Is magnesium a good supplement for diabetes?

I read that magnesium is a good supplement to take for type one diabetics. Does anyone take this and do you feel any different?

Supplements of magnesium has improved insulin sensitivity in type 2 DMs. Studies did not show any effect on T1DMs. However, those studies may not have attempted to use T1DMs that also experience insulin resistance.

A good food source for magnesium are almonds which are one of the lower carb nuts.

2 Likes

Always a concern, but the need to supplement might indicate a bad diet. I’d guess that part of the reason the magnesium supplementation can work in T2Ds, and supplementation has not been found helpful in all clinical trials, is that in some diet is poor or lacking.

Many plants and animal products are an excellent source of magnesium, so first, take a look at your diet to see if you are already eating enough:

Source: Magnesium and Diabetes: How It Can Help, Sources, Risks & Benefits (healthline.com)

Clinical trial overview:

Source: Magnesium and type 2 diabetes (nih.gov)

3 Likes

Yeah I pretty much have all of those in my diet. So I guess I should be ok.

I had a mild elevation in my liver enzyme. I think the normal range is like 25 and I was 30. Some suggested milk thistle which is also known to be beneficial to diabetics. I don’t know whether there was an improvement on my liver because im yet to get a blood test but I’ve gone through an entire bottle but I don’t feel any different.

1 Like

Be careful wit supplements. Esp vitamins and minerals.

Magnesium competes with calcium for receptors.
That means if you take only magnesium, you could crowd out calcium and be at risk for osteoporosis.

It’s best to take a multi vitamin if you are going to take something those are generally well balanced and reduce the risk of causing an imbalance

3 Likes

I took Magnesium for a year and didn’t notice any difference related to blood sugar or insulin needs. I stopped taking it since I couldn’t see any difference.

Side note: I had low vitamin D and started that. I’ve noticed I get colds much less often the last 3 years.

2 Likes

I’m stuck having to take a statin - nneed to, the cholesterol levels are great, but…ou know how ENdorks can be. Anyway the statins give me horrid muscle cramps (my entier body) and adding magnesium as a supplment (along with added calcium) alleviates those

1 Like

Some people here have found that switching to a different statin can end the cramps or other side effects. Others find that reducing the prescribed dose – say, taking it every other day – achieves cholesterol numbers the doctor is happy with without the side effects.

Thanks, I have requested an alternative, and am taking the smallest possible dose (splitting a 5 mg tablet - so 2.5 mg. They are tiny, don’t split easily). I do drink tonic water and that helps a bit with the cramps. Another example of “one-size-fits-all”

Except make sure you balance it with calcium because they compete for the same resources. If you take only magnesium, you could crowd out calcium.

I take a multivitamin for diabetics. It has a little extra magnesium because we are usually deficient, but I don’t know why.

2 Likes

I feel numbers in results are a target….you seem in range of the named target. We ebb and flow as humans, feelings, energy, blood sugars, etc.

I take magnesium. It really helps to reduce and eliminate painful leg and foot cramps. If I stop for any length of time, they immediately return

2 Likes

Recently my muscles have been sore to touch. The feeling is like pressing on a bruise site, just soreness. Literally all along my legs, tummy, lower back and arms. Just a little pressure and I feel the soreness. It’s more pronounced along my entire leg especially around the thigh area (side and front) not so much on my arms. Also on my tummy area below the belly button - maybe caused by manual injections in that area, I don’t know, I may avoid that area for a while and see.

Im not really sure what’s causing the soreness on my legs. I have been doing a bit of walking since the lockdown in March last year consistently everyday. But if it was due to that, I would have expected the soreness to happen last year not 18 months later as my body would have adapted to the physical activity by now. This soreness only recently started. I was thinking maybe magnesium would help? Not sure whether there is another underlying issue.

Just had a blood test last week, everything except my thyroids came back normal. My overactive thyroids seem to have relapsed but I don’t think it’s related to the soreness

1 Like