Has your healthcare provider ever talked to you about your magnesium levels and how they may relate to diabetes? This important mineral might play a bigger role in diabetes than many people realize.

If you’d like to learn more about magnesium and its connection to diabetes, here’s what you should know. Just remember to talk to your doctor before you start any new medication or supplement to manage diabetes, including magnesium.

How Is Magnesium Connected to Diabetes?

Magnesium and diabetes are connected in several important ways. Learning about these links can help you better understand what happens in the body with diabetes. This may empower you to make more informed, healthier choices for yourself.

Magnesium Deficiency and Diabetes

People with type 2 diabetes often have low serum magnesium levels. This condition is called hypomagnesemia, and it can be found with a simple blood test. Having low magnesium is also linked to progressing, or worsening, type 2 diabetes.

This makes sense because magnesium seems to help the body process glucose (sugar) and insulin properly. Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas. It helps move sugar from the bloodstream into the cells, where it’s used for energy.

When someone doesn’t have enough magnesium, their body may not respond to insulin as well, though researchers don’t yet know why. This is called insulin resistance.

The role of magnesium in diabetes may be linked to the pancreas. People with type 2 diabetes don’t make as much insulin in their pancreas. Magnesium plays an important role in helping the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, called pancreatic beta-cells, do their job. Without enough magnesium, these cells may not get the right signals to produce insulin. This can lead to high blood glucose levels and eventually type 2 diabetes.

Low magnesium intake levels are also linked to higher levels of inflammation in the body. Chronic inflammation is when the body’s immune response stays active for a long time, sometimes for months or even years. This can raise your risk for several health problems related to chronic inflammation, including diabetes. As you can see, there’s more than one way that magnesium may be connected to type 2 diabetes.

Low levels of magnesium are common in people living with type 2 diabetes. This likely happens for a few reasons. Many people don’t get enough magnesium from their diet or supplements. They may also lose more than they should in their urine.

People with type 2 diabetes often urinate more than those without the condition. This can lead to more magnesium loss. If someone doesn’t have enough magnesium, it can make their diabetes symptoms worse. When symptoms get worse, they can lose even more magnesium through their urine. This makes the problem harder to fix.

Magnesium and Diabetes Protection

Studies show that people with higher levels of magnesium are less likely to develop diabetes. This holds even after looking at other factors like lifestyle (including diet and exercise), income, and body size and composition. No matter your background or lifestyle, getting enough magnesium may help you lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Raising Magnesium Levels Helps Diabetes

If you already have diabetes, raising your magnesium levels may help improve your blood sugar control. In fact, people with type 2 diabetes or at a high diabetes risk tend to have better glucose control (lower blood sugar levels) and higher insulin sensitivity when their magnesium levels go up.

These improvements may be small, but they can still help you feel better. A1c and fasting blood sugar level tests are two methods used to monitor type 2 diabetes to see whether your condition is improving, getting worse, or staying the same. In one study, both A1c and fasting blood sugar levels went down slightly when magnesium levels increased.

Other studies show similar results. However, more research is needed to understand exactly how magnesium might help with type 2 diabetes, the amount of magnesium people should take, and how doctors can best use it to treat people.

Beyond Blood Sugar: Other Benefits of Magnesium

While magnesium may help lower your diabetes risk and support blood sugar control, its benefits go even further. Magnesium plays a role in over 300 bodily processes. It supports muscle and nerve function, helps keep your heart rhythm steady, and helps regulate blood pressure. Getting enough magnesium can support your overall health, whether or not you have diabetes.

How To Get More Magnesium

Most people can get the magnesium they need through their diet. This means you can make specific dietary choices — like choosing a banana over a cupcake — to help increase your magnesium levels. This can include changing your choice of snacks and choosing food based on its nutritional value when you eat out. If you’re already working on your diet to help manage type 2 diabetes, aiming to get more magnesium can be a simple and sustainable addition.

It's important to remember that no food is completely “good” or “bad.” It’s all about portion sizes and balance. If you need help figuring out how to improve your diet, ask your healthcare provider for a referral to a registered dietitian. Dietitians are trained to help you build a nutrition plan that works for your goals and lifestyle. They can help you make dietary changes while still enjoying your meals and feeling satisfied.

Foods that are rich in magnesium include:

• Seeds
• Nuts
• Leafy green vegetables, like spinach
• Whole grains, like brown rice or some cereals
• Legumes, like beans and lentils

Some of the foods with the highest levels of magnesium include pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, almonds, and spinach. Adding a few servings of these foods every day can help you raise your magnesium levels significantly.

Taking a Magnesium Supplement

If you aren’t getting enough dietary magnesium, or if your levels stay low even after improving your diet, your doctor may suggest a magnesium supplement. Magnesium supplements are widely available in forms like magnesium oxide or magnesium citrate. Some of these are forms that you drink after they dissolve in water. These forms may be easier for your body to absorb.

Always talk to your doctor before starting any supplement. They can help you find the right form and dose of magnesium and let you know how to take it safely. Your doctor will also check for any side effects or risks and monitor your magnesium levels to make sure the supplement is working without causing problems.

Talk to Your Healthcare Provider About Magnesium and Diabetes

If you’re wondering whether your magnesium levels may be linked to your diabetes care plan or your risk for diabetes, talk to your doctor. They can order tests to check your magnesium levels.

Once you know your magnesium levels, your healthcare team can help you understand what they mean. Your doctor will compare your magnesium levels to what’s considered healthy. Based on that, they can tell you whether you’re magnesium deficient, if you have enough magnesium, or if you have too much.

With this information, you and your doctor can decide what to do next. If your levels are low, your doctor may suggest trying to raise them through food first. If needed, they might recommend a magnesium supplement. Your doctor will also let you know when to come back to check your magnesium levels and diabetes markers again.

Talk With Others Who Understand

On DiabetesTeam, the social network for people with diabetes and their loved ones, members come together to ask questions, give advice, and share their stories with others who understand life with diabetes.

Have you tried magnesium for diabetes? How did it change your symptoms? Share your experience in the comments below, or start a conversation by posting on your Activities page.