Magnesium supplements are having a moment, with claims ranging from better sleep to fewer muscle cramps and improved blood sugar. That last promise is especially appealing to the millions of Americans living with diabetes or prediabetes, but magnesium and blood sugar have a more complicated relationship than supplement advertisements sometimes suggest. Magnesium really does play an important role in glucose metabolism, and researchers have found associations between adequate magnesium intake and better metabolic health. Clinical trials have also produced evidence that supplementation can improve certain measures of glucose control in some people. What the research does not show is that everyone with elevated blood sugar should start taking a magnesium pill.
Editor’s Note: The American Diabetes Association does not currently recommend routine magnesium supplementation to improve blood sugar control in people with diabetes, and NIH says there isn’t clear evidence that vitamin and mineral supplements benefit people with diabetes who don’t have an underlying deficiency.
