Should You Take Vitamin D and Magnesium Together?

DETERMINING THE IDEAL diet for your specific body is best left to experts. The same is true for supplement recommendations. These days, though, social media can often muddy the water between expert-backed advise and hearsay. The newest supplement-related internet trend now involves taking vitamin D and magnesium supplements at the same time.

“Lately, some health influencers on TikTok have suggested that combining the two can amplify their benefits, including better sleep and less anxiety,” says Kim Yawitz, R.D. There is some truth to the notion that vitamin D3 can help increase magnesium absorption in the intestine, and that magnesium can help the liver and kidneys metabolize vitamin D. However, “there’s not enough evidence suggesting these supplements should be taken at all, let alone together.”

Ahead, Yawitz and Lara Clevenger R.D.N., C.P.T., share what you should know about vitamin D and magnesium, and if taking the two in unison is worth it.

What Are the Health Benefits of Vitamin D and Magnesium?

Before we dive deeper into the manner of taking magnesium and vitamin D together, let’s consider their health benefits separately. “Magnesium and vitamin D are essential nutrients that play important roles in many bodily functions,” says Clevenger.

Health Benefits of Vitamin D

Vitamin D is the common name for a group of secosteroids that can be found in fortified dairy products, egg yolks, liver, meat, and fish oils. Vitamin D can also be formed in the skin from sun exposure.

“Vitamin D is essential for the body’s absorption of calcium from food into the blood serum,” says Clevenger. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin which plays a role in immune function, bone health and cell growth. It’s essential for the body’s absorption of calcium, and optimal calcium balance is vital to cell survival and bone health. “It’s also an antioxidant that supports immune, muscle, and brain function.”

Health Benefits of Magnesium

“Magnesium plays a role in more than 300 chemical processes in the body. In addition to helping regulate blood sugar, heart rhythm, and blood pressure, magnesium helps to form DNA, RNA, and bone tissue,” says Yawitz. Magnesium also enables nerves to fire and muscles to contact.

Should You Take Magnesium and Vitamin D at the Same Time?

As we touched on above, don’t be swayed by TikTok videos. Taking magnesium and vitamin D in tandem won’t supercharge your health. Some studies have suggested that magnesium and vitamin D separately may help improve sleep and anxiety, but there’s not enough evidence to say for sure. Plus, Yawitz says, there’s also not much evidence that vitamin D and magnesium should be taken at all, let alone together—unless you’ve been told by a doctor or dietician that you’re deficient and need a supplement.

There’s no risk in taking them at the same time, either, though. “As of now, there’s no evidence that magnesium and vitamin D shouldn’t be taken at the same time,” says Yawitz. But, it won’t lead to any extra health benefits.

What Are the Proper Magnesium and Vitamin D Dosages?

Magnesium Dosage

Let’s start with magnesium, since recommended dosages of magnesium are more straightforward. “Men need around 420 milligrams of magnesium daily (or 400 milligrams if you’re 30 or younger), from food if possible,” says Yawitz. Symptomatic deficiency is pretty rare in healthy adults who eat a balanced diet, simply because the kidneys will excrete more or less magnesium depending on how much is in the body.

Vitamin D Dosage

How much vitamin D you need can be trickier to gauge on your own, especially if you rely mostly or completely on sunlight to meet your needs, says Yawitz. Most men need around 15 micrograms (equal to 600 international units) of vitamin D daily, although men older than 70 would benefit from 20 micrograms (800 IU) daily. Mild deficiency is more common with vitamin D—some studies have found between 28.5 and 41.4 percent of Americans are deficient. Symptoms of deficiency include muscle and bone pain, increased sensitivity to pain, and muscle weakness.

“If you think you might be deficient, your best bet is to ask your doctor to check your levels with a simple blood test,” she says.

How Can You Get More Vitamin D and Magnesium Into Your Diet Naturally?

Again, since magnesium and vitamin D are essential nutrients, it’s important you get enough of both from your diet. If you think you’re not or blood tests reveal you’re below quota, talk to a trusted health care professional to see if supplementation of either or both of these nutrients may be for you.

Vitamin D

“Your body can make vitamin D whenever your skin is exposed to direct sunlight,” says Yawitz. “However, this process is less efficient when it’s cloudy or you’re wearing sunblock (which is super important for skin cancer prevention),” she says, highlighting that vitamin D production also tends to be lower in older adults and people with darker skin.

Along with sunshine, Yawitz advised turning to foods like fatty fish (such as salmon, mackerel, and tuna), or by drinking vitamin D-fortified milk to consume more of this nutrient. In addition to fortified dairy products, Clevenger says you can get your vitamin D fix in egg yolks, liver, meat, and fish oils.

Magnesium

Magnesium food sources may be a little more palatable than chugging fish oils and eating chopped liver. “Magnesium is found naturally in green leafy vegetables, nuts, legumes, and chocolate,” says Clevenger. Magnesium is also found in pumpkin seeds, soy milk, and potatoes.