Posted by Larry Hoover on March 27, 2007, at 8:48:44
In reply to What's the best form of magnesium?, posted by saturn on March 26, 2007, at 23:58:15
> So many choices. :)
>
> Is Magnesium Chloride any good? Thanks...Peace...Saturn.It depends on why you're taking it.
First, avoid magnesium oxide and magnesium carbonate. The first compound is covalent, i.e. it contains a double bond between the oxygen atom and the magnesium atom (Mg=O). It is entirely insoluble in water, and is poorly soluble in acid. As a result, bioavailability is low, or at best, variable. The latter, the carbonate, is poorly soluble in water, and consumes substantial acid to dissolve in the stomach. It may serve as an antacid, if that's what you're seeking. Again, magnesium bioavailability is low/variable.
Magnesium hydroxide (milk of magnesia) is kind of an intermediate salt. It isn't readily soluble in water, thus the milkiness, but it liberates magnesium readily in acid, neutralizing acid along the way. It's better than the carbonate, but still falls short of the next category.
The other magnesium salts all dissolve readily, so bioavailability is high. These include chloride, sulphate (Epsom salts), ascorbate, citrate, or malate. The ascorbate is a source of ascorbic acid (vitamin C), while the malate provides malic acid, which some believe helps in the relief of symptoms of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue.
Then you have the chelates. They're not really salts, and solubility is a little variable, but they are pretty much fully bioavailable. Generally, the chelates are compounds with amino acids, so you'll see the glycinate, taurinate, aspartate, and perhaps others. Here, you might consider the biological impact of not only the magnesium, but also the chelating amino acid, e.g. taurine or glycine.
In all cases, it is important to determine the amount of elemental magnesium being supplied. For example, magnesium makes up only 10% of the mass of magnesium sulphate. In contrast, it's 13% of the chloride, but 42% of the hydroxide. Presumably, the math has all been done by the supplier of ready-made products (tablets and capsules), but you'll have to figure it out yourself for bulk products. (I'll help anyone who wants to go that route. Epsom salts are dirt cheap, although perhaps most likely to produce diarrhea.) The take home message is that you take different total amounts of the various magnesium compounds in order to provide the appropriate amount of magnesium itself.
As far as tolerability goes, I've heard that the chloride is easiest to tolerate. However, using other products can give you multiple modes of action, as with magnesium taurate, giving two calming substances simultaneously.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:744523
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20070320/msgs/744578.html