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Dr. Berg’s Healthy Keto and Intermittent Fasting Podcast

Why Magnesium Isn’t Working for You (It’s NOT the Magnesium)

Dr. Berg’s Healthy Keto and Intermittent Fasting Podcast

Dr. Eric Berg

Health & Fitness

4.71.7K Ratings

🗓️ 5 February 2026

⏱️ 11 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Is your magnesium not working, even though you’re taking it daily? Discover why magnesium is not working, how to choose the best type of magnesium, improve magnesium absorption, and avoid common magnesium supplement mistakes in this video.



If you’re taking magnesium for sleep and other benefits, yet you’re still dealing with insomnia, fatigue, high blood pressure, heart palpitations, leg cramps, anxiety, and more, this is for you.



Magnesium is one of the most important minerals in the body. It’s involved in over 300 biochemical reactions and is vital for the following:


• Heart rhythm

• Healthy blood pressure levels

• Sleep

• Energy

• Insulin

• Nerve function

• Mitochondrial function


Here are 8 common mistakes people make with magnesium, which could be the reason why your magnesium supplements are not working!


1. Thinking magnesium works by itself

Magnesium and vitamin D are codependent. You need 4,000 to 10,000 IUs of vitamin D for magnesium to work properly in the body. If you don’t have enough vitamin B6, potassium, or sodium, it may seem that your magnesium is not working.


2. Ignoring cell membrane damage

Many people have damaged cell membranes due to the consumption of seed oils. You need healthy cell membranes for magnesium absorption.


3. Stress

Stress shuts down digestion, lowers immunity, decreases blood flow to certain organs, and increases the demand for magnesium. Caffeine can also deplete magnesium.


4. Taking the wrong type of magnesium

Magnesium oxide is the most common form of magnesium in supplements, but it’s the worst! Magnesium glycinate is a much better option and is the most absorbable.


5. Blocking magnesium absorption without knowing

Too much calcium can block the absorption of magnesium. Zinc, fluoride, and aluminum can inhibit its function. Low stomach acid, antacids, and acid blockers can also interfere with magnesium absorption.


6. Misunderstanding RDAs

RDAs do not represent a therapeutic dose. If you’re trying to correct a magnesium deficiency, you need significantly more magnesium than the RDA. If you want to increase your magnesium intake, spread your doses throughout the day, as you can only absorb around 300 to 400 mg at once.


7. Unrealistic expectations

Vitamins and minerals do not work like drugs. It can sometimes take a while to restore healthy biochemistry in the body.


8. Missing the insulin connection

Insulin resistance can block magnesium absorption, and consequently, a magnesium deficiency can increase your risk of insulin resistance.


Dr. Eric Berg DC Bio:

Dr. Berg, age 60, 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

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Let's talk about why magnesium might not be working for you. So many people take magnesium,

0:05.4

but they actually are not even feeling the effects of that magnesium. They still do with insomnia.

0:10.4

They still deal with fatigue, high blood pressure, heart palpitations, leg cramps, anxiety.

0:16.7

Today we're going to talk about eight magnesium mistakes that are super important that don't necessarily

0:22.4

directly involve magnesium, but they involve things around magnesium. It's the system around it.

0:29.0

Because if you don't really understand this, you could be taking it for years and not see the results.

0:33.7

Magnesium is, hands down, one of the most important minerals for the entire body. It's involved

0:38.7

in over 300 different biochemical reactions. It helps you control heart rhythm, blood pressure,

0:45.6

sleep, energy, insulin that helps you control blood sugar. Magnesium is vital for nerve function,

0:52.2

mitochondria, especially in the making of ATP.

0:55.6

So let's start where the mistakes begin.

0:57.6

Number one, thinking magnesium works by itself.

1:02.1

All you need to do is just take magnesium in it will work.

1:05.0

Not true.

1:06.2

The most important helper cofactor is vitamin D.

1:10.0

And also on the flip side, in order for vitamin D to work,

1:13.6

you also need magnesium. They both are dependent on each other. And I'm not talking about just the

1:19.7

regular amount of vitamin D that people recommend like 600 I use. You need at least 4,000, 5,000,

1:32.2

10,000 I use of vitamin D3 to have sufficient amounts for magnesium to work.

1:37.3

And that brings us to another point. So many people are deficient vitamin D. They don't even know it.

1:46.3

And that could be the reason why they're expressing magnesium deficiency symptoms, not only because they're missing magnesium, but they're also missing vitamin D3. But it doesn't just stop there. Vitamin B6 is also necessary for magnesium to get

1:53.7

into your cells. You also need another mineral called potassium for magnesium to work. And out of all the minerals that you need,

...

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