Vitamins and Minerals for Energy: Why Magnesium Comes First

Vitamins and minerals do not give energy the way food calories do. They are the helpers that let your cells turn food into usable energy.

Your cells run on a molecule called ATP, short for adenosine triphosphate. It carries energy to wherever the cell needs it. A 2015 review in Nutrients^[1] says ATP exists mainly as a complex with magnesium, called MgATP.*

The review describes magnesium as crucial for ATP metabolism and needed for both oxygen-based and oxygen-free energy production.* It works either as part of MgATP or by switching on enzymes, which are proteins that speed up reactions.

Enzymes named in the review: hexokinase, creatine kinase, mitochondrial ATP synthase and the Na+/K+-ATPase pump. Each one depends on magnesium to work.*

The catch: this is a review of how magnesium works in the body. It explains the role, but it is not a trial that measured tiredness.

The same review lists magnesium as part of more than 300 essential metabolic reactions. NIH MedlinePlus^[3] gives the same count. It says magnesium supports nerve and muscle function, heart rhythm and bone strength, and it helps with energy and protein production.*

Bone is the body's largest magnesium reservoir. The review puts it at about 60% of total body magnesium. It adds that magnesium held in bone is not completely available when intake runs low, and that exchange between the body's pools is slow.

The review also notes that blood levels have little correlation with total body magnesium. That is one reason a single blood number tells little about how much magnesium you have.

Magnesium is the mineral part of the story. The vitamin part belongs mostly to the B family. MedlinePlus^[5] lists what each one does.*

• Thiamine (B1) helps cells convert carbohydrates into energy.*
• Pantothenic acid (B5) is essential for breaking down food.*
• Biotin is essential for metabolizing proteins and carbohydrates.*
• Vitamin B12 supports metabolism.*

Vitamin C has a different job. MedlinePlus^[4] says it helps form collagen, helps the body absorb iron and acts as an antioxidant.* Iron is a mineral your blood uses to carry oxygen.

Food is the main source. MedlinePlus^[3] names dark green leafy vegetables as the largest source. It also lists:

• Nuts such as almonds and cashews, and seeds
• Legumes and soy products such as tofu
• Whole grains such as brown rice and millet
• Bananas, dried apricots, avocados and milk

The same page gives the daily reference amounts (RDA, the average intake that meets the needs of nearly all healthy people). For adult men it is 400 mg at ages 19 to 30 and 420 mg from 31 on. For adult women it is 310 mg at ages 19 to 30 and 320 mg from 31 on.

The 2015 review notes that people eating a Western-style diet often get under 30 to 50% of the RDA. It also reports that nearly half of US adults had inadequate magnesium intake in the 2005 to 2006 NHANES survey, the national health and nutrition survey.

A 2023 perspective in Advances in Nutrition^[2] says over half of US adults aged 20 and up eat less than the estimated average requirement.

Many things can affect energy, and low magnesium intake is only one possible factor. These surveys describe diets, not how any one person feels.

Forms: magnesium comes as different salts. The 2015 review recommends organic bound forms such as citrate, gluconate, orotate and aspartate because of their high bioavailability, meaning how much the body absorbs.

Individual stomach and bowel responses to supplements vary greatly, according to the 2023 perspective.

For reference, our magnesium has 325 mg of magnesium per scoop: a powder that turns into magnesium citrate in a glass of water.

The pieces fit together. Cells need ATP, ATP works as a pair with magnesium, and hundreds of enzymes need magnesium to do their jobs.* Getting enough magnesium each day is part of supporting normal energy metabolism.*

Because the need is daily and the amount adds up across meals, a steady, measured source makes the routine easier to keep. A magnesium drink mix that dissolves in water, in an organic citrate form, is one simple way to add a set amount next to the greens, nuts and whole grains on your plate.*

Magnesium from food is not a concern for most healthy people. MedlinePlus says the body generally removes extra amounts, and that side effects from high intake are uncommon except in people with significantly reduced kidney function. Supplements and magnesium-containing laxatives are named as common causes of too much magnesium.

The 2015 review says oral magnesium may reduce the absorption of some medicines, including certain antibiotics, bisphosphonates (bone medicines) and calcium channel blockers (heart and blood pressure medicines). It advises caution when kidney function is low. Taking too much can also cause diarrhea, nausea or vomiting.

Check with your doctor first if you:

• Have kidney disease or reduced kidney function
• Take any prescription medication, especially antibiotics, bone medicines or heart medicines
• Are pregnant or breastfeeding
• Are choosing a supplement for a child
• Have any other health condition

The 2023 perspective reports that a US Institute of Medicine committee set the adult upper limit for magnesium at 350 mg a day from supplemental intake alone, because higher doses can cause diarrhea. Magnesium from food is not counted in that limit.