Magnesium is the latest buzzy supplement. Can it help with anxiety?

Nearly half of Americans get less than the recommended levels of magnesium from their diets, said Louise Dye, a professor at the University of Leeds. Photograph: Elena Popova/Getty Images

Last summer, a photographer named Tyler Wesley posted a video on TikTok claiming that he no longer had anxiety after 30 years of being a “huge sufferer”. He credited a supplement: 500mg of magnesium, combined with vitamin D3.

The magnesium hashtag has over a billion views on TikTok, and people continue to rave about the mineral eradicating their anxious feelings.