Vitamin B12 and magnesium are two nutrients essential for good health. Vitamin B12, or cobalamin, is a vitamin that has many important roles, including producing healthy red blood cells and promoting brain health. Magnesium is a multifunctional mineral that is important for the nervous system, bones, and blood pressure.
Although some people get enough vitamin B12 and magnesium through their diet, deficiencies are relatively common. In these cases, it may make sense to take both supplements to help manage your levels.
Most people can safely take vitamin B12 and magnesium together. The supplements do not seem to have any negative effects on each other. And although they don’t seem to work together directly, they can have positive effects on some of the same systems in the body, such as the heart and brain.
Here’s everything you need to know before taking vitamin B12 and magnesium together.
Vitamin B12 is one of a large group of B vitamins and is involved in the synthesis of DNA and various proteins. It also plays an important role in the nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord, and nerves. For example, vitamin B12 is needed to form a protective barrier around nerves.
Vitamin B12 is also key to helping synthesize healthy red blood cells, which carry oxygen throughout the body. Vitamins are also involved in the process of extracting energy from food.
By maintaining adequate levels, you can avoid vitamin B12 deficiency. In severe cases, vitamin B12 deficiency can cause neurological problems leading to symptoms such as decreased touch sensation, tingling in the feet (peripheral neuropathy), balance problems, cognitive impairment, and psychosis. Although rare, severe deficiencies can also cause symptoms related to anemia (not having enough healthy red blood cells), such as fatigue.
Researchers are also studying the relationship between low vitamin B12 levels and the risk of diseases such as osteoporosis, heart attack, stroke, and cancer. Further research will be needed to definitively determine whether these relationships exist and whether maintaining adequate levels of vitamin B12 can avoid increased health risks.
Magnesium is involved in hundreds of chemical reactions in the body, and the mineral is essential for DNA and protein synthesis. Magnesium is also important for signal transmission in nerves and muscles, including the heart.
Getting enough magnesium can help prevent magnesium deficiency. In severe cases, magnesium deficiency can cause problems such as depression, fatigue, and muscle weakness. In very severe cases, deficiency can cause seizures and even life-threatening abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmia).
Magnesium’s role in various health conditions is less clear than other minerals. For example, research is inconclusive as to whether magnesium helps lower blood pressure in people with high blood pressure (hypertension). Magnesium deficiency is also common in diabetics, but it is unclear whether supplementing with magnesium will lower blood sugar levels.
Scientists are also studying whether magnesium can help conditions such as osteoporosis, insomnia, migraines, asthma, and epilepsy, but so far the conclusions are inconclusive.
Vitamin B12 and magnesium are both important, and it’s important to get enough of both in your diet. If that’s not possible, your health care provider may recommend taking both vitamin B12 and magnesium supplements to increase or maintain your levels and prevent deficiencies.
Generally, people who are deficient in one vitamin or mineral are more likely to be deficient in others. For example, older adults may be at higher risk for both deficiencies. People with certain medical conditions, such as small intestine problems that make it difficult to absorb vitamins and minerals properly, may also be at increased risk of nutritional deficiencies.
Studies regarding the effects of specific combinations of supplements have not yet been conducted. However, based on the fact that the nutrients can affect the same system, if both nutrients are deficient, taking the two supplements together will result in a greater may have an impact.
For example, taking vitamin B12 and magnesium together may reduce fatigue than taking either one alone. Getting enough vitamin B12 and magnesium can have a positive effect on your heart and cardiovascular system. Getting enough of both is also important for optimal functioning of the brain and nervous system.
Both vitamin B12 and magnesium are usually taken as tablets. Other options such as powder and liquid are also available. If a B12 deficiency is diagnosed and prescribed, your healthcare provider may recommend a series of vitamin B12 injections.
Magnesium is available in many forms, including magnesium citrate, magnesium oxide, and magnesium chloride. Vitamin B12 is also sold in various forms that include “cobalamin” as part of the name, such as cyanocobalamin.
You can take vitamin B12 and magnesium together or at different times of the day. You may want to take magnesium after meals to reduce the risk of stomach upset.
If you want to get two nutrients in one product, you can do that. However, combination supplement products often contain other B group vitamins such as B6 and folic acid. This is because these different B vitamins interact with each other. Magnesium and B12 are also often included as part of multivitamins, but usually in much lower doses.
How quickly you see results depends on how low your level was. For example, if you take vitamin B12 for severe vitamin B12 deficiency, you should notice an improvement in your symptoms fairly quickly. However, some neurological damage caused by severe deficiency may not fully recover.
Dose
The amount of vitamin B12 and magnesium supplements you take depends on your age, medical condition, and current levels. Blood tests can detect severe deficiencies of vitamin B12 and magnesium, but are not as good at detecting mild deficiencies.
Dosage also depends on how much of each nutrient you get through your diet.
The adequate intake of vitamin B12 for people over the age of 14, including dietary sources and supplements, is considered to be 2.4 micrograms (mcg) per day. During pregnancy, the appropriate intake is a bit higher (2.6 mcg).
If you look at the amounts in the supplement, you’ll likely notice much higher doses, in the 500-3,000 mcg range. Talk to your health care professional about how much to take and for how long.
For magnesium, the recommended dietary intake is 400 milligrams (mg) for men ages 19 to 30 and 310 mg for women in the same age group. For people over the age of 31, the recommended daily amount of magnesium is 420 mg for men and 320 mg for women. Many commercially available supplements contain approximately 250 to 300 mg of magnesium.
For most people, it is safe to take both vitamin B12 and magnesium. However, dosage must be considered, especially when it comes to magnesium. People with certain medical conditions, such as severe kidney disease or Addison’s disease, may also need to avoid magnesium supplements.
Potential drug interactions
As far as is known, vitamin B12 and magnesium do not interact directly. Taking one does not affect the amount or potency of the other.
There are no known interactions between vitamin B12 supplements and drugs. However, medications and supplements can interact with the vitamin B12 you get from your diet. Certain medications, such as the diabetes drug metformin (Glumezza), can make it difficult to absorb vitamin B12 from your diet. Certain supplements may also interact with dietary vitamin B12. This includes vitamin C, which can destroy B12 in your diet.
Magnesium can interact with medications and supplements. In some cases, magnesium can make medicines less effective or increase the risk of side effects. Also, certain medications can make it harder for your body to absorb magnesium.
Important drug interactions for magnesium include:
- Antacids containing magnesium, such as Maalox
- Certain antibiotics (such as Sumicin (tetracycline chloride), Garamycin (gentamicin), Cipro (ciprofloxacin))
- Osteoporosis medications, such as bisphosphonates such as Fosamax (alendronate)
- Some high blood pressure drugs, such as calcium channel blockers such as Norvasc (amlodipine)
- Lithium for bipolar disorder
- high doses of vitamin D or calcium
You may be able to take these medications or supplements, but it is best to discuss possible interactions with your health care provider.
what to look for
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration doesn’t regulate over-the-counter supplements in the same way as medicines, so it can be a little difficult to be sure you’re getting a quality product.
Ideally, check to see if the product you’re using has some sort of third-party validation. You may notice the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) or United States Pharmacopeia (USP) labels.
Your health care provider or pharmacist may recommend certain products or brands.
Is it possible to take too much vitamin B12 or magnesium?
The scientific consensus is that it is probably impossible to take too much vitamin B12. It is safe and if you have excess vitamin B12, your body can remove it through urine.
You may have too much magnesium. Taking too much magnesium can cause severe symptoms of magnesium toxicity, especially at very high doses (5,000 mg or more per day). Magnesium toxicity can cause muscle weakness, difficulty breathing, low blood pressure, vomiting, and even problems with the heart’s electrical rhythm.
If you take magnesium supplements, check your dosage. Government officials recommend no more than 350 mg per day in supplements, but the amount in food may be a bit higher. People with certain medical conditions, such as kidney disease, also need to be more careful.
Scientists have not studied whether taking vitamin B12 and magnesium together can cause additional side effects.
Many people do not notice any side effects from taking vitamin B12. However, if you take large amounts over a long period of time, you are more likely to experience side effects. At least one report notes possible side effects from high doses, including insomnia, headaches, and heart palpitations.
In high doses, magnesium can cause toxicity. However, even at more appropriate doses, magnesium can cause symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea, and an upset stomach.
Vitamin B12 and magnesium are both essential for many processes in the body. If you don’t get enough of both through your diet, your health care provider may recommend taking supplements of each.
It is probably safe to take vitamin B12 and magnesium together. There doesn’t seem to be any interaction between the two. Taking both supplements and restoring your nutrient levels may help improve heart and brain function, as well as fatigue levels.
Most people can take the two supplements together, but you should check with your health care provider about dosage and how either supplement might interact with any medications you’re taking or other supplements.