Magnesium and Sugar

I recently saw a short tiktok video stating that every molecule of sugar our body has to deal with uses up 10 molecules of magnesium.

I'd never heard about this connection so thought I'd look into it.

It seems that there is definitely some evidence on magnesium levels playing a role in blood sugar stabilisation. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27530471/

This meta-analysis looked at studies that had measured blood sugar levels and magnesium levels and found correlation and also at studies that had gone on to supplement with magnesium and see the effect on the blood sugar levels. - in anyone who was even marginally deficient in magnesium, supplementation helped to stabilise blood sugar, suggesting that this should be a consideration in anyone who has difficulty with blood sugar stability. It is certainly something I will be adding into my thought processes.

Biochemically it is unsurprising that magnesium would play a role in this process. Magnesium is a crucial element in our bodies and is used in over 300 enzymatic processes and cell receptor activations. In terms of glucose this includes (but isn't limited to) the release of insulin from our pancreas, the activation of insulin receptors on our cells to 'open the door' for glucose to get into the cells, and the creation of GLUT4 the carrier protein taking glucose into the cells when the insulin receptor gates open. In fact in terms of glucose in our blood stream Magnesium seems to be involved via 10 different processes in getting that glucose out of the blood stream to where it is needed. I couldn't comment on whether each process uses exactly 1 molecule of magnesium (or more scienctifically 1 Mg+ ion) but I guess this is where the tiktokker got their 10:1 number from.