Should you take magnesium supplements?

What's Up Docs?

BBC

Nature, Science, Health & Fitness

4.4 • 663 Ratings

🗓️ 9 September 2025

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken cut through the confusion around health and wellbeing.

In this episode, the Doctors turn their attention to the mineral of the moment - magnesium. Hyped up on social media, Chris and Xand want to dig into the different roles magnesium plays in regulating the human body, what happens when we’re deficient in magnesium, and whether we should be supplementing magnesium.

To find out, Chris and Xand sit down with Professor Stella Volpe. Stella is the Head of the department of Nutrition, Food and Exercise at Virginia Tech in the US. Stella specialises in prevention of diabetes and obesity, as well as sports nutrition. Her research has included studies of the role of magnesium in the body.

If you want to get in touch, you can email us at whatsupdocs@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us 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.
0:33.3	BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.
0:38.8	Chris, it's lovely to see you.
0:39.7	What have you got for me?
0:45.3	I had a lovely thing yesterday, actually, in the hospital, where I turned up and the administrative team seemed to have forgotten an instruction that I had clearly sent on email.
0:51.8	And so a lot of things had been booked into a morning where I had another big thing to do.
0:57.5	So some colleagues had to really pick up the slack. I went back. I found the email where I had sent
1:03.6	it because obviously my first thought is maybe this is my fault. That's my first thought. It's like obviously
1:07.6	this is your fault. The admin team are professional administrators. Where you are famously not. We don't need to get into that. So anyway, I found the original email
1:15.8	and sent this to the admin team sort of copying everyone. You can imagine the word. Totally understand
1:21.7	these things happen. Apologies to my colleagues who picked up the slack and just want to make sure
1:26.0	it doesn't happen again. And then put a nice little line going out. I hope this doesn't seem passive
1:30.4	aggressive. It was like a grown up, nice response, just letting everyone know. Part of my
1:37.1	copying everyone in was to go, this isn't my fault. And I'd found the email. Yeah. Yeah.
1:48.9	So, I mean, I tell you what, the administrator who responded could have sent a very strong email.
1:50.6	They sent the very nicest email back.
	...

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