The Medical Advisor

There’s growing interest in magnesium, and the discourse about it has skyrocketed in recent years. An article published in Vogue in 2024 says that social media is partly responsible for the renewed interest in this nutrient, with various videos promoting it as a “miracle mineral” with a wide array of health benefits. You might remember magnesium from science lessons at school—it emits a brilliant-white light when burned. “Magnesium is an essential chemical element, the fourth most abundant mineral in the body after calcium, potassium, and sodium,” says Carolyn Dean, author of The Magnesium Miracle . “All these minerals are essential but magnesium seems to do the most—it acts as a cell mineral ion gatekeeper, allowing the appropriate amount of the other minerals to enter the cells,” she explains. Magnesium is  one of the seven essential minerals we cannot live without . Magnesium is also a cofactor in more than 300 enzyme systems that regulate diverse biochemical reactions in the b...