It's been described as the mineral of the moment.

Millions of us are taking magnesium for a whole range of reasons. Can it help us sleep better? Sort our digestion problems? Give our busy brains a moment of peace?

In the fast-moving world of supplements, it's magnesium's time to shine.

And the industry is booming. The global magnesium market is worth almost £3bn and that's set to nearly double over the next decade.

In a small factory, nestled in the Yorkshire Dales, huge plastic barrels of white powder are stacked up next to giant whirring machines.

Workers in hazmat suits carefully weigh out magnesium citrate - a compound made by mixing the mineral with citric acid - into shiny, steel containers.

"We are sending our supplies all over the world," Andrew Goring, manager director of Lonsdale Health, explains. "Around the UK, obviously, but also to Australia, parts of Asia, Kuwait, Iraq.

"It's one of our biggest sellers and the market just keeps growing."

He is shouting over the hum of the pill presser, a machine that resembles a Dalek, which pops out dozens of small, white magnesium tablets a second.

"Do we actually need it?" I bellow back. "And why now? Why has it become so popular?"

"Influencers, social media - that's what's pushing it," Mr Goring explains. "We've known about magnesium and its benefits for years and now, finally, it's mainstream."

I can almost hear the eye roll when I contact Kirsten Jackson, a dietitian who specialises in gut health.

"Clever marketing schemes," Ms Jackson says, "magnesium is involved in areas people are willing to invest in: their sleep, digestion, mental health."

But, she is keen to stress, this does not automatically mean we need supplements to improve those things.

Magnesium is one of several minerals in our bodies.

© BBC