People’s Pharmacy: Magnesium calms restless legs

Q. I sometimes used to have trouble going to sleep due to restless legs syndrome. In addition, my wife complained about my periodic limb movement of sleep during the night because it would keep her awake.

As an experiment, I started taking magnesium glycinate (200 milligrams) about one hour before bedtime. Now both symptoms have completely disappeared – unless I’ve had wine or beer, which seem to override the benefits of magnesium. I’ve been following this regimen for more than a year now with very good success.

I just wanted to give you some additional feedback from someone with actual experience. Magnesium glycinate can relieve the symptoms of RLS and PLMS.

A. Readers may be wondering about the connection between restless legs syndrome and periodic limb movement of sleep. These are similar but distinct conditions. RLS happens while a person is awake but resting. It consists of uncomfortable sensations ranging from tingling or itching to aching or pain that are relieved when the person responds to an uncontrollable urge to move the leg. In PLMS, leg or arm movements happen only when the person is sleeping. As a result, the bed partner is the one who notices it.

Clinical trials have tested the value of nutritional supplements for controlling restless legs (Nutrients, July 18, 2024). Magnesium can help with RLS symptoms. The specific form tested was magnesium oxide. You are better off with the magnesium glycinate that you have chosen, as it is less likely to cause diarrhea.

Q. When I was young, I had excellent cholesterol and triglyceride levels. As I have grown older, my total and LDL cholesterol levels have risen. In 2025, my cholesterol was 224 and my LDL was 140.

Knowing I did not want to take a statin, my doctor recommended I use Metamucil daily. We agreed on an experiment. I would take 3 tablespoons of Metamucil every morning and see what my cholesterol scores were a year later. For the next year, I took 3 heaping tablespoons of Metamucil mixed in a large glass of water every morning. That is the only lifestyle change I made. This year, my overall cholesterol score was 165, and my LDL score was 83. Fiber works, especially psyllium.

A. Psyllium (fiber derived from a plant called Plantago) can be surprisingly helpful in controlling cholesterol. A meta-analysis of 29 randomized controlled trials found that “Compared with the control group, Plantago consumption significantly reduced total cholesterol (TC) by 0.28 millimoles per liter and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) by 0.35 mmol/L, correlating to an estimated 7% decrease in cardiovascular event risk” (Nutrition Research, June 2024).

We trust that you washed your large dose of psyllium down with plenty of water. Throat or bowel blockage is a potential hazard if it is taken without adequate liquid.

We discuss the use of soluble fiber, including psyllium, in our “eGuide to Cholesterol Control & Heart Health.” This online resource can be found under the Health eGuides tab at www.PeoplesPharmacy.com

Other nondrug strategies for reducing heart disease risks include anger management, exercise, pomegranate, cinnamon, red yeast rice and magnesium. Diet can also make a huge difference. Either the DASH diet or the Mediterranean diet can be helpful as well as tasty.

In their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. Write to them in care of King Features, 300 W. 57th Street, 41st Floor, New York, NY 10019, or via their website: www.PeoplesPharmacy.com. Their newest book is “Top Screwups Doctors Make and How to Avoid Them.”