Nutrition Videos

Hi! I'm Stelios Pantazis. I'm a doctor and I specialize in medical nutrition and metabolic disorders. Today I'm talking about the magnesium types that you can find in the market, and I'm explaining which type of magnesium is better for the condition you'd like to treat. A question that I often hear at my office and in the comments on my channel is "Which magnesium is suitable for me?" The truth is that there are many types of magnesium in the market and their differences are important, because some magnesium types are more suitable for some particular conditions, while in other cases, you just pay more without any additional benefit. Let's see the types of magnesium you'll find in the market and the condition for which they're more suitable. Magnesium citrate. Magnesium citrate contains magnesium and citric acid. You may know that lemon contains citric acid. It's the same citric acid as that contained in magnesium citrate, although we now don't take it from lemons, but it's manufactured by factories. Magnesium citrate is absorbed really well and it's considered a very safe type of magnesium, as it's extensively used as a preservative in many standardized foods, as well as to add a sour flavor in some cases. Magnesium citrate is absorbed really well, therefore it's considered a magnesium type with very high bioavailability, which means that most of what we take ends up within our body. The bad thing with magnesium citrate is that some people suffering from indigestion due to increased acids in the stomach may have a heartburn after taking it. So, if you suffer from heartburns and GERD, don't start with a high dosage of magnesium citrate, because you may suffer. Magnesium citrate is absorbed really fast in the circulation, so it seems to have an immediate sedative and sleep-inducing effect for many people. The sleep-inducing effect may help someone sleep. Moreover, the fact that it is absorbed really fast makes it useful for people trying to deal with constipation problems, although the magnesium oxide is cheaper and more effective for this purpose. Magnesium oxide. The magnesium oxide is the cheapest type of magnesium in the market, and it's the magnesium type contained in the milk of magnesia, which is extensively used for the treatment of constipation. Since is very cheap and very effective for constipation, I think it's the best solution for this purpose. Unfortunately, magnesium oxide is not absorbed well, therefore for any other condition, you should look for a magnesium type with higher bioavailability, namely one that is absorbed better. Magnesium chloride. You will find magnesium chloride in some tablets with antacids that are used for indigestion problems. It's a rather affordable type with good bioavailability, and you can also find it in magnesium lotions. Some people that exercise use it in this form, because they believe that it really helps with injuries and pain caused by exercise, etc. Magnesium lactate. Magnesium lactate consists of magnesium and lactic acid. Lactic acid is also extensively used as an additive in foods and drinks, as well as in dietary supplements. Magnesium lactate is also largely absorbed, but in contrast to other magnesium types, it is absorbed relatively slowly, which makes it a useful alternative for people intolerant to magnesium citrate or other magnesium types. Moreover, since it's mild for the gastrointestinal system, it may be a useful choice for people that have to consume large amounts of magnesium in a dietary supplement in order to maintain normal levels of magnesium in their blood. Many studies have shown that magnesium lactat has the fewest side-effects for the gastrointestinal system. Furthermore, the fact that the magnesium is released in the blood relatively slowly and that we can consume very large amounts without affecting the gastrointestinal system makes it very useful for people that want to use it to deal with stress without worrying if it will make them sleepy. The magnesium types that are absorbed fast, such as magnesium citrate, are more useful for people that want to use magnesium to treat insomnia. But for those that want to take magnesium in the morning in order to maintain low levels of stress throughout the day, magnesium lactate seems to be a very good choice to achieve that. Magnesium malate One more magnesium type that you'll find in the Greek market and that can be useful is magnesium malate. Magnesium malate has the same characteristics as magnesium lactate, but it's a bit more expensive. If you're looking for a magnesium type that helps you deal with stress and you want to take in the morning without its making you sleepy, and magnesium lactate is not suitable for you due to any reason, magnesium malate can be a good alternative, if you don't mind paying more. Magnesium taurate. Magnesium taurate comes from combining magnesium with taurine, an amino acid. Magnesium taurate is special because in order to achieve the recommended daily dosage, you have to consume 3 g of magnesium taurate powder, which is a rather large and not practical amount. Moreover, its cost is relatively high, especially if you try to consume it in the regular and expected dosage. However, some studies particularly encourage its use by people trying to treat diabetes and increased blood pressure. Magnesium threonate. Magnesium threonate comes from combining magnesium and threonine. Threonine is a product of the metabolism of vitamin C, while some studies on guinea pigs show that magnesium threonate is the ideal magnesium type to increase magnesium in the brain. However, this happens in guinea pigs. It hasn't been proven if this can happen in humans too. Moreover, we don't know what this may mean. We don't know if this makes it a superior magnesium type for some conditions or not. This has to be proven in specific studies on humans, which haven't been carried out yet. However, if you want to use magnesium in order to deal with problems related to brain function, such as depression, incipient or established dementia, and memory disorders, and you don't care about its rather high cost, magnesium threonate could be worth trying. Magnesium sulfate. Magnesium sulfate is the magnesium type you'll find in Epsom salts. It could have various uses, but it doesn't taste good and very few people can tolerate it. Therefore, it's not recommended for consumption. However, some people often use Epsom salts in their bathtub to do a sedative bath, and they believe that magnesium enters the body through the skin and helps them relax better. Unfortunately, there are no studies on humans proving this. Magnesium glycinate. This magnesium type comes from combining magnesium with glycine, which is an amino acid too. Magnesium glycinate has high bioavailability and is largely absorbed relatively fast, while some early data show that it's particularly useful in conditions related to inflammation, such as heart diseases and diabetes. Magnesium orotate. One more magnesium type with high bioavailability that doesn't have the laxative effect that the cheaper magnesium types may have. Unfortunately, its cost doesn't justify its consumption most times, although some early studies show that it may be useful in the treatment of heart diseases. Some data also show that it may be useful for people that do sports, because it's believed that it may help the heart perform better. On the other hand, its cost is extremely high and rarely justified, because it hasn't been proven that it's better than the other magnesium types. These are the ten magnesium types that you'll find in the market more easily and that you can try. Before concluding, I'd like to warn you about the magnesium preparations that use a combination of types. You'd better avoid them. The ones I've seen in the Greek market, and I've seen most of them, if not all, use two or more magnesium types, but in reality they use huge amounts of the cheap types, while the content in the more bioavailable types is very low. For example, you may see a preparation that writes on its label that it contains magnesium oxide, magnesium citrate and magnesium glycinate. In reality, 70% of the magnesium comes from magnesium oxide, 25% from magnesium citrate, and only 5% from the more luxurious magnesium glycinate. Paying twice or three times the cost of magnesium oxide, in reality you buy a preparation that mainly contains magnesium oxide and a low percentage of the other types. Moreover, when you buy combinations of magnesium, you don't know which type helps you and is more suitable for you. You'd better take single types at the appropriate dosage and wait a bit until you find out if the preparation helps you, having a way to evaluate this, of course. If you're trying to find out if a preparation helps you sleep, this is relatively easy. You take it and you observe the quality of your sleep. If you see that it helps you, you repeat until you're sure that's true. But if you want to evaluate something that is not measured so easily, such as the effect of magnesium on the improvement of heart diseases, it's much more complicated, because it's much harder to understand if what you're taking, at the amount you're taking it and the frequency you're taking it, really helps you. In that case, the help and experience of an expert is really essential. Do you use any type of magnesium for some reason? Has it helped you? Write your experience with magnesium in the comments. If you thought this was interesting, please give us a thumbs up. Share it with people who you think might find it interesting and subscribe to our channel in order to get notified when we upload a video. You can also suggest subjects in the comment section. Thank you very much!