Question:
I have a history of kidney stones. Should I take a magnesium supplement for stone prevention?
Answer:
Although magnesium plays an essential role in the process of renal stone formation, there is no evidence for the routine use of magnesium supplementation for stone prevention.
Magnesium is important for many different body functions. It is used to make proteins, help muscles and nerves function normally, and control blood sugar and blood pressure. Magnesium is also important for bone health and for making energy from food. Adult males need 410-420mg, and Adult females: need 310-320mg of magnesium daily.
We get most of the magnesium we need through healthy foods like Nuts, Seeds, Whole grains, brown rice, quinoa or barley, Green leafy vegetables like spinach, kale or collard green, Beans, lentils and peas.
At a molecular level, magnesium can inhibit calcium oxalate kidney stones. Magnesium binds with oxalate, making oxalate less likely to bind with calcium and form a kidney stone!
Despite all the good things magnesium can do for kidney stones at a molecular level, most human studies haven't sown that magnesium supplements can prevent kidney stones.
Diets like the DASH or Mediterranean diet are good for people with kidney stones. These dietary patterns are high in magnesium. They have many high-magnesium foods like green leafy vegetables, legumes, nuts, and whole grains.
You may notice that nearly all high-magnesium foods are also high in oxalate.
It is important to remember that nutrition for kidney stones is much more than a low oxalate diet. In fact, no research has found a lower risk of kidney stones on a low oxalate diet, even though a low oxalate diet can lower urine oxalate levels. Because oxalate and magnesium tend to be in similar foods, a low oxalate diet is inevitably lower in magnesium. This may be one of the reasons why a low oxalate diet is not associated with a reduced risk of kidney stones. Eating more magnesium may help reduce urine oxalate levels.
Most importantly, know that there is no one "kidney stone diet" that works for everyone. Nutrition must be personalized to your 24-hour urine test. Ask your healthcare provider how to balance oxalate and magnesium in your foods!
The American Urological Association does not routinely recommend magnesium supplements for kidney stones. However, a magnesium supplement might be helpful if you have low magnesium levels and calcium oxalate kidney stones. Magnesium citrate is probably the most common magnesium supplement recommended for kidney stones. It has the potential double benefit of magnesium AND citrate. Citrate is a well-known, powerful inhibitor of kidney stones. Citrate makes it more difficult for molecules to bind and form kidney stones. Magnesium citrate usually comes in a pill form. It is one of the most well-absorbed forms of magnesium. Monitor carefully for diarrhea if you start taking a magnesium supplement for kidney stones. More than 350mg of supplemental magnesium per day is not recommended.
Keep in mind that there is no one "kidney stone diet" that works for everyone. Always check your 24 hours urine test components and your serum magnesium level with your doctors to see, in addition to your diet, whether you need magnesium supplementation or not.
https://www.thekidneydietitian.org/magnesium-kidney-stones/
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