Summary of Magnesium Citrate
August 11th, 2026
Magnesium citrate is a well-validated, evidence-based supplement that helps to prevent migraines as an adjunctive over-the-counter supplement. Specifically, the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), American Headache Society (AHS), and Canadian Headache Society (CHS) all recommend that taking magnesium citrate 600mg daily can be an effective tool for migraine prophylaxis. It is expected that there would be at least a mean reduction of ~2.6 migraine days over a period of 12 weeks.
Potential side effects include diarrhea and/or GI discomfort; in this case, the regimen can be switched to 300mg twice a day in order to improve tolerability. For patients who have kidney impairment, it is advised to seek further discussion with their doctor as impaired renal clearance raises the risk of hypermagnesemia. If you’d like to purchase magnesium citrate, you can visit our Amazon affiliate link below.
Please note that proceeds from qualified purchases will go towards to our Amazon Associate account which in turn helps to keep our website going. Thank you!
Why Magnesium Citrate over Magnesium Oxide?
Bioavailability drives this difference. Magnesium citrate and magnesium chloride are well absorbed, whereas magnesium oxide is poorly water-soluble and poorly bioavailable. Poor absorption of magnesium oxide may both blunt efficacy and increase GI side effects (osmotic diarrhea).
While magnesium glycinate/bisglycinate is often used clinically for better GI tolerability, there is no dedicated migraine-prevention trial evidence for it — the outcome data to-date specifically support the use of magnesium citrate in the management for migraine prevention.
What is the evidence for Magnesium Citrate?
For migraine headaches
In systematic review, the clinical trials showing a statistically significant reduction in migraine days/attacks were precisely those using 600 mg/day of trimagnesium dicitrate.
Trials using lower doses (360–480 mg) or the aspartate salt failed to show benefit.
The Canadian Headache Society (CHS) makes a strong recommendation for magnesium citrate 600 mg (24 mmol) elemental magnesium daily, noting the positive result was obtained specifically with this compound.
The AAN/AHS assigned magnesium a Level B and the EFNS a Level C recommendation, both supporting the same dose of magnesium citrate 600mg daily.
The VA/DoD guidelines recommend 500–600 mg/day of oral magnesium (citrate and oxide), with a mean reduction of ~2.6 migraine days/month over 12 weeks.
What are side effects and/or precautions?
Diarrhea and GI discomfort are the dose-limiting, dose-related adverse effects; starting low and titrating up mitigates this.
For patients who have kidney impairment, it would be advised to seek further discussion with their doctor as impaired renal clearance raises the risk of hypermagnesemia (eg, hypotension, ileus, muscle weakness, lethargy, and at extreme doses: cardiac arrest).
Where can I purchase Magnesium Citrate?
If you’d like to purchase magnesium citrate, you can visit our Amazon affiliate link below.
Please note that proceeds from qualified purchases will go towards to our Amazon Associate account which in turn helps to keep our website ongoing.
Thank you!
Sources
Nutraceuticals in Migraine: A Summary of Existing Guidelines for Use. Headache. 2016. Rajapakse T, Pringsheim T.Magnesium in Migraine Prophylaxis—Is There an Evidence‐Based Rationale? A Systematic Review. Headache. 2018. von Luckner A, Riederer F.Bioavailability of Magnesium and Potassium Salts Used as Potential Substitutes for Sodium Chloride in Human Nutrition - A Review. Molecular Nutrition & Food Research. 2025. Merschmann R, Burgmer C, Eckert GP, Wagner AE.Magnesium Supplementation for Migraine Prophylaxis. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2025. Rodriguez JP, Quarteroni E, Varela LB, Escobar Liquitay CM, Garegnani LI.Management of Headache (2023). Department of Veterans Affairs. 2023. Jane Abanes PhD DNP MSN/Ed PMHCNS PMHNP-BC RN, Natasha M. Antonovich PharmD BCPS, Andrew C. Buelt DO, et al.