Vitamins and minerals work in combination and depend on each other to be fully effective. The benefits of magnesium supplementation for healthy people aren't clear, but Dr. Nassar says that taking a magnesium supplement every day is probably not dangerous for most people. People who cannot get enough vitamin D through exposure to the sun should consider taking a vitamin D3 supplement, especially if they are vegetarians, vegans, or avoid eating animal products.
This is probably due to the role that activated vitamin D plays in the absorption of calcium in bone and other tissues. People who are considering starting a vitamin D3 regimen without medical advice should also consider taking magnesium supplements to prevent the adverse effects of unabsorbed calcium. Babies under one year old should take a daily supplement of 8.5 to 10 mcg, unless they consume more than 500 ml of infant formula (which is fortified with vitamin D) every day. However, the ingredients in these products block the UV rays that the skin needs to be able to produce vitamin D.
Because they work together, it's important to get the right ratio of vitamin D and magnesium when taking supplements. The Department of Health highlights certain “at risk” groups and recommends that they take a vitamin D supplement throughout the year. This research shows that vitamin D supplementation doesn't make sense if a patient is deficient in magnesium; in fact, as will be explained in the next section, it can have harmful side effects overloading the system with vitamin D without storing the magnesium needed to use it. When vitamin D3 or other calciferol binds to a vitamin D receptor, it activates or deactivates up to 2000 genes in the cell, causing cellular changes.
Most vitamin D is obtained from direct exposure to sunlight, which isn't really a problem during the spring and summer months. Since patients with diseases ranging from breast cancer to COVID-19 show reduced levels of vitamin D, there has been renewed interest in this vitamin, which is actually a hormone, which the body produces naturally when the skin is exposed to UV rays from the sun or other sources. If you have any of the symptoms of low vitamin D and magnesium levels, it's worth going to your doctor's office or getting a home test. Doctors recommend vitamin D supplementation especially during the winter months and throughout the year for certain demographics at higher risk of vitamin D deficiency, such as pregnant women, people over 65, people with darker skin tones, and people who have little exposure to direct sunlight.
Magnesium also helps vitamin D bind to its target proteins, in addition to helping the liver and kidneys to metabolize vitamin D.