49 obese people took 350mg magnesium every day and their cortisol dropped.

49 obese people took 350mg magnesium every day and their cortisol dropped.

Cortisol is the active stress hormone.
Cortisone is its inactive version.

The body can convert one into the other, back and forth, using a pair of enzymes.

11β-HSD type 1 works mainly in the liver and in fat tissues. Its job is to turn inactive cortisone back into active cortisol.

11β-HSD type 2 works mainly in the kidney. Its job is the opposite: it turns active cortisol into inactive cortisone.

This study shows how magnesium upregulates 11β-HSD type 2 thus increasing cortisone and lowering cortisol.