Fatty Liver & Magnesium Supplements: Would They Help NAFLD?

In the past, I have only briefly mentioned supplements for those suffering from a fatty liver and I only wrote one dedicated article to the most popular one: Milk Thistle.

I also said in the previous article that I am usually against most supplements and some e-mails I have received recently made me start a series on supplements for fatty liver to clear things out.

Today we’re going to talk about Magnesium supplements for fatty liver / NAFLD. Many consider them useful in their quest to reverse their fatty liver and today we’ll see if that’s the case or not.

Talking about supplements in previous articles, I said that I am not a big fan of them and I still consider that a good diet, combined with increased physical activity is all that you need in order to reverse your fatty liver.

However, I was mostly talking about “miracle cures” and plant concoctions that have no proven positive effect over this condition.

I still don’t believe that there is such a miracle cure – and definitely there is none that is approved by the medical community (so be wary if you buy something like this and don’t expect much in return).

But I do understand that in some cases, taking dietary supplements – such as magnesium, which is a mineral that our body needs to function properly – is actually required and that sometimes it could actually help.

I am also sharing, towards the end of the article, the best magnesium supplements for you to take – so read on to learn everything about magnesium and fatty liver.

For starters, let’s see why taking magnesium supplements might actually be very helpful for those trying to reverse their fatty liver and why you might want to start taking some today.

1. Magnesium and fatty liver connections

Studies made in 1972 and 2006 found out that many of the people with NAFLD had low magnesium levels.

It wasn’t clear if this was just a coincidence, if the fatty liver itself caused the magnesium deficiency or it was this deficiency that played a role in getting the fatty liver, but the important thing is that people with NAFLD usually have low magnesium levels and dealing with that problem might improve the condition or stop it from becoming worse.

We also have research data from 2018 which found that “intake of magnesium was associated with approximately 30% reduced odds of fatty liver disease.”

If we are to look at other countries, for example, we can find out that Traditional Chinese Medicine considers magnesium to be linked with liver and gallbladder health and recent studies, like the one quoted above show that although magnesium doesn’t have a direct effect over the liver, the fact that it promotes a healthy weight does help.

2. Magnesium levels and stress

This is a theory of mine which seems to make a lot of sense. Take it with a pinch of salt since I have no medical background, but after a lot of research and studying my own reactions to this matter, this is the conclusion I have made.

Let’s go for the facts first (so this is not my take, these are results of actual studies and experts’ opinions): magnesium levels are highly connected with stress.

Stress seems to be one of the causes of a magnesium deficiency in our bodies and lower magnesium levels can increase stress reactions as well – so it’s like a loop that keeps getting worse if left untackled.

This is why many doctors recommend magnesium supplements to those who are under a lot of stress.

I personally experienced this and saw great improvements (I am highly anxious and am under a lot of stress) after taking magnesium supplements for 10 days each month.

And now my own thoughts on the matter: stress is extremely harmful for your entire body, having all sorts of side effects – long term and short term – that the medical world is still trying to figure out.

Since stress is something extremely generic and it’s not considered a real diagnosis, there are many debates surrounding this subject.

BUT it is clear to most people who have been under a lot of stress and have to deal with it on a daily basis that it exists and it is harmful.

I believe that stress and fatty liver go hand in hand. Not necessarily that one is the cause of the other, but that stress can have a negative impact on your liver, both directly and indirectly.

When I am extremely stressed, I have no control over my body and I am also a huge stress eater.

When I eat for comfort, I don’t eat healthy food, in return hurting my liver even more. This is an example of what I mean about indirect damage that stress causes to our liver.

Not to mention the fact that when you are under a lot of stress, it’s more difficult to stick to your diet and stay positive – and then depression can kick in and things get even worse… a snowball of bad things that gets bigger and bigger.

But there could be direct connections as well, with hormones harming our liver, with our liver trying to produce more enzymes to fight stress: as I said, since I am not a doctor, I can’t really give an educated opinion on this, but common sense and research prove that I might actually be right. It’s your decision to make if I am right or wrong.

So the bottom line would be that stress levels can be reduced by getting extra magnesium in your diet.

Even if stress is not directly connected to your fatty liver (which, as I said, I highly doubt – at least from the indirect effects), at least you get to fight stress itself by taking magnesium supplements. That’s still a win in my book!

What is the best magnesium supplement to take?

You should never – unless instructed by your doctor – take a magnesium supplement that gives you more than 100% of the recommended daily dose.

Since a healthy diet for fatty liver includes foods that naturally contain magnesium (like fish, leafy greens, nuts etc), I would recommend to actually go for a Magnesium supplement that offers much less than 100%.

Take the supplements for 10 days every month unless otherwise instructed and always talk to your doctor before taking supplements – be them minerals or vitamins.

With these in mind, below are my best magnesium supplement recommendations.

Please note: I get commissions for purchases made through the links below (but they don’t have an influence over the recommended products)

Doctor’s Best High Absorption 100% Chelated Magnesium

This is my recommended Magnesium supplement as it offers 50% of the daily dose recommended for adults or 200mg of Magnesium.

As I said, I don’t take a supplement that gives 100% since I am supplementing my intake with a varied diet, but the extra bit helps.

Get it from Amazon

Solaray Magnesium Supplement

This one offers 100% of the daily recommended magnesium intake and this is what you should get if you know you have a magnesium deficiency as it helps you get back on track faster and keeps your Magnesium levels in control.

US & World: Get it from here

If you really are not sure if this is the right move, you can easily do some blood tests and check your Magnesium levels.

In my case, they were always a bit under or just above the lower limit – and that has been happening for years, so I constantly take Magnesium supplements, as instructed by my doctor and since I have been doing this, my overall state has improved.

I am not sure if this has been part of things that helped me reverse my fatty liver, but it sure didn’t hurt!

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