Doctors' Notes: Magnesium
What's Up Docs?
BBC
4.4 • 663 Ratings
🗓️ 9 September 2025
⏱️ 20 minutes
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Summary
Chris and Xand continue their conversation with Professor Stella Volpe, head of the department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the United States.
They talk to Stella about her work as a sports nutritionist, specialising in diabetes and obesity, about whether athletes need to think about magnesium differently, and the relationship between magnesium and diabetes.
If you’d like to share your thoughts on this or any other topic covered on the podcast, you email us at whatsupdocs@bbc.co.uk or Whatsapp on 08000 665 123.
Presenters: Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken Guest: Professor Stella Volpe. Producer: Jo Rowntree and Emily Bird Executive Producer: Rami Tzabar Editor: Kirsten Lass Assistant Producer: Maia Miller-Lewis Researcher: Grace Revill Tech Lead: Reuben Huxtable Social Media: Leon Gower Digital Lead: Richard Berry Composer: Phoebe McFarlane Sound Design: Melvin Rickarby
At the BBC: Assistant Commissioner: Greg Smith Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | It's like going into an ice bath with your hands as the ice. In 2025, we were here for the entertainment. Ellis and John. Have you not considered just coffee, which is what I do? Sightract with Annie and Nick. Stevie Wonder, welcome. I bless you. Loyal Carnery is with us. I want to hear all about Glastonbury. And Celebrity Traitors Uncloaked. Welcome to Uncloaked, Alan. Oh, thanks for having me, Ed. |
| 0:24.5 | The winner. is with us. I want to hear all about Glastonbury. And Celebrity Traitors Uncloaked. |
| 0:21.1 | Welcome to Uncloaked, Ireland. |
| 0:22.8 | Oh, thanks for having me, Ed. |
| 0:24.5 | The winner. |
| 0:25.2 | I know, still hasn't sung in. |
| 0:26.8 | Get the best of 2025 with podcasts on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:33.5 | BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:39.6 | Hello and welcome to Doctor's Notes with me, Dr. Zand. |
| 0:43.6 | And me, Dr. Chris. |
| 0:44.7 | Now, we've just been talking about magnesium on the main episode of What's Up Docs. |
| 0:49.6 | Our fantastic professor of nutrition and exercise from Virginia Tech Stella Volpe has agreed to stay with us. |
| 0:56.1 | Chris, I think we should say she's currently in Nottingham. She's preparing for a hockey game |
| 1:01.4 | against an English team. She did not pronounce Nottingham correctly, but we should give her credit |
| 1:06.7 | that actually, not under pressure, she pronounced Nottingham perfectly. |
| 1:12.7 | But what she did do in the main episode was she shifted concerns about magnesium deficiency |
| 1:19.4 | and the need for magnesium supplementation toward that pile of stuff that most of us really |
| 1:27.2 | do not need to worry about or spend our money on. |
| 1:29.8 | I thought it was great. It was classic WhatsApp docs where she took a thing that has been kind of |
| 1:34.4 | hyped and talked about. And I think you and I when we were reading about magnesium for the show, |
| 1:39.6 | we're beginning to think, maybe we should take a supplement, maybe we should get a blood test. |
| 1:43.3 | And she kind of went, |
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