Quote from Chris Kresser on this important topic today for you. He’s talking about US magnesium intake, but it’s not going to be vastly different in Europe or the UK.
Check out my Magnesium Factsheet here too for recommendations, products, types of magnesium, how to test effectively etc. I’ve written about the importance of magnesium many times on the blog too, so check those posts out here.
Quick Tip: Most people take more calcium than magnesium because they think it will be better. Nope. I always recommend at least 1: 1 ratio of them, but I prefer 2:1 magnesium to calcium. We get tons of calcium in our diets, contrary to what we’re always told – even if we don’t eat dairy, but magnesium is almost always deficient. If you don’t have enough magnesium, you can’t use the calcium effectively in your body anyway.
Higher intake of magnesium = lower risk of dementia
Chris Kresser
A new study found that consuming more than 550 mg of magnesium daily (which is significantly more than the Recommended Dietary Allowance [RDA]) decreases brain shrinkage as we age and reduces the risk of dementia and cognitive disorders.
These preventative effects of magnesium may begin in the 40s or even earlier, so it’s important to ensure optimal magnesium intake early in life. Sadly, the average intake of magnesium in the U.S. of 342 mg/d for men and 265 mg/d for women is woefully inadequate—especially if you use this higher threshold. Some researchers have suggested that the RDA for magnesium be increased to ~650 mg/d for men and ~535 mg/d for women based on studies like this.
See my recent article on magnesium for more details, along with tips on increasing your magnesium intake.
Quick Tip 2: you will very rarely get anywhere near enough magnesium – or calcium for that matter – in a good multi because they take up so much room in the capsule. It would be enormoose! I always give extra to top up. This one is a good balanced ratio. It says 3 per day but you could go up to 6. Or here is a 1:1 at 100mg of each.