Can You Take Magnesium and Vitamin B6 Together?
Yes. A small human study suggests vitamin B6 may influence magnesium handling, and there is no absorption-based reason to separate them.
The short answer
Magnesium and vitamin B6 can be taken together. Evidence for how B6 affects magnesium levels is limited and includes a very small study using high-dose B6.
Why it happens
In a four-week study of only nine women, high-dose vitamin B6 increased plasma and red-blood-cell magnesium. This supports a relationship, but the evidence base is small.
What to do
They can be taken together with no fixed gap. Follow label doses and do not copy the high vitamin B6 dose used in the study.
What the evidence actually showed
The main piece of evidence is a four-week study involving only nine premenopausal women, in which high-dose vitamin B6 increased both plasma and red-blood-cell magnesium levels. This is a genuinely small study — nine participants is not enough to establish a reliable, generalizable effect — but it is the data point behind the idea that B6 may influence how the body handles magnesium. It should be treated as suggestive rather than proven, and it does not tell us what happens at ordinary, lower doses of B6 that most people actually take.
How to actually schedule it
Because there is no absorption-based reason to separate magnesium and vitamin B6, the practical approach is simply to follow the label doses of your own products rather than building any special schedule. The one thing worth actively avoiding is trying to replicate the study's dose: it used 200 mg per day of vitamin B6, and long-term high-dose B6 at that level can cause peripheral neuropathy. If you are drawn to this pairing because of the study, stick to standard label doses instead.
When this advice applies
The study used 200 mg/day of vitamin B6, far above normal requirements. Long-term high-dose B6 can cause peripheral neuropathy.
Common questions
Does vitamin B6 affect magnesium levels in the body?
A small human study suggests it may. In a four-week study of only nine women, high-dose vitamin B6 increased plasma and red-blood-cell magnesium. This supports a relationship, but the evidence base is small, so it should be read as a starting point rather than a settled finding.
Do magnesium and vitamin B6 need to be spaced apart?
No, there is no absorption-based reason to separate them. They can be taken together with no fixed gap. Follow label doses for both rather than trying to build a timing schedule around this relationship.
Should I use a high dose of B6 like the one in the study to raise my magnesium?
No, do not copy the high vitamin B6 dose used in the study. That study used 200 mg per day, far above normal requirements, and long-term high-dose B6 can cause peripheral neuropathy, so it is not a dose to replicate on your own.
References
- Effect of vitamin B-6 on plasma and red blood cell magnesium levels in premenopausal womenAnnals of Clinical & Laboratory Science · 1981
- Vitamin B6 — Health Professional Fact SheetNIH Office of Dietary Supplements · 2025
Updated July 31, 2026 · How to use this guidance