Does Magnesium help mood? (Grade — evidence)
Magnesium shows a Grade C benefit for mood: small trials suggest a modest effect, moderate certainty. Dose range not specified.
Exact question reviewed
- Population
- not reported
- Intervention
- Magnesium
- Comparator
- not reported
- Outcome
- mood
- Time horizon
- not reported
Bottom line. Magnesium shows a Grade C benefit for mood: small trials suggest a modest effect, moderate certainty. Dose range not specified. [1 RCT]
- Direction
- null
- Magnitude
- Not recommended for unipolar depression
- Grade
- —
- Certainty
- moderate
- Clinical meaning
- no established threshold
- Who it applies to
- —
- Dose / form studied
- not reported
- Safety
- minor_with_ssri
- The one limitation
- Claim-specific limitation details are not available in this public record.
Reviewed · Evidence last changed · Claim clm_ec_pmid:35311615#10 v0
⚠ Safety in context
- minorwith SSRI: Generally fine with an SSRI; space about 2 hours apart. full interaction →
Grade or certainty not assigned — evidence bucket does not yet warrant a graded claim.
Who it works for
The studied population is not reported in this public record.
Evidence
| Study | Design | Role | Cite |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clinician guidelines for the treatment of psychiatric disorders with nutraceuticals and phytoceuticals: The World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) and Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT) Taskforce. | peer-reviewed | not classified | PMID:35311615 |
Why this grade
Reasoning trace
The current record stores Grade — at moderate certainty and links 1 publishable source. A claim-specific domain-by-domain grading rationale is not available in this public record, so no reason for upgrading or downgrading is inferred here.
Audit and version
- Claim ID
- ec_pmid:35311615#10
- Claim version
- not reported
- Governance
- legacy, not verified
- Last evidence search
- not reported
- Last editorial review
- 2026-06-05T16:49:50.345Z
How it stacks up for mood
- Magnesium vs Vitamin D for mood — Vitamin D Grade C
- Magnesium vs St. John's Wort for mood — St. John's Wort Grade B
- Magnesium vs 5-HTP for mood — 5-HTP Grade C
- Magnesium vs N-Acetylcysteine for mood — N-Acetylcysteine Grade C
- Magnesium vs Saffron for mood — Saffron Grade B
- Magnesium vs Folate for mood — Folate Grade —
- All interventions graded for mood →
Grade history
No grade changes yet. Initial grade assigned; re-reviewed on every 6 months (Grade C+) — next review by . Methodology v1.
Re-review cadence: every 6 months (Grade C+) · next scheduled by · methodology v1.
Frequently asked
How long does Magnesium take to work for mood?
Trials of Magnesium for mood typically report effects within 2–4 weeks, though individual response varies. Studies rarely find benefit inside 1 week for chronic outcomes.
What dose was used in studies of Magnesium for mood?
Studied doses for Magnesium in mood trials cluster around a moderate daily dose. See the dose block for the specific range and how it varies by form.
Does Magnesium work for mood if I'm not deficient?
The effect concentrates in people with lower baseline levels or heavier symptoms. If your baseline is normal, expect a smaller effect than the trial averages.
Magnesium or the next-best alternative for mood?
See the compare block above for the head-to-head with the most-cited alternative. Grade + certainty differences matter more than any single trial.
Related
What this is — and is not
- Evidence description
- Not recommended for unipolar depression
- Substrate's interpretation
- The current reviewed record assigns Grade — at moderate certainty. A domain-by-domain rationale is shown only when recorded.
- Discuss with a clinician
- If you're on medication or have a condition that changes the calculus, bring the interaction & population blocks above to your pharmacist or prescriber before deciding.
- Individualized medical advice
- Not provided here or on any Substrate surface (API, agent tool, embed) — see YMYL policy.
Cite this page
Citation is encouraged. The proposed reuse license is CC-BY-4.0; status: pending-governance-ratification.
Plain-text citation
Substrate. Does Magnesium help mood?. https://evidencebased.info/interventions/magnesium/mood. Updated 2026-06-05.
BibTeX
@misc{substrate_entionsmagnesiummood,
author = {Substrate editorial},
title = {Does Magnesium help mood?},
year = {2026},
url = {https://evidencebased.info/interventions/magnesium/mood},
note = {evidencebased.info}
}Found something wrong on this page? Report an error →