The #1 Magnesium Mistake Everyone Makes
Dr. Berg’s Healthy Keto and Intermittent Fasting Podcast
Dr. Eric Berg
4.7 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 6 May 2026
⏱️ 15 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
If you’re taking magnesium for sleep or muscle cramps and notice it’s not working, you could be making one of these common magnesium mistakes. Learn how to take magnesium correctly for the most magnesium benefits. Your health will thank you.
0:00 Introduction: Magnesium mistakes
0:14 Magnesium dosage
1:03 Magnesium RDA explained
3:29 Magnesium types explained
4:58 The best magnesium supplement
7:04 Magnesium deficiency symptoms
14:01 Correcting magnesium deficiency and magnesium benefits
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The average recommended dose of magnesium is 350–420 mg, but this was never meant to optimize brain and nervous system function. It’s the bare minimum to prevent deficiency, not support optimal health.
The form of magnesium matters. Many supplements use magnesium oxide, which has very low absorption and can limit results.
Magnesium glycinate is one of the best forms, with high absorption and better tolerance for the digestive system.
Only about 1% of magnesium is found in the blood, making deficiency difficult to detect with standard blood tests. An RBC magnesium test is slightly better, but still not fully accurate.
To support healthy magnesium levels, take 300–400 mg of magnesium glycinate a few times per day. This can help support blood pressure, reduce palpitations, and improve sleep.
Dr. Eric Berg DC Bio:
Dr. Berg, age 61, is a chiropractor who specializes in Healthy Ketosis & Intermittent Fasting. He is the Director of Dr. Berg Nutritionals and author of the best-selling book The Healthy Keto Plan. He no longer practices, but focuses on health education through social media.
Disclaimer:
Dr. Eric Berg received his Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Palmer College of Chiropractic in 1988. His use of “doctor” or “Dr.” in relation to himself solely refers to that degree. Dr. Berg is a licensed chiropractor in Virginia, California, and Louisiana, but he no longer practices chiropractic in any state and does not see patients, so he can focus on educating people as a full-time activity, yet he maintains an active license. This video is for general informational purposes only. It should not be used to self-diagnose, and it is not a substitute for a medical exam, cure, treatment, diagnosis, prescription, or recommendation. It does not create a doctor-patient relationship between Dr. Berg and you. You should not make any change in your health regimen or diet before first consulting a physician and obtaining a medical exam, diagnosis, and recommendation. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | the number one magnesium mistake that nearly everyone makes. |
| 0:04.1 | If you're taking magnesium to fix your sleep or your anxiety or a muscle tension, |
| 0:08.3 | like a muscle cramp and it's not working, you might be unknowingly making a massive mistake. |
| 0:14.1 | Look at the back of your magnesium supplement bottle. |
| 0:17.3 | You will notice that the average dosage is between 350 to 420 milligrams per dose. |
| 0:26.6 | Here's what they never tell you. |
| 0:27.9 | That number was never designed to optimize the amount of magnesium you really need for your brain, |
| 0:35.7 | for your nervous system. |
| 0:37.0 | That number was calculated to give you the |
| 0:38.9 | survival threshold to prevent serious deficiency diseases like seizures. That's it, just the bare minimum. |
| 0:48.3 | And when you take the bare minimum amount, which is directed on the back of the label, |
| 0:51.8 | and you're expecting certain results and you don't |
| 0:55.0 | get the results don't be surprised because that amount was never designed to create a therapeutic |
| 1:02.5 | effect and this all boils down to one misunderstanding on what RDA really means. Here's the definition of RDA. Check this out. The RDA is the average |
| 1:14.1 | daily level of intake sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of healthy individuals. |
| 1:20.9 | The RDA numbers were designed for people that were already healthy that don't have muscle cramps or high blood |
| 1:30.3 | pressure. If you have serious muscle cramps, insomnia, anxiety, the demand and requirement for |
| 1:36.8 | magnesium goes higher. And on top of that, if you drink coffee with caffeine, if you're |
| 1:42.7 | eating some sugar, if you're taking in an acid, |
| 1:45.6 | the demand for magnesium is higher. |
| 1:47.9 | The RDA assumes that you are a healthy person eating a healthy diet. |
| 1:53.7 | And personally, it's rare to find people out there that are healthy that are eating a healthy |
... |
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