Are Magnesium and Milk Safe to Take Together?

Can You Take Magnesium With Milk?

Can You Take Magnesium With Milk?
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Updated on August 7, 2025
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Magnesium and calcium work together to keep you healthy. However, they can cause negative health effects when they are too far out of balance.

Because milk contains calcium, people may wonder whether it's safe to take them together.

About Magnesium

Magnesium is an essential mineral responsible for a variety of processes in your body, including muscle and nerve function, blood glucose control, and blood pressure regulation. It naturally occurs in many foods and is also available in dietary supplements.

Many people in the United States get less than the recommended amount of magnesium. Although uncommon, magnesium deficiency can lead to symptoms like loss of appetite, nausea, and fatigue.

People with certain conditions, including type 2 diabetes, alcohol dependence, and gastrointestinal disease, have a higher risk of a magnesium deficiency.

Magnesium and Milk

Taking magnesium with milk may be safe for most healthy people.

Magnesium and calcium have a complex relationship in the body. When they are out of balance, it can disrupt the function of calcium and affect absorption of one or both minerals. A high intake of calcium relative to magnesium may increase your risk of several health conditions, including cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancer.

Although milk contains some magnesium, it is also high in calcium. This may raise concerns about whether you should take them together.

However, since many people already get less than the recommended amount of magnesium, taking magnesium together with milk may actually improve your magnesium to calcium ratio.

Daily Requirements and Food Sources

Many widely available foods are good sources of magnesium. It is also added to some fortified foods, like breakfast cereals.

The National Institutes of Health recommends the following daily magnesium intake for adults:

AgeMenWomen
19–30 years400mg310 mg
31–50 years420mg320mg
51+ years420 mg320 mg

For people who are pregnant, the recommended magnesium intake is 350 to 360 mg per day.

Foods rich in magnesium include:

  • Leafy green vegetables, like spinach
  • Legumes, like peanuts and beans
  • Nuts and seeds, like pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, and almonds
  • Whole grains, like rice and oats
  • Milk

When Should You Consume Magnesium?

Magnesium has a variety of health benefits, including aiding with sleep and improving muscle recovery and performance with exercise.

Although you can get all the magnesium you need from the food you eat, a magnesium supplement may help if your levels are low.

The best time to take magnesium depends on how you use it.

Taking magnesium before exercise may reduce muscle soreness.

 Taking it before bed may help improve your sleep.

The Takeaway

  • Magnesium is an essential mineral necessary for a variety of functions in your body.
  • Taking magnesium with milk may be safe for most healthy people.
  • You can get all the magnesium you need from the food you eat. Foods high in magnesium include leafy vegetables, legumes, nuts, and seeds.
  • Although uncommon, a high ratio of calcium to magnesium increases your risk of several health conditions, like cardiovascular disease and cancer.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Magnesium: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. National Institutes of Health. June 2, 2022.
  2. Costello RB et al. Perspective: Characterization of Dietary Supplements Containing Calcium and Magnesium and Their Respective Ratio—Is a Rising Ratio a Cause for Concern? Advances in Nutrition. November 16, 2020.
  3. Milk, whole, 3.25% milkfat, with added vitamin D. U.S. Department of Agriculture FoodData Central. December 16, 2019.
  4. What Can Magnesium Do for Your Body? Cleveland Clinic. March 27, 2025.
  5. Grazia Tarsitano M et al. Effects of magnesium supplementation on muscle soreness in different type of physical activities: a systematic review. Journal of Translation Medicine. July 5, 2024.
  6. Zhang Y. Association of magnesium intake with sleep duration and sleep quality: findings from the CARDIA study. Sleep. November 20, 2021.
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Justin Laube, MD

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Justin Laube, MD, is a board-certified integrative and internal medicine physician, a teacher, and a consultant with extensive expertise in integrative health, medical education, and trauma healing.

He graduated with a bachelor's in biology from the University of Wisconsin and a medical degree from the University of Minnesota Medical School. During medical school, he completed a graduate certificate in integrative therapies and healing practices through the Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing. He completed his three-year residency training in internal medicine at the University of California in Los Angeles on the primary care track and a two-year fellowship in integrative East-West primary care at the UCLA Health Center for East-West Medicine.

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