Is Magnesium Good for Your Heart? A Dietitian Answers.

Can magnesium help your heart? A Keck Medicine of USC dietitian says it can — and it’s in more foods than you might think.

In the heart-healthy hall of fame, nutrients like fiber, antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids crowd the spotlight. But the humble mineral magnesium deserves a place in the winner’s circle, too.

Why? According to Jong Kwan (Kevin) Park, RDN, a clinical dietitian with Keck Medicine of USC who also practices at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital, it comes down to the heart’s trusty “lub-dub” rhythm.

Magnesium and the heart

Magnesium is a mineral that’s essential to enzymatic reactions and biochemical processes happening throughout the body. It affects everything from nerve function and blood pressure to blood sugar management and more.

It also affects your heartbeat.

As Park explains, “The heart is a muscle that needs to contract and relax to pump blood. There’s a structure in the heart called the AV node, or atrioventricular node, which is a cluster of cells that allow electrical impulses to travel and regulate heartbeat. Magnesium, because of its positive electrical charge, participates in that process and helps keep the heart in consistent rhythm and prevent irregularities.”

How much magnesium do we need to stay healthy?

Because magnesium is a key player in the heart’s timekeeper, low levels can lead to an irregular heartbeat — also known as an arrhythmia — heart palpitations and yet more serious complications.

Thus the USDA and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) set the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) at 400 to 420 mg of magnesium per day for adult males aged 19 to 51, and 310 to 320 mg daily for females of the same age.

Unfortunately, Park points to data showing that roughly half of Americans — 48%, in fact — don’t meet this recommendation.

Dietary sources of magnesium

Given such widespread deficiency, you might think that magnesium is hard to come by. “But,” Park says, “as long as you’re eating a well-rounded, nutrient-dense diet, it will actually provide a substantial amount of magnesium.”

Bananas, avocados, leafy green vegetables, tofu, legumes, dark chocolate, nuts, seeds and then some — all are healthy, whole-food dietary sources of magnesium. Make sure to include some in meals each day and you’ve scored an easy heart-health win.

When to take a magnesium supplement

But there are some instances in which supplementation can help.

“If a healthy adult is consuming whole and nutrient-dense meals, you shouldn’t need a magnesium supplement,” Park says. “But consulting a health care professional can give you a clearer idea of whether or not you have a deficiency.”

And for a heart-health problem like an arrhythmia or rapid heartbeat, he continues, “Magnesium supplements could be beneficial.” Here again, a health care professional can help you decide if your condition warrants supplementation.

What type of magnesium supplement is best?

If you do decide to supplement, choosing amongst all the magnesium products on shelves can feel daunting. But Park has a few tips to help narrow the options.

• First check the product’s dose and find one that helps you meet the recommended intake your health care provider advises. And don’t go overboard: Too much magnesium can cause diarrhea and may even worsen the heart problems you’re trying to address, Park says.
• “Look for a trusted brand that’s transparent about its ingredients and manufacturing,” he adds. And if you can find a product that’s third-party tested for potency and purity, even better.
• Consider the magnesium form. Some are easier to absorb, use and tolerate than others — such as magnesium citrate and magnesium glycinate, which Park says are of the most common forms available and are known to be gentler on the stomach. Magnesium malate is similarly tolerable, and the latter is the form that occurs naturally in many foods, Park adds.

But why not start with foods? “As a dietitian,” Park says, “I’m certainly going to advocate for meeting your magnesium requirements through a nutrient-dense, well-rounded diet. But if your health care professional recommends supplementation as beneficial or even required, I’ll push for that, as well.”

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