36 replies to this topic

[d3v]

Hi all, first post here. I'm wanting to supplement with magnesium but have no clue which brand/type to buy.
I currently take epson baths but am I correct in thinking this is not enough and that other forms of magnesium supplementation is beneficial?

I would like to know which specific magnesium product is the most bio-available/assimilable/quality/effective?

Thanks in advance.

[nupi]

Best bang for the buck is probably Magnesium Citrate (watch out, some report internal distress from Citrate). Most bio available probably Magnesium Malate. In principle, the differences in bio availability are not that big just as long as you stay away from Magnesium Oxide.

[ironfistx]

Magnesium taurate was the only one that didn't give me heart palpitations.

I know this is weird because magnesium is usually used to treat heart palpitations, but in my case it caused them.

Mag taurate might make you sleepy, though, due to the taurine.

The other ones I tried were magnesium malate and magnesium glycinate.

Just to confuse you more, here are some of the various types of magnesium supplements.

bold = commonly available
plain = types I've read about but never actually seen

Magnesium chloride
Magnesium sulfate
Magnesium malate
Magnesium taurate
Magnesium glycinate
Magnesium gluconate
Magnesium citrate
Magnesium aspartate
Magnesium lactate
Magnesium levulinate
Magnesium pidolate
Magnesium orotate
Magnesium oxide

From a post on another forum:

What's also annoying is that not every label is clear. Sometimes it just tells you the amount of magnesium, and you don't know if that's how much of the substance is in there total, or if that's how much elemental magnesium you are getting.

For example, you might see this:

Serving size: 1 Capsule
Magnesium (as magnesium taurate): 125mg 30% RDA

Does that mean you are getting 125mg of magnesium from one pill, or does that mean there are 125mg of magnesium taurate (which will yield a % of elemental magnesium)?

Sometimes you will see a better label, however, such as this:

Serving Size: 1 Tablet
Magnesium (from 1,300mg Magnesium Malate) - 200 mg - 50% RDA
Malic Acid - 960mg

Now that is specific. It says 1 pill contains 1,300mg of magnesium malate, of which you are getting 200mg of elemental magnesium

[d3v]

Thanks for the replies however I'm not closer to knowing exactly which brand to go for, if you could reccomend a tried and true reliable magnesium supplement I'd be most grateful.
By the way are epsom salt baths effective?

[ironfistx]

Cardiovascular Research Ltd - Magnesium Taurate

[nameless]

I'd recommend whatever you find cheapest (from a reputable company) and agrees with your digestive system best.

Mag oxide has a bad reputation, for instance, but it's actually fine. The bioavailable amounts of Mg are close enough that it doesn't really matter which you take. However, your stomach may do better with certain forms -- mag oxide and citrate doesn't agree with some people.

And don't overdo it, or you'll spend all of your time in the bathroom.

[Dorian Grey]

I take both mag-taurate and mag-Citrate... Every other form of mag I tried made my tummy feel punky for an hour or so, even if I took it with food.

Mag taurate is quite expensive but helps keep my PVC's away all day. I only take it when they flare up.

Mag Citrate is cheap, but I had to search for a 200mg size and take it twice a day. Mag Citrate normally comes in 400mg tabs, but those made me tired for an hour or so after I took them and also loosened up my bowels a bit more than I cared for. No prob's with the 200mg tabs.

200mg mag citrate twice a day is a great way to keep stable levels of available mag in your blood through out both the day and night.

Any old brand will do... I'd bet it all comes from the same place anyway.

Edited by synesthesia, 05 January 2013 - 01:23 AM.

[niner]

Magnesium oxide can be thought of as a "slow release" form. The magnesium is released from it (as free Mg+2) over many hours, if not days, so if you give someone a pill and sample their blood or urine an hour later, it's going to look like it has horrible bioavailability. This has resulted in a lot of incorrect reports in the literature. If you do a long term urine collection, then you get more accurate results, and it isn't that much worse than anything else. It has the advantage of being the most Mg-dense form by far, since the only other thing in MgO is a single oxygen atom for each magnesium atom. This cuts down the number of pills that you would need in a multi formulation, for example. The "Internet Wisdom" on magnesium oxide is so deeply entrenched that we'll probably never dislodge it. Funny how that works.

Don't stress out over forms. Jarrow is a good company. (There are other good ones, too.)

[Strelok]

I'm quite fond of JigSaw's time-released Magnesium Malate.

[niner]

I'm quite fond of JigSaw's time-released Magnesium Malate.

If you can afford it... Just be aware that it also contains P5P and a folic acid metabolite. Nothing particularly horrid about that, since they're at least sensibly dosed, but people should be aware of what they're taking. Is there any evidence that this stuff is significantly better than getting magnesium from food, with a little bit of a cheap mag supplement to top it off?

[nupi]

Thanks for the replies however I'm not closer to knowing exactly which brand to go for, if you could reccomend a tried and true reliable magnesium supplement I'd be most grateful.
By the way are epsom salt baths effective?

I find Source Natural's Mg Malate http://www.iherb.com...0-Tablets/19154 to be quite cost effective but I am sure there are others. NOW has neat Mg Citrate capsules that are much easier to swallow than the usual tablets (fair bit more expensive, too).

[hav]

I found a study which I think supports niner's point about MgO having a slower initial absorption rate followed by improved absorption longer term. This study compares it with the glycinate form noted for its high absorption. Note that it employed an isotope tracer for the measurements.

Dysprosium as a nonabsorbable marker for studies of mineral absorption with stable isotope tracers in human subjects.

Average estimates of 26Mg absorption based on the partial pool vs total pool method were comparable yielding mean values of 22.7 +/- 3.4 vs 23.2 +/- 2.5% and 26.1 +/- 1.8 vs 24.3 +/- 1.8%, respectively, from magnesium-26 oxide (26MgO) and 26Mg glycinate.

It shows the glycinate higher initially in the 2-day average then dropping a bit in the 5-day. The oxide form does the opposite and, although its numbers are a little lower overall, the difference doesn't seem that great in the long run. I thought the text presentation was a little confusing so I pasted the numbers into the attached chart for clarity.

Howard

Attached Files

•  Mg.jpg   23.15KB   4 downloads

[Strelok]

I'm quite fond of JigSaw's time-released Magnesium Malate.

If you can afford it... Just be aware that it also contains P5P and a folic acid metabolite. Nothing particularly horrid about that, since they're at least sensibly dosed, but people should be aware of what they're taking. Is there any evidence that this stuff is significantly better than getting magnesium from food, with a little bit of a cheap mag supplement to top it off?

I agree that it's quite pricey, but the company occasionally offers a 25% off coupon, and that's when I buy mine. This brings it in line with my former choice of supplemental magnesium, Magnesium Calm (citrate). Plus, the time released factor essentially eliminates loose stools, which is a problem I've had when using almost any other form, including citrate, glycinate, and malate. If it weren't for this, I'd use a regular (i.e. NOT time-released) malate, citrate, glycinate, or taurinate.

[nameless]

Huh, I see they changed the jigsaw formulation (for the better). I looked at their magnesium around a year ago, and they were using benfotiamine at the time. I'd like to think my email warning them about potential benfotiamine risks brought about a change in the formula, but more likely they just changed it for financial or marketing reasons (skeptic that I am). I found it kind of weird they added 'extras' to magnesium to begin with.

Mag Tab is another time release version (mag lactate) which I have used in the past. As stated above, time release versions, even though pricey, do have the benefit of not causing digestive issues in most people. I'm sort of surprised it's not used more often for other forms.

I've also wondered if a slower release (or I guess mag oxide) may be better than some other forms, just to mimic food intake a little better -- if taking larger doses, that is. I doubt many people get 400-800mg mag from a single meal, yet some people do take that much in pill form as a single dose. I'm not sure how fast mag absorbs from food though... but doubt it's a megadose all at once.

[norepinephrine]

I've had good luck with malate, glycinate and lysinate. I think glycinate may have helped my sleep the best, though I was also taking inositol on and off and that certainly had an effect. Malate is highly cost effective - from Source Naturals, a 4+ month supply is dirt cheap on Amazon assuming you're not long-term overdosing (and shouldn't be either).

Epsom salt baths are of course also effective, though they may put you on the stool a bit afterwards. Nothing wrong with a quick cleaner-upper in my opinion though. It also certainly helps skin ailments, though the effect is fleeting.

[Knowbody]

Magnesium oxide can be thought of as a "slow release" form. The magnesium is released from it (as free Mg+2) over many hours, if not days, so if you give someone a pill and sample their blood or urine an hour later, it's going to look like it has horrible bioavailability. This has resulted in a lot of incorrect reports in the literature. If you do a long term urine collection, then you get more accurate results, and it isn't that much worse than anything else. It has the advantage of being the most Mg-dense form by far, since the only other thing in MgO is a single oxygen atom for each magnesium atom. This cuts down the number of pills that you would need in a multi formulation, for example. The "Internet Wisdom" on magnesium oxide is so deeply entrenched that we'll probably never dislodge it. Funny how that works.

Don't stress out over forms. Jarrow is a good company. (There are other good ones, too.)

Hi Niner,

Do you perhaps have references to information supporting this? I know several people who respond very well to magnesium oxide. It would be great news if MgO is indeed shown to be a good source of magnesium. It's so much more convenient than other forms.

Is it the dysprosium study linked to by hav that was your source?

[GhostBuster]

I once bought magnesium malate (NOW), tried it and for some reason I felt little brain fogged at those times. I suspected magnesium malate had to do something with as brain fog seemed to follow the use of magnesium malate. So I stopped taking. And there was no problem with the brain fog after that. Now that I ran out of my magnesium pills, I started taking magnesium malate again thinking that there is no reason why magnesium malate would cause brain fog and that the brain fog was probably only a random coincident. But now I feel mentally sluggish again and I cant help thinking that whether magnesium malate has something to do it or not.

 

Has anyone else dubious experiences with magnesium malate?

[Jeoshua]

I think it's interesting to note that most of the claims of "better absorption" for different forms of Magnesium are based on measuring the renal clearance. That means these people are literally pissing the Magnesium away. And then the scientist claims that it was absorbed better. How does this many any sense, I ask you?

[GhostBuster]

With respect to the alleged poor bioavailability of magnesium oxide(MgO), is there a chemical reason for it? MgO dissolves well in water forming magnesium hydroxide. According to my understanding it therefore should be bioavailable unlike many other oxides that don't dissolve in water.

Edited by GhostBuster, 16 April 2014 - 02:09 PM.

[Strelok]

I once bought magnesium malate (NOW), tried it and for some reason I felt little brain fogged at those times. I suspected magnesium malate had to do something with as brain fog seemed to follow the use of magnesium malate. So I stopped taking. And there was no problem with the brain fog after that. Now that I ran out of my magnesium pills, I started taking magnesium malate again thinking that there is no reason why magnesium malate would cause brain fog and that the brain fog was probably only a random coincident. But now I feel mentally sluggish again and I cant help thinking that whether magnesium malate has something to do it or not.

 

Has anyone else dubious experiences with magnesium malate?

 

I took Mg Malate daily for over a year and can't say a bad thing about it.  Have you tried other forms of Mg so that you can determine if it's the Mg or the malate that might be bothering you?
 

[Jeoshua]

With respect to the alleged poor bioavailability of magnesium oxide(MgO), is there a chemical reason for it? MgO dissolves well in water forming magnesium hydroxide. According to my understanding it therefore should be bioavailable unlike many other oxides that don't dissolve in water.

 

In short, no. There is no chemical reason to think that Magnesium Oxide would be really poorly absorbed or utilized. As you stated, it will turn into Magnesium Hydroxide in the stomach, and under the influence of stomach acid also Magnesium Chloride and Hydrochloride (Stomach acid is weak Hydrochloric Acid).

 

The reason for the claims of poor bioavailability are due to the fact that not much MgO comes through the body into the urine. But think on that for a brief minute or two. MgO comes in the mouth, and then not a lot of MgO comes out in the urine. Where does the rest of the Magnesium end up going, if not in the urine? Two answers: The Body, and some through the colon. The actual serum levels of Magnesium climb just as high when taking Magnesium Oxide as any other form of Magnesium, on a weight-basis of elemental Magnesium, and less of it is lost through the urinary tract. This makes it actually a very good option.

 

The only downside to Magnesium Oxide is that very large amounts of it will cause stomach upset and diarrhea in some people. So don't take too much (50% RDA with food should be fine).

Edited by Jeoshua, 16 April 2014 - 07:21 PM.

[pbandy1]

My two personal favorites are magnesium glycinate, and magnesium l-threonate.

 

What I've been doing lately is getting 275 mg as di-magnesium malate in Poliquin Complete Multi Iron-Free, and then LEF Magnesium L-Threonate (full serving, 144 mg). 

 

Considering switching my multi to LEF Two-Per-Day (has 100 mg magnesium-oxide), but then getting 480 mg as Magnesium Glycinate from another supplement.

[Gerrans]

Some earlier comments about magnesium oxide on this thread made me try it. I am an old hand with magnesium and have tried various types. But I have not bothered with magnesium oxide because of research that says it is less bioavailable, which contrasts with that quoted on this thread which says that it is equally available.

 

For what it is worth, I found it to be less effective than magnesium citrate, both for effect upon motility and for calming effect. (To be honest, in going through a tub over a month, I did not notice those effects from it at all.) In fairness, it was a cheap brand--but potential money saving was my chief reason for trying oxide (you can pay as much for it as citrate, if you want).

 

Of course, my brief experiment is worth little, so I am describing it only for interest.

 

*

 

My favourite magnesium is magnesium citrate--which is not that expensive either. Too much of it, though, can make my sleep patchier and dreamier, so I take it only at breakfast or midday. Magnesium taurate helps me sleep better but does not help me to get to sleep faster (it cures me of my tendency to awake several times in advance of my alarm clock). Magnesium glycinate helps me get to sleep faster. I usually take a tab each of those two in the evening. I did not notice any improvement in cognition from magnesium L-threonate, which is one of its selling points. L-threonate does help with my sleep but makes me feel a bit groggy, and the heavy type of sleepiness it induces is unpleasant and uncomfortable for me and produces dreamy, interrupted sleep. Magnesium malate seems to me rather like citrate, but it is more expensive so I do not take it. Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate) go well in a bath and help soothe my arthritis.

 

Overall, magnesium is essential to me; and I give it some credit for the fact that I am never anxious these days, even when I have good reason to be.
 

Edited by Gerrans, 16 April 2014 - 08:24 PM.

[Jeoshua]

In your experiment, Gerrans, how much Magnesium Oxide were you taking, vs how much Magnesium Citrate? I ask because of the differing weights of elemental Magnesium in both, and their differing absorption into the body.

 

Let's ignore Magnesium Glycinate for now, as being bound to Glycine, which has its own effects on the body, it is a different beast altogether and probably would have marked effects on sleep induction... and also ignore L-Threonate because I'm almost positive that it's all hype by some supplement company to sell more of its products and actually not substantially different than any other form of chelated Magnesium. Threonate isn't exactly nootropic, so why should Magnesium L-Threonate be, either?

Edited by Jeoshua, 16 April 2014 - 08:16 PM.

[Gerrans]

In your experiment, Gerrans, how much Magnesium Oxide were you taking, vs how much Magnesium Citrate? I ask because of the differing weights of elemental Magnesium in both, and their differing absorption into the body.

 

Let's ignore Magnesium Glycinate for now, as being bound to Glycine, which has its own effects on the body, it is a different beast altogether and probably would have marked effects on sleep induction... and also ignore L-Threonate because I'm almost positive that it's all hype by some supplement company to sell more of its products and actually not substantially different than any other form of chelated Magnesium. Threonate isn't exactly nootropic, so why should Magnesium L-Threonate be, either?

 

My usual magnesium citrate is 200mg, and the magnesium oxide tablets were 500mg "providing 300mg elemental magnesium". I usually take two magnesium citrate tablets in the day, and for this experiment I started with 1 tablet of magnesium oxide and worked up to four. The fact that I did not feel the same effects on mood and motility that I have with citrate made me believe there must be something in the idea that magnesium oxide might not necessarily absorb as well. But we are all different.

 

Magnesium L-threonate is partly marketed on the basis that it gets across the blood-brain barrier better than other forms. Since I find that magnesium is anxiolytic for me and becomes sedative the more of it I take, I have to assume that (in my case at least) the mineral manages to get into the brain well enough anyway, without needing a special piggy back there.

Edited by Gerrans, 16 April 2014 - 09:32 PM.

[Godof Smallthings]

I finished a bottle of Jarrow's magnesium l-threonate without noticing any positive effects on cognition. I'm now taking magnesium citrate instead. Much cheaper.

Edited by Godof Smallthings, 17 April 2014 - 07:01 AM.

[blood]

Interesting, recent ergo-log article - MgO effective for insomnia at 500 mg/day:
http://www.ergo-log....oves-sleep.html

500 mg/day produced a "mere" (ergo-log's term) 4% rise in serum magnesium, which apparently was enough to have a beneficial impact on insomnia symptoms.

Edited by blood, 17 April 2014 - 07:20 PM.

[TheFountain]

Magnesium oxide can be thought of as a "slow release" form. The magnesium is released from it (as free Mg+2) over many hours, if not days, so if you give someone a pill and sample their blood or urine an hour later, it's going to look like it has horrible bioavailability. This has resulted in a lot of incorrect reports in the literature. If you do a long term urine collection, then you get more accurate results, and it isn't that much worse than anything else. It has the advantage of being the most Mg-dense form by far, since the only other thing in MgO is a single oxygen atom for each magnesium atom. This cuts down the number of pills that you would need in a multi formulation, for example. The "Internet Wisdom" on magnesium oxide is so deeply entrenched that we'll probably never dislodge it. Funny how that works.

Don't stress out over forms. Jarrow is a good company. (There are other good ones, too.)

 

But don't we want the magnesium released within an hour or so of supplementing? Why would we want to wait days for it? Especially considering how important magnesium is for cellular health. 

[niner]

 

Magnesium oxide can be thought of as a "slow release" form. The magnesium is released from it (as free Mg+2) over many hours, if not days, so if you give someone a pill and sample their blood or urine an hour later, it's going to look like it has horrible bioavailability. This has resulted in a lot of incorrect reports in the literature. If you do a long term urine collection, then you get more accurate results, and it isn't that much worse than anything else. It has the advantage of being the most Mg-dense form by far, since the only other thing in MgO is a single oxygen atom for each magnesium atom. This cuts down the number of pills that you would need in a multi formulation, for example. The "Internet Wisdom" on magnesium oxide is so deeply entrenched that we'll probably never dislodge it. Funny how that works.

Don't stress out over forms. Jarrow is a good company. (There are other good ones, too.)

 

But don't we want the magnesium released within an hour or so of supplementing? Why would we want to wait days for it? Especially considering how important magnesium is for cellular health. 

If you got your magnesium from leafy green vegetables, it would probably take a long time to be absorbed.  Getting it in a bolus dose would essentially be unnatural.  If you were taking magnesium for a pharmacologic reason like sleep induction or anxiety relief (assuming it actually works for those things), then you might want something that absorbed rapidly, but for general day to day use, it doesn't matter if it's fast or slow.   I'd rather have it mimic the effect of food.  I probably get enough magnesium from food as it is, but I still take a sub-RDA amount of Mg on general principles.

[TheFountain]

 

 

Magnesium oxide can be thought of as a "slow release" form. The magnesium is released from it (as free Mg+2) over many hours, if not days, so if you give someone a pill and sample their blood or urine an hour later, it's going to look like it has horrible bioavailability. This has resulted in a lot of incorrect reports in the literature. If you do a long term urine collection, then you get more accurate results, and it isn't that much worse than anything else. It has the advantage of being the most Mg-dense form by far, since the only other thing in MgO is a single oxygen atom for each magnesium atom. This cuts down the number of pills that you would need in a multi formulation, for example. The "Internet Wisdom" on magnesium oxide is so deeply entrenched that we'll probably never dislodge it. Funny how that works.

Don't stress out over forms. Jarrow is a good company. (There are other good ones, too.)

 

But don't we want the magnesium released within an hour or so of supplementing? Why would we want to wait days for it? Especially considering how important magnesium is for cellular health. 

If you got your magnesium from leafy green vegetables, it would probably take a long time to be absorbed.  Getting it in a bolus dose would essentially be unnatural.  If you were taking magnesium for a pharmacologic reason like sleep induction or anxiety relief (assuming it actually works for those things), then you might want something that absorbed rapidly, but for general day to day use, it doesn't matter if it's fast or slow.   I'd rather have it mimic the effect of food.  I probably get enough magnesium from food as it is, but I still take a sub-RDA amount of Mg on general principles.

 

Me too, I take between 200 and 400 mgs a day. 

 

What I was thinking was, let's say you get an electrolyte test and your diet is sub optimal for whatever reason, taking citrate or malate instead of oxide is probably going to get you a positive electrolyte test the next day after supplementation, whereas oxide might not Do that till the following week?