendencies. And doctor we went to for his night cramps did suggest magnesium which worked. So whether there’s research or not, doctors do suggest it and it does seem to help at least in some cases.
The non-blood test way would be to take magnesium until you get diarrhea and then take less but that is obviously not a pleasant experience.
I take magnesium because it is really obvious when I track micro nutrients that I don't get enough in my diet. It mostly depends though on how much spinach I am eating.
from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6316205/
Of clinical importance, around 0.3% of total body magnesium is found in serum. Thus, total and/or ionized magnesium concentrations measured in plasma or serum are not reliable markers of total magnesium levels in the body; as serum magnesium does not reflect the total magnesium content at the tissue or organs, and is also a poor indicator of intracellular magnesium content.
Emerging evidence suggests that the serum magnesium/calcium quotient (0.4 is optimal, 0.36–0.28 too low) is a more practical and sensitive indicator of magnesium status and/or turnover, than the serum magnesium level alone [19]. In chronic latent magnesium deficiency, magnesium levels in the blood are within a normal range, despite there being severely depleted magnesium content in the tissues and bones. Therefore, using magnesium levels in the blood to determine total magnesium levels in the body can result in underestimation of magnesium deficiency in healthy and diseased populations. Recent studies have shown that individuals with serum magnesium levels around 1.82 mg/dL (0.75 mmol/L) are most likely to have a magnesium deficiency, while those with serum magnesium level more than 2.07 mg/dL (0.85 mmol/L) are most likely to have adequate levelsIf you're experiencing muscle cramps due to low magnesium then adding a supplement will almost certainly fix the problem.
If you're experiencing muscle cramps for another reason, it won't work, probably.
But supplements are cheap and low risk, so it's a good thing to try first.
A more accurate statement would be "there is no scientific proof that Mg works against cramps [absent a Mg deficiency]."
However, potassium and calcium are a lot more prevalent in standard diets so it's usually lack of magnesium that is the culprit.
I got my Bs mixed up it's Mg + B6
I wish there was better research on this, because so far only weird isolated cases make the news.
But I was really just wanting B1 and a bit more shopping found drops (annoying) and tablets with only B1 and negligble other stuff.
Then it’s also used in cheese sauces, etc - to the point where it’s somewhat of a meme to just add it whenever you want umami. Then many vegans already take a B multi to handle B12.
Point of all this being that this particular diet can lead to overdosing on B6 without realizing it. Once I got myself a non fortified Nutritional Yeast for baking/cooking, I noticed changes in myself for the better.
Obligatory “I am not a doctor and YMMV”
Do you have any source for this? I can find some "it-might-be-bad" studies through a quick googling, but in general the idea seem to be that excess B12 is thought to be unproblematic ("it's just peed out").
I accidentally poisoned myself with B6 from Magnesium tablets over the course of a year: https://davids.town/vitamin-b6-overdose (my levels were 38x the healthy range).
tl;dr: Always check your Magnesium for what else the tablet includes. If it contains Pyridoxine hydrochloride (i.e. Vitamin B6) or another Pyridoxine compound, find one that doesn't. Since then, Swisse is the only brand I've found that consistently sells "pure" Magnesium tablets here in Australia.
I take 50mg a day in a bio-available form pyridoxal-5-phosphate. Consider this form instead.
I'm taking it because there is some genetic evidence that I would benefit from doing so. No neuropathies thus far but it's only been about a month and a half.
Blood tests since then have shown that my B6 levels are fine with my usual diet, I don't take multivitamins or supplements anymore.
I don't know much about B6 beyond my own experiences with it, so all I can say is make sure you've discussed it with your GP, and be aware of the coasting effect if you do happen to develop any neuropathic symptoms: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megavitamin-B6_syndrome
Genetic data is useful to know really, especially for people with MTHFR mutations as many pathways get affected.
UK/EU upper safety limits are at 10-12mg per day. US UL of 200mg is way past due for an overhaul.
I personally got sick from a B complex with 40mg pyridoxine after just 4 months. Developed dysautonomia (not a canonical example, but still a kind of neuropathy - damage to autonomic nervous system). Had random tachycardia and high blood pressure flares from various triggers every week, took a while to figure out what was really causing it. Your typical non-neurologist GP wouldn't know anything because "it's water soluble" and the textbooks say neuropathy develops at 200mg+. All symptoms mostly resolved after a month once I threw away everything with pyridoxine. Wouldn't touch it again, always on a lookout for B6 in my multis and supplements now. P5P form is thought to be safer, but also got people sick - look around on facebook B6 groups for more anecdata.
No problem with B12 as far as I know. It's not a neurotoxin unlike B6.
B12 has to jump through a number of hoops before it‘s even converted into a usable form [1].
I‘m sure you‘re meaning well, but B12 deficiency is a wide spread problem [2], and it’s questionable that excess is worse than deficiency.
1: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19832808/#&gid=article-figur...
2: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7792587/
EDIT: After posting, I saw your other comments. Maybe you can update parent.
A low B6 diet and focus on conversion to P5P and oxidation of the excess (Aldehyde Oxidase, and maybe by proxy the ALDHs) is a safer bet.
If you're ever so severely clogged up that you're approaching a week without - Epsom salt will, in fact, work. It works so well that I'd recommend pre/probiotic foods for a couple days afterward. It completely cleans you out.
Otherwise, I agree. You have to know why you're clogged, too; if you got no clue, go see a Dr.
It can also be added to your bathwater or used as a foot soak.
How much really is dangerously excess? How do methylcobalamin vs cyanocobalamin compare in this regard?
https://www.cvs.com/shop/cvs-health-magnesium-glycinate-200m...
I sprained something in my lower back badly enough about a year ago that it took four trips to the chiropractor before I could get out of bed in the morning without lots of swearing. After that, it would seem to be getting better for a few days, then regress into spasms again. After a month or so of that, I remembered that Mg is supposed to be good for tendons and ligaments. I took a good dose of Mg that night, and it was significantly better the next day, and improved from there. That's the only time in my life that I've had a clear, major difference from taking a supplement.
As for methyl vs cyano, it depends whether you have the genetic factors that would benefit or not from methyl groups. In my case I wouldn't benefit so I don't take the methyl form and instead take the hydroxy and adeno forms.
Cyano is useless. Needs multiple steps in the liver to convert.
https://purebulk.com/search?type=product&q=magnesium
Or grab these next time in Europe. 0.50 Euros effervescent tablets https://www.rossmann.de/de/gesundheit-altapharma-brausetable...
I never heard about the B12 problem. But effervescent tablets without artificial sweetener are unheard off.
Really? I found plenty at popular online stores. Or are you saying that the vitamin B is undisclosed on the labels???
B is typically included for synergistic uptake reasons I believe.
Excess B12 is really bad. Neuropathy. Considering you take Mg to get rid of muscle cramps (pain, conducted by nerves), a bit ironic. It's increasingly common in Australia now.
Excess Mg is unlikely. I think the body chucks it out in Urine pretty rapidly. I still take it, the cramps after sport return within a few months when I stop. I have a fruit and veg rich diet, I get plenty of natural Mg and K which is also good for muscle cramps. Age related insufficiency I suspect (63) malabsorption comes with age.