Magnesium citrate vs Magesium Oxide

[Patty47200]

I have been using magnesium supplements for almost 7 months. I first started taking them when I started low carbing and had constipation issues. The first bottle I used seemed to work really well and the bottle I am using now ( magnesium oxide) doesn't seem to have the same effect. I know there are different types of magnesium supplements and I am wondering if that could be the issue. I wish I knew what I was taking at first so I could go back to it. So my question is does anyone know what the difference between Magnesium Oxide and Magesium Citrate is?

Thanks for any help you can give me.

[Utah Jake]

Magnesium oxide is very poorly absorbed, it is worthless. Magnesium citrate is not bad. The very best one to use is magnesium glycinate chelate

[Gostrydr]

Magnesium oxide absorbs a well as any other form of magnesium. And better than most.

Just as calcium carbonate absorbs as well as any other form of calcium.

The problem with those two compounds is..they are cheap!! So it is assumed that they are poorly absorbed which is completely false.

I used to make vitamins and raw material companies call and tell me about their new fangled compound( which are very expensive) I ask for studies and they are usually pending or done by their own study group. Not a third party researcher.

Mag citrate is the most know magnesium for constipation. It draws water to the bowel thus helping with constipation.

I have seen bottles of liquid mag citrate at those dollar stores and in pharmacies. You can chug one of those and you are good to go.

But, mag sulfate(epsom salts) is even better. It is the least absorbable magnesium..it will not be used by the body for much except it's laxative properties, so you get a concentrated dose for laxative purposes only.

and though I hate to provide links..here is all you need to know in regards to magnesium. Scroll down and you will see absorption rates for the different magnesiums.

http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/magnesium.asp

[girlbug2]

Wow gostrydr, that was excellent information! Thanks. Now I can go out and buy my next bottle of magnesium supplements.

[Hutchinson]

See what Krispin has to say about magnesium oxide absorption (http://www.krispin.com/magnes.html#How)

George Eby also has a few words to say on the subject (http://george-eby-research.com/html/depression-anxiety.html#bath) I think his first choice is magnesium glycinate taken with taurine,

Mrs Doubtfire over at Neurotalk knows what she is talking about also (http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=1138)

[Nancy LC]

I don't see a chart regarding bioavailability of magnesium in the NIH document. There's a chart showing the amount of magnesium (versus the inert ingredients) and a pargraph of text saying that there's a big difference between the types as far as bioavailability. Figure 1 compares the amount of elemental magnesium in different types
Oral magnesium supplements combine magnesium with another substance such as a salt. Examples of magnesium supplements include magnesium oxide, magnesium sulfate, and magnesium carbonate. Elemental magnesium refers to the amount of magnesium in each compoupes of magnesium supplements [28]. The amount of elemental magnesium in a compound and its bioavailability influence the effectiveness of the magnesium supplement. Bioavailability refers to the amount of magnesium in food, medications, and supplements that is absorbed in the intestines and ultimately available for biological activity in your cells and tissues. Enteric coating of a magnesium compound can decrease bioavailability [29]. In a study that compared four forms of magnesium preparations, results suggested lower bioavailability of magnesium oxide, with significantly higher and equal absorption and bioavailability of magnesium chloride and magnesium lactate [30]. This supports the belief that both the magnesium content of a dietary supplement and its bioavailability contribute to its ability to replete deficient levels of magnesium.
I think if you want the laxative effect you probably need one that is poorly absorbed, if I understand correctly how it works.

[arc]

I don't see a chart regarding bioavailability of magnesium in the NIH document. There's a chart showing the amount of magnesium (versus the inert ingredients) and a pargraph of text saying that there's a big difference between the types as far as bioavailability. Figure 1 compares the amount of elemental magnesium in different types

The study that is linked to in that article says this:

Results indicated relatively poor bioavailability of magnesium oxide (fractional absorption 4 per cent) but significantly higher and equivalent bioavailability of magnesium chloride, magnesium lactate and magnesium aspartate.

That doesn't sound very good for mag oxide.

Firoz M and Graber M. Bioavailaility of US commercial magnesium preparation. Magnes Res 2001;14:257-62.

[Nancy LC]

The study that is linked to in that article says this:



That doesn't sound very good for mag oxide.

Firoz M and Graber M. Bioavailaility of US commercial magnesium preparation. Magnes Res 2001;14:257-62.
Yeah, that's what I gathered from it too. Ghostrhyder, you might want to reread that paper you linked.

[Patty47200]

Thanks for all of the good info. I am a little freaked out about the possible kidney damage. I will have to read a bit more about it.

[Gostrydr]

oops, sorry I didn't finish my thought process.

What I wanted to finish with was, that although some organic salts may absorb slightly better than the inorganic forms of minerals, it is very slight..

So then we get into cost and how many pills you have to take to get the dosage.

You have to take more of the organic salts to get dose of a an inorganic form of a mineral..and it always cost more.

So you are taking more tabs and spending more money for a few more percentage points of absorption...

I should have provided this study as well..mag oxide absorbs in the same range as all others.

Study of magnesium bioavailability from ten organic and inorganic Mg salts in Mg-depleted rats using a stable isotope approach

Magnesium Research. Volume 18, Number 4, 215-23, december 2005, Original article

Full Text

Author(s) : C Coudray, M Rambeau, C Feillet-Coudray, E Gueux, JC Tressol, A Mazur, Y Rayssiguier

Summary : Literature data on the bioavailability of various Mg forms provide scarce information on the best Mg salt to be used in animal and human supplementation. This study aimed to investigate the bioavailability of different forms of Mg in rats using Mg stable isotopes. Eighty male Wistar rats aged 6 weeks were fed a semi-purified Mg-depleted diet for three weeks. The rats were then randomised into ten groups and received, for two more weeks, the same diet repleted with Mg (550 mg Mg/kg) as: oxide, chloride, sulphate, carbonate, acetate, pidolate, citrate, gluconate, lactate or aspartate. After 10 days of Mg-repleted diet, the rats received orally 1.8 mg of an enriched 26Mg. Faeces and urine were then collected for 4 consecutive days. Isotope ratios in faeces and urine were determined. The Mg absorption values obtained varied from 50% to 67%. Organic Mg salts were slightly more available than inorganic Mg salts. Mg gluconate exhibited the highest Mg bioavailability of the ten Mg salts studied. Urinary 26Mg excretion varied from 0.20 mg to 0.33 mg, and feeding with the organic pidolate, citrate, gluconate and aspartate salts resulted in higher urinary 26Mg excretion than with inorganic salts. Ultimately, 26Mg retention was higher in the rats receiving the organic salts such as gluconate, lactate and aspartate than in those receiving the inorganic salts. Taken together, these results indicate that 26Mg is sufficiently bioavailable from the ten different Mg salts studied in the present experiment, although Mg gluconate exhibited the highest bioavailability under these experimental conditions.

[Hutchinson]

We may also like to consider the potential benefit our bodies may derive from the other part of the molecule that carries magnesium.

there are reasons why some people maybenefit from the malic acid in magnesium malate (http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a784261594~db=all)

and others may find the taurine in the taurinate complex (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16542786) worthwhile.

[Gostrydr]

Agreed Hutchinson.

For years I have been recommending Malic and Magneium for afflictions like Fibromyalgia and have seen great results. Ethical Nutrients has the best on the market..and I love their Bone formula which contains MCHA.

I guess my post is just for people who want to supplement with magnesium and want to spend as little money as possible. So I try and pass on the most nutrition for the least amount of money.. give them the most bang for their buck

[arc]

I think I would trust the human study over the rodent one. Rodent nutritional studies tend to not relate very well to humans.

[amandawald]

See what Krispin has to say about magnesium oxide absorption (http://www.krispin.com/magnes.html#How)

George Eby also has a few words to say on the subject (http://george-eby-research.com/html/depression-anxiety.html#bath) I think his first choice is magnesium glycinate taken with taurine,

Mrs Doubtfire over at Neurotalk knows what she is talking about also (http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=1138)

Great links!

I have been taking mag oxide (being a cheapskate) and, despite everything written here about its poor absorption rate, I could swear that it has actually helped with my occasional arrhythmias. I have been taking it daily since last summer and although it does give me the dreaded "loose stools" (such a lovely term!), it really seems to help. I know that before that I had stopped taking it so often and then the arrhythmias came back with a vengeance. So even the 8mg I get from 400mg of mag oxide seems to help! But I guess the loose stool issue isn't very good for ensuring that I'm absorbing the other supplements and food in general. So, when I've used up what I have in stock at home, I shall switch to mag taurate. I've just discovered that I can actually get that here in Germany and even though it costs a packet, I suppose it'll be better value for money at the end of the day.

I shall get some beef bone broth on the go again and try an Epsom Salts bath, too, to get an alternative source.

I take 60mg of CoQ10 regularly (almost daily) and L-Carnitine and I do think they have given me extra energy and also helped with the arrhythmias, too.

I have been considering taking a different kind of magnesium for a while and this thread (and the links in it) have been invaluable in helping me make a decision.

amanda

[Hutchinson]

Magnesium is Vital for Good Health (http://www.naturalnews.com/025567.htm) useful article from Natural news
Glad to see the comments on calcium, but he should have made the point that calcium uptake is also dependent on Vitamin d status. You've got to have a 25(OH)D above 32ng 80nmol/l to absorb the maximum amount of calcium from your diet/supplements. If you actually look at the plots they use to come up with that recommendation you will see there are lots of "outliers" that require much higher D3 status, perhaps around 110nmol/l 42ng/ml before they reach their particular maximum for calcium absorption &/or BMD. The trouble with minimum threshold levels is that people tend to interpret them as targets to aim for or optimum levels rather than the lowest acceptable level.

We wouldn't say the same if the threshold we were talking about was income.

Certainly sufficient to cover the daily bills is a reasonable minimum threshold, but common sense tells us that more than the bare minimum affords greater safety and better quality of life.

[catsrus]

Just wanted to post so I could subscribe to this thread. Very intersting stuff here.

[Abraham007]

From a quick google search, I found this article discussing the different types of magnesium (http://www.oxypowder.com/magnesium.html). Not sure if this will help, but it discusses different types.

[Hutchinson]

From a quick google search, I found this article discussing the different types of magnesium (http://www.oxypowder.com/magnesium.html). Not sure if this will help, but it discusses different types.I would like to see the scientific evidence to support the claims that site makes. Sounds more like sales hype that peer reviewed science to me. Magnesium oxide is the least absorbed form of magnesium and is less effective than Magnesium citrate if you want it's laxative properties.
If you want to increase your magnesium status then you need to look at sites that can back up what they say. (http://www.mgwater.com)