7 Surprising Benefits of Taking Magnesium with Vitamin B6

Vitamin B6 and magnesium are two essential nutrients that play a role in several physiological functions. Whether you want to boost cognitive health, regulate blood sugar, or reduce PMS symptoms, combining magnesium with B6 might be smart—but those aren’t the only benefits!

For anyone looking to optimize their health, vitamin and mineral supplements are a must to fill in gaps within the diet.

But while there are pure supplements available for most nutrients, you often see many combined to elicit synergistic effects.

Whether in a sleep supplement or a brain booster, magnesium and vitamin B6 are two you might see together—but why?

If you’re curious why it’s recommended to supplement with magnesium and vitamin B6, you’re in the right place.

In this article, we’ll dive into the details of both nutrients and the top 7 benefits of combining this duo.

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Key Takeaways

• Magnesium plays many crucial roles in our body. It supports over 300 enzymatic reactions including ATP metabolism, muscle relaxation, electrolyte balance, and sleep.
• Magnesium is essential for heart health, blood pressure regulation, and glucose metabolism. It may improve brain health and reduce anxiety.
• Vitamin B6 is crucial for neurotransmitter synthesis (serotonin, GABA, dopamine), supporting mood, cognitive function, and stress management.
• Vitamin B6 plays a vital role in energy metabolism, immune function, and the synthesis of hemoglobin.
• Combining magnesium and vitamin B6 can significantly improve overall well-being by supporting various physiological functions.
• Together they can support:
• Mood
• Sleep
• Cognition
• Heart health
• Blood sugar regulation
• PMS relief
• Eye health
• Performance Lab® NutriGenesis® Multi is the best multivitamin that contains both magnesium and vitamin B6. As well as 22 other nutrients in highly bioavailable forms.
• If you’re looking to add magnesium to your sleep routine. Performance Lab® Sleep features natural melatonin, L-tryptophan and magnesium (as Magnesium Bisglycinate, Taurate and NutriGenesis®) to promote sound sleep quality with no morning-after grogginess.
• For standalone supplements, Performance Lab® Magnesium, and B-Complex offer combined, or individual benefits for cognition, energy and muscle support.

What Is Magnesium?

You may have heard about magnesium before—a super mineral, and the fourth most abundant mineral in the human body. But despite being a co-factor for over 300 enzymatic reactions, most people don’t get enough magnesium through diet alone⁽¹⁾.

Some evidence suggests that up to 50% of people in Europe and North America aren’t meeting the daily intake requirements for magnesium, and a deficiency has been linked to several chronic diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, insulin resistance, type-2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and ADHD^{(2, 3)}.

But while magnesium is needed for many functions in the body, perhaps its most important role is in ATP metabolism; ATP or adenosine triphosphate, is required for virtually all biological processes, including:

• DNA and RNA synthesis
• Reproduction
• Protein synthesis
• Muscular contraction
• Blood pressure
• Insulin metabolism
• Cardiac excitability
• Vasomotor tone
• Nerve transmission
• Neuromuscular conduction

A lack of magnesium can have serious consequences. Which is why meeting your needs through dietary sources of supplementation is critical.

Want a bit more? Here are a few other reasons why we love magnesium:

1. Muscle relaxation: Magnesium is a calcium antagonist that competes for binding sites in muscle to induce relaxation⁽¹⁾. A magnesium deficiency has been linked to a higher risk of muscle cramps and spasms.
2. Electrolytes: Most people think about sodium and potassium as the significant electrolytes, but magnesium is essential for various electrolyte functions, including neurotransmission, muscle function, pH and fluid balance, and more.
3. Sleep: Magnesium plays a vital role in helping bind and stimulate GABA receptors in the brain, which applies the brakes on brain activity and helps support relaxation and sleep⁽⁴⁾.
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What is Vitamin B6?

The other half of the equation is vitamin B6. Also known as pyridoxine.

The B vitamins, as a whole, are an essential group of nutrients that are heavily involved in energy metabolism. But vitamin B6, specifically, plays a critical role in keeping your brain and nervous system functioning optimally, thereby supporting nervous system health.

It's a water-soluble vitamin with many benefits for cognitive function, energy metabolism, mood, stress, sleep, and more⁽⁵⁾.

In its phosphorylated and most active form, pyridoxal 5’-phosphate (PLP), vitamin B6 also plays a central role as a cofactor for several enzymes, especially those involved in amino acid and fatty acid metabolism.

But it doesn’t stop there. Vitamin B6 is also needed for^{(5, 6)}:

• Degradation of storage carbohydrates (mainly glycogen)
• Hemoglobin synthesis
• Protective agent against reactive oxygen species (free radicals)
• Neurotransmitter synthesis (serotonin, norepinephrine, epinephrine, and GABA)
• Immune function

But because your body cannot produce vitamin B6, the bulk of it should come from diet, or through supplementation.

7 Health Benefits Of Taking Magnesium And B6 Together

While they’re often touted as a solid sleep duo, there’s much more to this synergistic pair!

Looking at a list of magnesium and B6 functions, you’ll see many overlap, so taking them together can double up their effects.

B6 is also needed to bring magnesium into cells, ensuring you get the full benefit of taking magnesium.

1. Supports mood, mental health, and nervous system health

A fair bit of information is available about the link between B6 deficiency and mood disorders like depression. Studies find that low B6 levels double the risk of depression, while another study confirmed that a higher B6 intake reduces the risk of repression ^{(7, 8)}.

Why such a strong link? Vitamin B6 is involved in producing neurotransmitters essential for mood regulation—GABA, serotonin, dopamine, and noradrenaline⁽⁹⁾–and people with depression are often deficient in B6.

Magnesium is also essential in synthesizing neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and GABA, which are involved in the pathogenesis of mood disorders like anxiety and depression⁽⁴⁾.

Studies show that supplementing with magnesium can improve symptoms of both to the same (or a higher) degree as some antidepressants⁽¹⁰⁾.

While both supplements effectively alleviate mood symptoms, studies show that combining them is significantly more effective than using one alone⁽¹¹⁾.

In addition to mood benefits, magnesium can help alleviate infrequent muscle spasms, which may also ease symptoms associated with conditions like restless leg syndrome (RLS). By reducing these uncomfortable sensations, magnesium contributes to better sleep quality and a calmer nervous system, indirectly supporting improved mood and overall mental well-being.⁽¹²⁾

2. Sleep

How many people actually get the sleep they need? Whether from stress, work, family, or just a busy brain, getting good quality sleep nightly is difficult for most people to achieve.

Supplementing with B6 and magnesium could be gold if you struggle to sleep well.

Serotonin is an essential neurotransmitter that supports healthy sleep patterns, and vitamin B6 is necessary for the conversion of the amino acid tryptophan to serotonin, which is then converted into the sleep hormone melatonin^{(13, 14)}.

But magnesium and B6 are also involved with the neurotransmitter GABA, the relaxing hormone that offers sleep-inducing effects.

Vitamin B6 is needed for GABA synthesis, while magnesium binds to and stimulates GABA receptors to induce relaxation and ease anxiety and stress^{(9, 15)}.

Studies show that low B6 can lead to insomnia and depression, and supplementing with a magnesium-melatonin-vitamin B complex may help with insomnia⁽¹⁶⁾.

3. Brain health

There is no shortage of nootropic supplements designed to boost cognitive function, but something as simple as magnesium and B6 can go a long way.

Where magnesium is concerned, magnesium L-threonate has shown much promise for supporting brain health because of its ability to readily cross the blood-brain barrier, leading to higher magnesium concentrations in the brain.

More specifically, magnesium can increase the concentration of stem cells in the hippocampus—a brain region involved in learning and memory—which may improve these functions^{(17, 18)}.

Another study found that supplementing with magnesium L-threonate significantly enhanced visual attention, task switching, processing speed, and executive function but also reversed brain aging in people with cognitive decline⁽¹⁹⁾.

To add to that, we throw in vitamin B6, which converts homocysteine—a byproduct of amino acid metabolism—to less toxic compounds.

High levels of homocysteine can increase the risk of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, and supplementing with B6 might offer a form of prevention^{(20, 21)}.

4. Heart health

Did you know that a vitamin B6 deficiency can double the risk of developing heart disease⁽²²⁾?

While most people don’t associate B6 with heart health, it’s needed to convert homocysteine, which increases the risk of atherosclerosis and arterial blockages^{(23, 24)}. And with magnesium, there are plenty of benefits for your cardiovascular system, including^(25-27):

• Lowering the risk of heart disease and stroke
• Reducing blood pressure
• Increasing HDL cholesterol and lowering LDL and triglycerides
• Protecting cardiac tissue

In addition to heart health, magnesium and vitamin B6 support proper bone health by aiding in calcium absorption and bone density.

5. Glucose regulation

Although the exact mechanism behind the benefits of B6 on blood sugar isn’t clear, animal studies suggest that a B6 deficiency disrupts the function of the pancreatic cells that produce insulin and interferes with the activity of insulin^{(28, 29)}.

But as you might have guessed, supplementing with B6 can improve insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance⁽³⁰⁾.

Magnesium is also crucial for insulin function and glucose regulation. Normal serum magnesium levels can reduce the risk of diabetes by up to 47%, thanks to its positive effect on regulating blood sugar and insulin sensitivity^(31-33).

However, it's important that individuals with severe kidney failure should consult a healthcare practitioner before taking magnesium supplements. Impaired kidney function can affect how your body handles magnesium, and careful management might be needed.

6. Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)

For women struggling with serious PMS, vitamin B6 and magnesium might be what you need. PMS isn’t pleasant and can leave you bloated, achy, moody, exhausted, and downright irritated in the coming weeks before your period—but studies show that B6 and magnesium could take the edge off. Always consult a healthcare practitioner before starting any new supplement regimen, especially if you have underlying health conditions.

Low magnesium levels have been linked to PMS, and supplementation might help to relieve mood swings, depressive symptoms and reduce fluid retention^{(34, 35)}.

One study even found that a daily B6 supplement improved PMS-related depression symptoms, irritability, and tiredness by a whopping 69%⁽³⁶⁾. But it might be more effective with combined with magnesium⁽³⁷⁾.

7. Eye health

It’s not just vitamin A and antioxidants that support vision—vitamin B6 and magnesium may, too. Again, we go back to high levels of homocysteine, which are linked to an increased risk of age-related macular degeneration⁽³⁸⁾.

And because B6 is needed for converting homocysteine to methionine, supplementing with it (and other B vitamins) can reduce the risk by as much as 40%⁽³⁹⁾.

Taking a magnesium supplement can also support eye health, as it’s been shown to improve blood flow to the eyes, protect against oxidative stress and cell damage, and maintain the health of the ocular nerves⁽⁴⁰⁾.

The Best Magnesium and Vitamin B6 Supplements on the Market

If you’re looking to leverage the benefits of magnesium and vitamin B6, taking a look at your diet is a good place to start.

But for those times when you might need additional support. Here are the supplements that can help.

Performance Lab® NutriGenesis® Multivitamin

NutriGenesis® Multi is a cutting-edge multivitamin featuring NutriGenesis® technology—bio-identical vitamins and minerals engineered for maximum absorption and bioactivity.

Packed with 100% RDA of 24 essential nutrients, Multi fills in any nutritional gaps to support energy, brain function, immune health, and overall body-wide performance.

Performance Lab® Sleep

Performance Lab Sleep combines natural melatonin from Montmorency tart cherries, L-tryptophan, and magnesium, magnesium to create a fast-acting, non-drowsy sleep aid. This supplement enhances sleep quality, ensuring you wake up refreshed and ready to tackle your day, without the next-day grogginess associated with traditional sleep aids. Sleep can be stacked with any other Performance Lab® supplement.

Shop Performance Lab® Sleep

Performance Lab® Magnesium

Performance Lab® Magnesium features a smart synergy of two premium forms: NutriGenesis® Magnesium and Magnesium L-Threonate. This combination supports over 300 biochemical reactions in the body, including energy production, cognitive function, and muscle health. The addition of Magnesium L-Threonate ensures enhanced brainpower and cognitive function by crossing the blood-brain barrier more effectively.

Shop Magnesium

Performance Lab® B-Complex

Performance Lab® B-Complex delivers a powerful blend of bio-identical B vitamins, choline, and inositol, all in a highly absorbable NutriGenesis® form. This supplement supports energy production, brain health, and mood balance, making it an essential part of your daily regimen, especially during times of stress or high physical activity.

Incorporating these supplements into your routine is a fail safe way to bridge nutritional gaps, upgrade your health, and ensure optimal body-wide performance.

Shop Performance Lab® B-Complex

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: What are NutriGenesis® supplements?

A: NutriGenesis® is a technology based on Nobel Prize-winning research. This research theorized that nutrients presented in their naturally grown forms supply cofacters that make them more bioavailable, biologically active, and therefore more effective than nutrients that are isolated. This ensures that your body gets the nutrients it needs in the most natural and efficient form possible.

Q: How does magnesium L-threonate differ from other forms of magnesium?

A: Magnesium L-threonate is unique because it can cross the blood-brain barrier more effectively than other forms of magnesium, making it particularly beneficial for cognitive function and brain health.

Q: Are there any side effects of taking magnesium and vitamin B6 together?

A: When taken at the recommended dosages, magnesium and vitamin B6 are generally safe for most people. However, taking very high doses of either can lead to side effects.

It’s always best to follow the recommended dosage and consult with a healthcare practitioner, especially if you have underlying health conditions.

If any adverse reactions occur, discontinue use and consult a healthcare practitioner immediately.

Q: Who should avoid taking magnesium supplements?

People with severe kidney failure or those on certain medications should consult with a healthcare practitioner before taking magnesium supplements, as impaired kidney function can affect how your body handles magnesium.