Should magnesium and vitamin D be taken together?
Answer
They can be taken together and no timing claim exists for either. Vitamin D is fat soluble, so taking it with a meal containing fat is the one practical point.
Key takeaways
- Do they interact?
- No problematic interaction at ordinary intakes. Magnesium is involved in vitamin D metabolism, which is a reason they pair sensibly rather than a timing rule.
- Does timing matter?
- For vitamin D, taking it with a meal containing fat helps absorption. For magnesium, no timing claim exists.
- Who needs vitamin D?
- UK advice is that everyone should consider a supplement between October and March, because sunlight is insufficient at these latitudes.
Why they get paired
Magnesium is involved in the enzymatic steps that convert vitamin D into its active form, which is a genuine biochemical relationship and the reason the two are frequently sold together.
It is not a timing rule and it does not mean one fails without the other at ordinary intakes. It means both are worth having adequately, which is the same thing that is true of most nutrients.
The one practical timing point
Vitamin D is fat soluble, so taking it with a meal containing some fat aids absorption. That is a real and small effect and it is the only timing consideration on this page.
Magnesium has no timing claim at all. Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate is 300mg of elemental magnesium per two capsule serving at 22p a day, taken at whatever consistent point gets remembered, which for most players is breakfast.
The vitamin D case, which is unusually clear
UK government advice is that everyone should consider a vitamin D supplement between October and March, because sunlight at UK latitudes is not sufficient for skin synthesis through those months. That is one of very few blanket supplement recommendations in UK public health advice.
It applies to a rugby player training outdoors in January exactly as it applies to anyone else, because training in winter daylight is not sun exposure in the relevant sense. Futuro Labs does not make a vitamin D product and no other supplement brand is named on this site.
The full version
- What does IU mean on a supplement label?The conversions, the UK figures and the upper level.
- Do rugby players need a calcium supplement?Where vitamin D fits in the bone system.
The product
Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate
Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate is the 300mg elemental one at 22p a day, a two capsule serving covering 80 percent of the 375mg reference value, UK made and independently lab tested for purity.
- 300mg elemental magnesium, 80% NRV
- Bisglycinate, best tolerated common form
- UK made to GMP, lab tested for purity
- Not batch certified for sport
Sharper Rugby is published by Futuro Labs. If you buy through this link Futuro Labs earns from the sale. Prices are set by Amazon.
Questions players ask
Can they be taken together?
Yes. No problematic interaction at ordinary intakes.
Does vitamin D need food?
It is fat soluble, so a meal containing some fat aids absorption.
When should vitamin D be taken?
UK advice is to consider a supplement between October and March.