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How low magnesium affects your blood sugar
Written byH&B editorial team
Reviewed byMadalena Vieira Costa
We tend to think of magnesium as a stress reliever. However, recent studies show it may also play a role in keeping our blood sugar levels in check
Summary
1Magnesium and blood sugar: is there a link?
Magnesium plays an important role in helping your body convert glucose from food into fuel. Without enough magnesium in your body, your cells can...
2Should I watch my blood sugar?
Everyone can benefit from having balanced blood sugar levels, whether they have insulin resistance or not...
3What else is important?
“Symptoms like low mood, anxiety, depression and stress may be impacted by having a magnesium-rich diet...”
If you always crave something sweet come 3pm, you’re definitely not alone. But have you wondered why?
There are all kinds of reasons we could be getting peckish and low magnesium is one of them. Our H&B nutritionist Madalena Vieira Costa helps explain...
What is magnesium?
We tend to think of magnesium as a stress reliever as it’s found in Epsom bath salts to soothe tired muscles. Overall, it’s a mega-useful mineral, helping with over 300 processes in the body.1
You might know it for its role in sports – it “aids in normal energy production, normal muscle function, and reducing the risk of fatigue,” Madalena says.2,3
What is blood sugar?
The food we eat makes its way through the stomach and intestines and is converted into glucose, our bodies’ fuel.
In response, the pancreas pumps out insulin – a hormone that helps your cells absorb glucose for energy – and your blood sugar levels start to fall.4
If you eat a meal with lots of refined or ‘white’ carbohydrates or sugar (such as cake or white pasta) the body receives too much glucose and responds by releasing more insulin. This brings your blood sugar levels down, but by far too much. Symptoms of low blood sugar – called hypoglycaemia – include feeling:5
- cloudy-headed
- tired
- hungry
- shaky and weak
- nauseous
- dizzy
If this keeps happening, your body could stop responding to the insulin it makes (insulin resistance) or stop producing insulin altogether, leading to diabetes.
The link between magnesium and blood sugar
Magnesium plays an important role in helping your body convert glucose from food into fuel. Without enough magnesium in your body, your cells can become less effective at using insulin.6
A study of 234 people by the Medical School of Yangzhou University in 2013, concluded that “increasing dietary magnesium to meet the RDA has a protective effect on insulin resistance”.6
And, according to a systematic review published in Nutrients journal in 2017, “magnesium participates directly in glucose metabolism disorders in humans”.7
Women need 270mg of magnesium per day and men need 300mg. It’s best to get this through your diet wherever possible.2
It’s also worth noting that Diabetes UK doesn't recommend any herbal remedies or supplements to help manage blood sugar.8
How to balance your blood sugar
Everyone can benefit from having balanced blood sugar levels, whether they have insulin resistance or not. In the short term, it’ll help manage sugary cravings and stabilise energy levels. Over time, it’ll help lower your risk of conditions like diabetes.
Stress and unbalanced eating can sometimes be part of a vicious cycle. “Since magnesium plays a role in stress, and day-to-day life has increasingly become more stressful, it’s possible we’re ‘spending’ this mineral more and more without increasing its dietary intake,” says Madalena.
Interestingly, many studies have found a link between stress levels and magnesium levels; when one is affected so is the other, but more research is needed to understand this correlation.
Green leafy vegetables, nuts, brown rice, dairy products and wholegrain foods are all good sources of magnesium.1,2
These simple tips may also help maintain healthy blood sugar levels:
- eat regularly, at the same times every day
- don’t skip meals
- eat balanced meals with a good mix of protein, fats and carbohydrates to help avoid ‘sugar crashes’
- keep healthier snacks on hand, so you don’t have to grab something high in refined carbs if you’re caught short
- drink plenty of water 9
Stress and illness can also interfere with your blood sugar levels.10 Sometimes, extreme stress is a sign of low magnesium, as Madalena explains: “symptoms like low mood, anxiety, depression and stress may be impacted by having a magnesium-rich diet, and the opposite would have the opposite impact.”
Again, research linking magnesium and anxiety, mood or depression is still emerging, but it’s certainly important to hit your recommended intake if you fall short, as it may lead to some of these symptoms.
The final say
If you have a medical condition like diabetes, you should always follow your doctor’s advice on managing your blood sugar.
Still, everyone can benefit from looking after their sugar levels day-to-day. And getting magnesium is just one of the small ways you can contribute to a more balanced diet. Goodbye, post-lunch slump...
The advice in this article is for information only and should not replace medical care. Please check with your GP or healthcare professional before trying any supplements, treatments or remedies. Food supplements must not be used as a substitute for a varied and balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle.
Before taking any supplements or minerals, it’s best to make sure you’re getting all the nutrients through your diet first.
Food supplements must not be used as a substitute for a varied and balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle.
- National Institutes of Health (NIH). Magnesium [Internet]. NIH [reviewed 2022 June 2; cited 2024 Aug 13]. Available from: https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium-HealthProfessional/
- NHS. Others – vitamins and minerals [Internet]. NHS [reviewed 2020 Aug 3; cited 2024 Aug 13]. Available from: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/others/
- Jahnen-Dechent W, Ketteler M. Magnesium basics. Clin Kidney J [Internet] 2012 Feb [cited 2024 Aug 13]; 5(Suppl 1): i13-i14. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4455825/ MedlinePlus. Blood Glucose [Internet].
- MedlinePlus [cited 2024 Aug 13]. Available from: https://medlineplus.gov/bloodglucose.html
- NHS. Low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia) [Internet]. NHS [reviewed 2023 Aug 3; cited 2024 Aug 13]. Available from: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/low-blood-sugar-hypoglycaemia/
- Wang J et al. Dietary magnesium intake improves insulin resistance among non-diabetic individuals with metabolic syndrome participating in a dietary trial. Nutrients [Internet] 2013 Sep 27 [cited 2024 Aug 13]; 5(10): 3910-9. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24084051/
- Morais JBS et al. Effect of magnesium supplementation on insulin resistance in humans: a systematic review. Nutrition [Internet] 2017 Jun [cited 2024 Aug 13]; 38: 54-60. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0899900717300229?via%3Dihub Diabetes UK. Herbal and food supplements [Internet].
- Diabetes UK [cited 2024 Aug 13]. Available from: https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/enjoy-food/eating-with-diabetes/herbal-and-food-supplements Diabetes.co.uk. Water and diabetes [Internet]. Diabetes.co.uk [reviewed 2023 Oct 29; cited 2024 Aug 13]. Available from: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/water-and-diabetes.html
- Diabetes UK. Stress and diabetes [Internet]. Diabetes UK [cited 2024 Aug 13]. Available from: https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/emotions/stress
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