Not Taking These Two Minerals Together? You May Be Missing Out On Benefits

Zinc and magnesium are two essential minerals—essential meaning that you have to meet your needs daily by consuming them (i.e., food and supplements) since your body can’t make them itself. 

While zinc and magnesium are both equally important, there’s a misconception that you shouldn’t take the two together. However, when taken at the correct dosages, it can actually be beneficial to get them both down at once.

The mineral also plays a huge role in your immune function.* It’s vital for the production of immune cells, like neutrophils, macrophages, B-cells, and T-cells, and ensures your innate immune system—your body’s first line of defense—is functioning as it should.*

Yet around one in six people are falling short of their needs. "Considering food sources alone, 15% of U.S. adults are not getting enough zinc. Because this statistic comes from nationally representative data, that means that approximately 50 million Americans have an unaddressed zinc gap," says mbg vice president of scientific affairs Ashley Jordan Ferira, Ph.D., R.D. A high-quality supplement with meaningful amounts of zinc can help close this gap. 

Magnesium is involved in more than 600 chemical reactions in the body. And like zinc, it’s absolutely critical for optimal health.

"The ability of our nerves to transmit signals throughout our entire central nervous system (brain, spinal cord, etc.) is dependent on magnesium. The metabolism of carbohydrates and fats for ATP energy requires magnesium. The regulation of blood pressure and heart rate directly involves magnesium. This mineral is even required for the production of DNA, RNA, and proteins. Talk about ubiquitously important,"* says Ferira.

Magnesium also promotes healthy sleep: The mineral helps regulate your circadian rhythm and plays a role in producing gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a neurotransmitter that modulates the sympathetic nervous system and promotes relaxation.* "As an agonist of GABA pathways, magnesium is thought to directly and positively impact relaxation and sleep architecture,"* explains Ferira.

While 15% of Americans are falling short of their zinc needs, even more than that are missing the mark on their magnesium intake. It’s estimated that a shocking 43% of U.S. adults are failing to meet their daily magnesium needs through diet alone. 

This is due to a variety of factors, like fewer nutrients in our crops, a higher intake of processed foods that are stripped of nutrients, and other health factors that interfere with magnesium absorption. A deficit in magnesium intake becomes even more common as you get older. This is where a magnesium supplement can come in handy.

All nutrients interact with each other in some way. They can work together, boosting and enhancing absorption, or sometimes work against each other, competing for absorption.

Zinc and magnesium are synergistic minerals that work together when taken at the right dosages. “These minerals are often combined because of their overlapping benefits,” says board-certified cardiologist Vimal Ramjee, M.D. “You may see them frequently combined in a ‘ZMA’ supplement—zinc, magnesium, B6 for this reason.”

If you suspect that you’re not meeting your needs for zinc or magnesium, a supplement that combines the two—or simply taking the supplements in the same day—can help you normalize your levels.*

When you’re taking zinc and magnesium together, it’s all about the dosages. The best supplement dosage for you depends on your individual needs—so make sure you’re discussing any new supplements with your own healthcare provider first—but there are some general guidelines.

While the two minerals work synergistically, research shows that taking too much zinc, or about 50 milligrams per day, can decrease the amount of magnesium you absorb and negatively affect magnesium balance. But that’s a hefty amount of zinc, exceeding the recommended upper limit of 40 milligrams per day.

For daily magnesium needs, the National Academies recommends that women consume 310 to 320 milligrams of magnesium each day, while men need 400 to 420 milligrams. Daily zinc needs are eight milligrams for women and 11 milligrams for men, respectively. The forms matter, too.

According to integrative physician Robert Rountree, M.D., magnesium becomes more bioavailable when it’s bound to certain organic compounds: "Magnesium absorbs water. So when you take straight-up magnesium, like magnesium oxide, it forms these clusters of water, and that basically hurries things along in the gut." While this form may help digestion and regularity, it doesn’t do as much to increase serum levels of magnesium.

To boost absorption and really get the most out of your supplement, you’ll want to opt for a chelated form. “[Chelated] simply means the magnesium is bound to an organic compound that basically helps ferry it across the lining of the gut," Rountree says. He recommends the gentle magnesium glycinate, and research agrees. A study that compared the different forms of magnesium found that magnesium glycinate has superior absorption versus inorganic magnesium oxide. Other forms like magnesium citrate, chloride, lactate, and aspartate are good and bioavailable options, too.

As for zinc? Ferira recommends (and takes) it in the chelated form of zinc bisglycinate, which she gets from mbg's immune support+ supplement. Research shows that this specific form of zinc is about 43% more bioavailable than another common form, zinc gluconate.* Zinc bisglycinate has also been shown to beat out other forms (e.g., zinc picolinate and oxide) when it comes to absorption and improving your zinc status in the body.*