Craving Chocolate? Your Magnesium Might Not Be Working For You with Wade Lightheart

If you have ever asked a doctor, a functional practitioner, or honestly any wellness person you follow what you should be doing for sleep, anxiety, muscle cramps, or basically any midlife symptom, I bet you have heard the same answer over and over. Magnesium. Everyone says it. If you do nothing else, take magnesium.

And I get why. But here is the problem I see constantly in our community. You go to the store, you grab a random bottle of magnesium off the shelf, and either nothing happens, or it works for a week and then stops, or worse, you end up more constipated or running to the bathroom than before you started. Sound familiar?

Here is what nobody tells you. There is not just one magnesium. There are many different forms, and each one does a completely different job in your body. One might be for sleep. One for muscle cramps. One for your heart. One for your brain. One for energy. One for your gut. Grabbing a random bottle off the shelf and expecting it to fix everything is like grabbing a random puzzle piece and expecting it to complete the whole picture.

This is exactly why I wanted to bring my friend Wade Lightheart back on the podcast. Wade is the co-founder of BIOptimizers, the company behind MassZymes, the digestive enzyme I have raved about for years, and he is one of the most knowledgeable people I know when it comes to supplements. I have learned so much from him about digestion and gut health over the years, and I knew we were overdue for a deep conversation specifically about magnesium.

Why Magnesium Deficiency Is So Common in Midlife

One of the first things Wade explained is that our food supply simply is not giving us the magnesium it used to. Conventional farming practices since World War II, things like concentrated crop production, lack of crop rotation, and lack of soil remineralization, have significantly depleted the mineral content of our soil. Since food is our primary source of magnesium, that depletion shows up as widespread deficiency.

There is also a fascinating layer to this that most of us never think about. Plants convert inorganic minerals in rock and soil into a form our bodies can actually use through compounds called humic and fulvic acid. When that natural conversion process is disrupted at the farming level, we simply are not getting the bioavailable magnesium we need, even if we are eating what looks like a healthy diet.

Wade also pointed to something I found genuinely surprising, our growing exposure to electromagnetic frequencies, or EMFs. He believes, and the research is starting to support this, that our EMF exposure may be doubling or tripling how much magnesium our bodies actually need, because it can interfere with how nutrients move in and out of our cells. Magnesium, sodium, potassium, and calcium are our four major macro minerals, and magnesium tends to be the one we are most commonly running low on.

The Real Reason There Are So Many Types of Magnesium

Here is the piece that finally made this click for me. When you see a magnesium labeled as citrate, glycinate, malate, taurate, or orotate, that second word tells you which molecule is bonded to the magnesium to stabilize it. That bonding agent is what gives each form a different molecular weight and a different affinity for certain tissues in the body.

In other words, they are all technically magnesium, but the “plus one” ingredient changes where in your body it tends to go and what it tends to support. Wade compared choosing just one type of magnesium to making a salad with nothing but iceberg lettuce and olive oil. It is still a salad, and it is not doing anything wrong, but you are missing out on the full range of benefits a more complete, colorful salad would give you. 

A few of the most talked about forms and what they are generally associated with:

Magnesium citrate is the most widely sold form on the market, mostly because it is the cheapest and easiest to produce. The problem is that citrate draws water into the intestines, which is why it is so commonly linked to digestive upset and, frankly, unwanted trips to the bathroom. Wade estimated that only a small percentage of magnesium users would actually benefit from taking citrate on its own, yet it is the form most of us end up with by default.

Magnesium glycinate is considered one of the most universally well tolerated and well absorbed forms, and it is the one most associated with relaxation, calm, and better sleep. If you were only going to take one type, this is generally the one that gets recommended most often.

Magnesium malate and orotate tend to be more associated with energy and mitochondrial support.

Magnesium taurate is often associated with a calming effect on the nervous system, similar to how L-theanine can take the edge off caffeine.

There are also newer forms like magnesium sucrosomal, which is designed for better cellular absorption, though labeling regulations in some countries actually require it to be listed simply as magnesium oxide, even though it behaves very differently in the body.

One reason I LOVE the magnesium I use is because it has all 7 forms of magnesium!

Chocolate Cravings and Magnesium Deficiency

According to Wade, chocolate cravings are frequently linked to magnesium deficiency, since chocolate and cacao are naturally rich in magnesium. He shared that in his own experience working with chocolate enthusiasts, once people started supplementing with a well rounded magnesium, their intense chocolate cravings noticeably decreased. This is anecdotal and not a clinical diagnosis, but it is a genuinely interesting pattern worth paying attention to if you find yourself reaching for chocolate daily.

Magnesium, Mitochondria, and How You Actually Age

Wade explained that the real driver behind how quickly we age comes down to mitochondrial efficiency, meaning how well the energy centers inside our cells are functioning and how efficiently your body clears out the ones that are no longer working well.

He used an analogy I loved. Think of one lifestyle like driving a flashy sports car that burns through fuel fast, runs hot, and wears out quickly, versus driving something built for efficiency that can go the distance without burning out. Magnesium plays a direct role in that cellular energy production process, alongside habits like getting real sunlight, staying properly hydrated, prioritizing daily movement, and supporting a healthy circadian rhythm.

Can You Take Too Much, or Combine Different Types?

Yes and yes. Wade was clear that any form of magnesium can cause digestive upset if you take too much of it, not just citrate. And if you already have a magnesium you love and that works well for you, there is no need to abandon it. You can absolutely layer in a more complete, multi form magnesium alongside it. The key thing to look at on any label is the elemental magnesium content, meaning the actual amount of usable magnesium you are getting, not just the total weight of the compound.

I personally use BIOptimizers Magnesium Breakthrough, usually the powder form, mixed at night with their Sleep Breakthrough for the added glycine. I am also sharing my regularly updated supplement guide so you can see exactly what I use and why.

If you have been frustrated with magnesium not doing what you hoped, this conversation might finally explain why, and it might help you figure out which type your body has actually been missing this whole time.

The contents of the Midlife Conversations podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider. Some episodes of Midlife Conversations may be sponsored by products or services discussed during the show. The host may receive compensation for such advertisements or if you purchase products through affiliate links mentioned on this podcast.