# Magnesium

Category: Vitamins & Minerals

Magnesium is a mineral cofactor for over 300 enzymes, and its retention in the body is fundamentally dependent on thyroid function and the production of ATP. Peat observed that cells require good thyroid activity to synthesize ATP, which then binds magnesium intracellularly…

12 passages · 3 authors · 2010–2021 · Most-cited: [Ray Peat](https://bioenergeticoracle.com/md/voices/ray-peat/index.md)

Canonical page: https://bioenergeticoracle.com/concepts/magnesium

## Synthesis

**Magnesium** is a mineral cofactor for over 300 enzymes, and its retention in the body is fundamentally dependent on **thyroid function** and the production of **ATP**. [Source 1, 3] Peat observed that cells require good thyroid activity to synthesize ATP, which then binds magnesium intracellularly; when thyroid function is low, ATP levels fall, magnesium is released from cells, and calcium influx causes problems such as cramps, while the displaced magnesium is gradually lost in the urine. [Source 1] This explains why a person with low thyroid cannot retain magnesium well and must replenish it frequently, whereas someone with robust thyroid and ATP levels retains it for a very long time. [Source 1] Dinkov has elaborated that magnesium is a cofactor for *pyruvate dehydrogenase*, the rate-limiting enzyme for glucose metabolism, meaning a deficiency immediately shifts metabolism toward lactic acid accumulation and a *diabetic or cancer-like state*. [Source 3]

Peat described magnesium as the basic protective **calcium blocker**, noting that it is needed to form the phosphorylated ATPase that transfers a phosphate group to ADP, generating ATP while simultaneously subtracting excitatory inorganic phosphate from the cellular environment. [Source 10] This intracellular role means that high serum magnesium is not a sign of sufficiency but rather indicates that cells are losing their magnesium content. [Source 8] Magnesium suppresses **parathyroid hormone (PTH)**, a stress-related hormone that rises when calcium is deficient and promotes inflammation, prolactin, and serotonin release. [Source 2, 5] Roddy has documented that magnesium deficiency precipitates hyperparathyroidism, while adequate intake promotes insulin sensitivity and decreases inflammatory messengers such as **C-reactive protein**, **TNF-alpha**, and **interleukin-6**. [Source 2, 9]

Beyond its role in energy metabolism and mineral balance, magnesium acts as a functional antagonist to several catabolic stress hormones. Dinkov has stated that sufficient magnesium keeps estrogen relatively low while allowing protective hormones of youth—**pregnenolone**, **progesterone**, **DHEA**, and **testosterone**—to rise. [Source 4] It also decreases the synthesis of **cortisol** and protects against muscle wasting in states of cortisol excess; in magnesium-deficient animals, elevated cortisol causes rapid tissue catabolism, and magnesium deficiency has been hypothesized as a contributor to the cachexia seen in cancer patients. [Source 4] Magnesium is an antagonist of the **NMDA receptor**, similar to ketamine, which accounts for its sedative and brain-protective effects by increasing energy production in the brain. [Source 7] In diabetics, doses of 1.5 to 2 grams daily have produced dramatic improvements, including lower blood glucose, accelerated wound healing, and prevention of kidney failure progression to the point of requiring dialysis. [Source 7]

Peat recommended obtaining magnesium primarily from foods rather than isolated supplements, citing **coffee**, **fruit juices**, and the green water from briefly boiled leafy greens such as kale or beet greens as concentrated, safe sources. [Source 6, 11] He cautioned that magnesium citrate supplements have other metabolic effects that could be harmful, while magnesium carbonate and glycinate are beneficial in themselves, though each carries its own impurities. [Source 6] For therapeutic use alongside thyroid hormone, Peat advised approximately 100 mg of magnesium at a time with 1–2 micrograms of T3 (cytomel), which would be sufficient for the first few hours of response. [Source 11] He noted that people with extremely high metabolic rates sometimes benefited temporarily from magnesium alone, but when magnesium was combined with a thyroid supplement, their metabolic rate returned stably to a normal, lower level. [Source 12]

## People also ask

### Why does low thyroid cause magnesium loss?

Peat argued that thyroid hormone is needed to produce ATP, which binds magnesium inside cells; when thyroid function is low, ATP levels fall, magnesium is released from cells, and it is gradually lost in the urine.

### How does magnesium act as a calcium blocker in the body?

The corpus describes magnesium as a basic protective calcium blocker because it is required to form the phosphorylated ATPase that generates ATP while simultaneously removing excitatory inorganic phosphate from the cellular environment.

### What foods did Peat recommend for magnesium intake?

Peat recommended obtaining magnesium primarily from foods such as coffee, fruit juices, and the green water from briefly boiled leafy greens like kale or beet greens, rather than relying on isolated supplements.

## Related concepts

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- [Adrenaline](https://bioenergeticoracle.com/md/concepts/adrenaline/index.md)
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## Cited passages

Passage numbers match the `[Source N]` markers in the synthesis above.

### Source 1 — One Radio Network: The True Nature of a Virus (September 21, 2020)

Ray Peat · Interview · Sep 21, 2020

> **Patrick Timpone:** Dr. Ray Peat is with us. Dr. Peat, stay right there. It's raypeet.com. We're going to do a little break, and then we're going to dig into your fascinating times we are living in, isn't it? Do a little break, and then we'll get into your emails. Well, it's the third Wednesday of the month. Patrick Timpone with Ray Peat. RayPeat.com. If you have some questions here, we have plenty already, but we have lots of time. I think we can... We can kind of get to them. This is from Leroy. Patrick's been talking about magnesium with Marley Robbins, one of the magnesium guys. I wanted to get Dr. Peat's opinion. I read all the time that we are very low on magnesium. Does he agree that most of us are? And would he take magnesium just to take extra or test for it? I'd like his opinion, please.
>
> **Ray Peat:** About 50 years ago, I was finding that, for example, a woman with menstrual cramps, uterine cramps, could relieve the pain and the cramps in just 5 or 10 minutes after taking some magnesium carbonate. And then I started seeing that many other symptoms could be relieved as quickly. But it turned out that they had to keep taking it at least once a week, if not daily, to keep the symptoms away. But then I read an interesting book about magnesium. A professor at the University of Colorado, I think it was, who explains that cells... need good thyroid function to be able to retain magnesium because it exists in cells in combination with the ATP molecule. And you need thyroid to make the ATP which retains the magnesium. If your thyroid is low, the cell ATP level goes down and magnesium is released. Calcium goes into the cell, causing problems, cramps, and so on. And the increased magnesium in the blood gradually gets lost in the urine. So then you have to keep replenishing it. But if your thyroid and ATP level are good, then you retain the magnesium for a very long time.

### Source 2 — The Peat Whisperer

Danny Roddy · Book · 2012

> ### Magnesium
>
> **Danny Roddy:** Magnesium is a critical cofactor for calcium absorption. Deficiencies of magnesium precipitate hyperparathyroidism (high PTH).25 In addition, magnesium promotes insulin sensitivity, 26 alleviates anxiety,27 and decreases the inflammatory messengers: TNF-a, IL-6,28 and CRP. 29 Magnesium is highly deficient in the modern diet and is easily lost in those with low metabolic rates.30,31 Foods: coffee, milk, orange juice Sodium Sodium is an integral factor in reducing stress, absorbing magnesium,32 increasing insulin sensitivity, maintaining serum albumin (binds estrogen and other toxins until they are eliminated by the liver), and reducing serotonin.33 A lack of sodium can lead to the chronic activation of the renin-angiotensinaldosterone system, which suppresses the metabolic rate and promotes inflammation.34 Adequate salt intake can increase body temperature and decreases aldosterone, adrenaline, and angiotensin.35 Additional salt in the diet may result in swelling for a few days while the body adjusts. 36 If swelling does not decrease (puffy face in the morning), it may indicate elevated estrogen or that the metabolic rate is still suppressed.37 Foods: canning/pickling salt

### Source 3 — Episode 10: Georgi Dinkov (Haidut) on Magnesium, GABA, and Growth Hormone

Georgi Dinkov · Interview · Sep 14, 2020 · https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hakiwshL3to

> **Veselin Velichkov:** Hello! Today we have gathered again with Georgi to record another episode of the podcast “Sense, Think, Act” or “Feel, Think, Act.” Continuing the topics from the previous episodes about various supplements that are taken, about vitamins, about steroids, I thought a lot about what we had missed, because those turned out to be two long, quite valuable episodes. And I actually realized that we had not mentioned magnesium, which is something that... whoever you ask, whatever they tell you, everyone says, take magnesium. Everyone knows that magnesium should be taken. And now what, why, everyone has heard something there, but in every gym, if you go to a gym, everyone who is interested in... health says magnesium. First. There is magnesium, magnesium, and it becomes a little unconscious, magnesium. And everyone knows that it is something very, very good. But why is it very good?
>
> **Georgi Dinkov:** how it works in the organism, in a little more detail. I think you can tell our viewers so it becomes even more understandable why this magnesium is so good and why we should take it. It is interesting that it is recommended in many places, but they cannot explain what the reason is that magnesium works, because the idea that medicine is currently pushing is quite primitive, and it is that there has to be some receptor that magnesium binds to, and if there is no such receptor, generally the mechanism of action is unknown. But doctors, as your listeners know, doctors prescribe it for all kinds of things: headache, cramps, that is, to prevent tightening of the muscles, joint pain, headache, I mean fatigue and so on, problems with sleep, all these things. But if you ask your doctor, all right, how does this thing achieve these wonderful, miraculous effects, most likely the doctor will tell you either that he does not know, or he will lie to you, he will invent something there just to wave you off. Leave it alone. This is a complex process that you cannot understand. Exactly. Some scientists have said that magnesium works that way, and you will get more information when you graduate from medical university, then you will understand. But actually, if you look from the point of view of the metabolic theory, all these effects of magnesium immediately become obvious, why they are like that. Magnesium is a cofactor for over 300 enzymes in the body and generally may be the metal, or I should not say the dietary component, that is, something that we extract from the diet, that most likely has the broadest range of action from the point of view of participation in different enzymes for energy production, for synthesis of proteins, hormones, and so on. One of its most important roles is that magnesium is a cofactor for the enzyme pyruvate dehydrogenase. This is the enzyme that is the limiting step for glucose metabolism.

### Source 4 — Episode 10: Georgi Dinkov (Haidut) on Magnesium, GABA, and Growth Hormone

Georgi Dinkov · Interview · Sep 14, 2020 · https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hakiwshL3to

> **Georgi Dinkov:** That is, if you take enough magnesium, estrogen will be relatively low, but the levels of the other hormones that we want, which are the protective hormones, the hormones of youth, will rise: pregnenolone, progesterone, DHEA, testosterone, and so on. Another property that magnesium has is that it decreases the synthesis of cortisol and at least acts as some kind of functional cortisol antagonist. It has been shown that people who have Cushing’s syndrome, as well as animals, who are sick with elevated levels and synthesis of cortisol, when they are given magnesium, their muscles do not atrophy as quickly and to such a degree as in normal animals that are not in a state of magnesium deficiency. That is, if magnesium is given on top, it is even more therapeutic. But if the animals are in a state of magnesium deficiency, if their cortisol rises, they literally melt away in days. And one clinical study, not recent... it is not a study, rather it is a hypothesis that one scientist who is at Columbia University in New York is trying to push, is that perhaps one of the reasons for cachexia, that is, for the brutal wasting of cancer patients, is that a large part of them have a magnesium deficiency, and magnesium is vitally important for maintaining muscle structure, to prevent atrophy. As I said, do not think of magnesium only as a muscle protector, but every cell, that is, the structure of every cell depends on sufficient levels of magnesium. But what magnesium will reduce for you, it will protect to a certain degree from synthesis of the stress hormones, which are cortisol, aldosterone, estrogen, growth hormone also. Many people inject themselves with it, especially athletes or rich people who imagine that it will rejuvenate them because children have high levels of growth hormone. Yes, but children also have very high levels of pregnenolone, progesterone, which protect them to some extent from growth hormone.

### Source 5 — The Crumbling Androgen Hypothesis, Part III: "Mitochondrial Hair Medicine"

Danny Roddy · Article · Jan 13, 2014

> Magnesium
>
> - Magnesium is a cofactor for vitamin D, helps suppress PTH, and allows the cell to retain and generate ATP. Thyroid function and estrogen appear to influence the retention of magnesium.[20,21] Dark leafy greens, coffee, orange juice, sparkling water (i.e., Gerolsteiner), and cocoa all contain high levels of magnesium. Epsom salt baths or magnesium glycinate may be suitable supplements if the diet is insufficient.
>
> [references]

### Source 6 — Email Exchanges — Magnesium

Ray Peat · Email · 2015

> # Magnesium
>
> Both carbonate and glycine are beneficial in themselves, but each of the compounds has its own impurities. Supplements of citrate have other effects on metabolism, that could be harmful.
>
> Cooked green leaves, or the water they were boiled in, is a very good source of magnesium, with other minerals in safe ratio. Coffee is another good magnesium source.Over 72 trace minerals from the Great Salt Lake, with 99% of the salt removed, would be dirty salt, without the salt.

### Source 7 — Episode 10: Georgi Dinkov (Haidut) on Magnesium, GABA, and Growth Hormone

Georgi Dinkov · Interview · Sep 14, 2020 · https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hakiwshL3to

> **Georgi Dinkov:** Magnesium has effects similar to nicotinamide, because it decreases lipolysis, and it has been shown, accordingly you would expect substances that decrease the level of fatty acids in the blood to improve metabolism of glucose. One of the best-known diseases related to this imbalance or bogged-down glucose oxidation is diabetes. And now, if magnesium really had such a positive effect, you would expect that if it were administered to people with diabetes, it would improve their condition. There are at least 50 such clinical studies and all of them are with people. They are fairly high, actually not very high, between a gram and a half and two grams a day. If you take it all at once, it can cause diarrhea, but if you take, say, 500 mg three times a day, I mean it will not have this effect on the gastrointestinal tract, and that is roughly exactly what they did in the studies; some of them used intravenous, again magnesium sulfate, giving 2 grams a day, but others administered it orally, and the effects are dramatic improvement in the whole condition of diabetics: their blood glucose falls, wounds on their legs heal. Diabetics are known for having ulcers not only inside the stomach or in the gastrointestinal tract, but an ulcer is like a non-healing wound on the skin. Diabetics get many such, and this is very dangerous. Most of them, even if a diabetic dies, it is usually either from this or because their kidneys have given out. Speaking of the kidneys, so not only does magnesium protect from the appearance of such ulcers in diabetics, it accelerates their healing if they already have them, and after I mentioned the kidneys, the main cause of death in diabetics is kidney failure. A large part of diabetics, especially in the advanced phase, are on dialysis. But it has been shown that magnesium can completely prevent the worsening of kidney function to the degree that it reaches dialysis.

### Source 8 — #34 - How to live a pro-metabolic life with Danny Roddy

Danny Roddy · Interview · Feb 3, 2021

> **Danny Roddy:** Yeah, so again, I haven't seen every Morley interview or anything. I don't know every idea he has or anything like that. Yeah, we were talking a little bit before this, but I had used magnesium bicarbonate, I think in 2014, 15. It gave me hypotension, so it made me dizzy standing up. And then there has never been a form of magnesium that didn't give me bowel problems. And so that's actually why I was attracted to Ray's idea of using coffee for magnesium. Because it's just like a food that contains high amounts of magnesium if you make strong coffee. And like you said, how I understand it is that the kind of the delicate balance between ions inside and outside the cell is being regulated by thyroid hormone and the production of carbon dioxide. And so apparently there's more sodium and calcium outside the cell and there's more potassium and magnesium inside the cell. And that whole ion balance is orchestrated by the energy flowing through the system and the production of carbon dioxide. And so I think I actually, I don't want to go there because I'm not sure if he's actually said or not, but the one thing I will say, I don't think it's good to have a bunch of magnesium in your blood. Georgi and I talked about this on one of our live streams, but since magnesium is an intracellular ion, if you measure it in the blood and it's very high, that means your cells are losing magnesium. Like it's not, it's supposed to be inside the cell. And so I think it would need like a tissue analysis or biopsy or something to measure it. I don't think there's a very good test for magnesium.

### Source 9 — What Does Magnesium Have To Do With Hair Loss? A Lot.

Danny Roddy · Article · Oct 5, 2010

> # What Does Magnesium Have To Do With Hair Loss? A Lot.
>
> What Does Magnesium Have To Do With Hair Loss? A Lot. Tuesday, October 5, 2010 at 11:32AM
>
> Like vitamin D3, magnesium seems to be one of those supplements that actually holds water when put up against the rigors of real world application. The negatives correlated with deficiencies in the mineral, make magnesium a contender for the single bullet approach; if you had to take one supplement, this might be it.
>
> We have plenty of articles on the effects of magnesium promoting general health, but of course, the real question is how does it help with hair loss? Well I am glad you asked.
>
> Inflammation
>
> Magnesium supplementation has been found to reduce inflammatory markers C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a) as well as interleukin-6. This is significant because all three of these inflammatory messengers (CRP, IL-6, TNF-a) are found to be associated with hair loss.
>
> Dr. Eades explains the radical decrease in CRP when supplementing with magnesium:
>
> [references]
>
> If you refer back to the post entitled The Four Horsemen of The Hairpocalypse, I describe that the etiology of hair loss is rooted in inflammation.
>
> Insulin Sensitivity
>
> Those prematurely losing their hair have much more to worry about than fleeting vanity. Early balding can be used as a marker for a constellation of health ailments known as metabolic syndrome. While the minerals chromium and vanadium receive much hype in regulating blood sugar, magnesium shows huge promise in ameliorating metabolic syndrome.
>
> [references]
>
> Holy smokes man, this is insane. Four months of magnesium supplementation reduced insulin resistance by almost half, remarkably improved lipid profiles (blood fats) and dropped HbA1c by a whopping 22%! For those who are unfamiliar with HbA1c, the marker reflects the average blood glucose level over the past few weeks. HbA1c may be the best marker for determining insulin resistance, as apposed to the conventional fasting insulin or blood glucose tests.
>
> Stress
>
> Cortisol is the body's natural anti-inflammatory hormone. Your body releases cortisol in response to "stressors" such as unstable blood sugar, lack of sleep, chronic inflammation, and too little food consumption.

### Source 10 — Calcium, Phosphate, Authoritarianism, Eugenics & CIA Spymaster Allen Dulles with Ray Peat [GE #34]

Ray Peat · Interview · Oct 1, 2018 · https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA9YrebN5zY

> **Danny Roddy:** It's funny, there was a large ketogenic diet person on a very popular podcast, and I think the interviewer was like, what else are you researching right now? And it was something about carbon dioxide. And so it was just funny to see like his whole lifestyle, ketogenic diets was like the antithesis of his like newfound interest in carbon dioxide. Oh, yeah. I wanted to ask you a little bit about magnesium.

### Source 11 — Nitric Oxide

Ray Peat · Interview · 2014 · http://l-i-g-h-t.com/files/herb-doctors-nitric-oxide.mp4

> **Andrew Murray:** OK, so what kind of dose of magnesium would you think for that kind of person would be suitable?
>
> **Ray Peat:** About 100mg at a time as you take the say 1-2 mcg of cytomel, or cynomel. 100mg will be plenty for the first 2 or 3 hours of responding to 1 or 2 micrograms.
>
> **Andrew Murray:** I looked earlier on as I was doing some searching around and saw that the main principle sources it seems of magnesium were nuts and seeds, and I think there were small amounts in soy, but I think principally what would you recommend as a good magnesium source?
>
> **Ray Peat:** Fruit juices and coffee. I think if you want a really intense source you can boil leaves like kale or beet greens or something just for two or three minutes, and the green water that comes out quickly is very concentrated in magnesium and calcium. That's a very, pretty safe supplement. Coffee and fruit juices are practical and something you can do every day.
>
> **Andrew Murray:** OK, alright, like I said, perhaps next month if you are available, I'd love to look into that new research, well actually I think it was brought out in the mid 1960s by that Korean, it sounded very interesting about the third circulatory system in the body and actually ‘you are what you eat’, because there is a pretty intimate interaction between food products and our own DNA, they can be switched on and off and regulated and that sounded pretty fascinating.

### Source 12 — Ray Peat Email Advice Depository — Post 159

Ray Peat · Email · Mar 20, 2015

> **Question:** [Magnesium Combined with Thyroid for Stably Normalizing High Metabolic Rates]
>
> **Ray Peat:** I have known people with extremely high metabolic rates who benefited temporarily from magnesium, but when magnesium was combined with a thyroid supplement, returned stably to a normal (lower) metabolic rate.

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