Magnesium is easy to overlook. Yet it powers more than 300 chemical reactions in the body, from making energy to steadying the heartbeat. The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements says dietary surveys in ...

Magnesium helps power hundreds of processes in the body, from muscle movement to nerve signals and steady heartbeats. When intake runs low for long enough, some of those jobs can start to falter.

While true magnesium deficiency is rare—only 2% of healthy adults have it, per the Cleveland Clinic—as many as half of Americans aren’t getting enough of the mineral. That’s why, even if you are ...