The holiday season brings joy, family gatherings, and of course, some overindulgence at the dinner table. But a troubling trend has emerged on social media called “magnesium detox.” In this, people are chugging bottles of magnesium citrate in an attempt to "detox" or quickly shed pounds after big meals like Thanksgiving dinner.
Dr. Ethan Melillo, a pharmacist, recently responded to it on his Instagram (@millennialrx). The video shows someone drinking magnesium citrate in the car over this his message was clear and urgent that this trend of taking magnesium citrate is not a weight-loss hack, and it's definitely not something you should be doing casually.
Trimagnesium dicitrate is a magnesium salt composed of magnesium and citrate ions in a 3:2 ratio. It acts as a laxative. Magnesium citrate is the citrate salt of magnesium with cathartic activity. The molecular formula of magnesium citrate is C₁₂H₁₀Mg₃O₁₄.
"Magnesium citrate is a laxative," Dr. Melillo emphasizes in his response video. "It is not a detox, it's not a weight-loss trick, and it's not going to just reset all the overeating that you may have been doing."
The medication works through a specific mechanism: it pulls water into your intestines through osmotic pressure, which then triggers your body to flush everything out. While you might see the number on the scale drop by a few pounds afterward, Dr. Melillo is quick to point out what you're actually losing:
"It's going to be water and electrolytes and whatever was in your colon, it's not going to be fat."
What concerns experts most about this trend isn't just that it is ineffective for weight loss, but it can be genuinely harmful. Dr. Melillo outlines several serious risks:
Immediate side effects include severe diarrhea, dizziness, and even low potassium levels.
Long-term consequences are even more worrying. "If you're using this often, your gut can actually become dependent on this for you to go to the bathroom," Dr. Melillo warns.
Perhaps the most important point Dr. Melillo makes is about basic nutrition science and the misunderstanding many people have. "Your body is not going to burn off your Thanksgiving dinner by flushing out your intestines. You burn calories with your metabolism, not your colon," he emphasized.
Feeling bloated after a big holiday meal is completely normal, and your body is more than capable of handling it without pharmaceutical intervention. Dr. Melillo’s advice is refreshingly simple:
Drink plenty of water
Take a walk to aid digestion
Return to your normal eating patterns the next day
"You'll be so surprised how your GI tract can just regulate itself," he notes.
