In this video, Dr Kim explains the different types of Magnesium supplements available and he goes over the best ones to consider to optimize one’s health. Magnesium is crucial for every aspect of our well-being, including neurological health, heart health, metabolism, digestion, sleep, anti-aging, and even cancer prevention.
Chapters:
0:00 – Intro
1:04 – Magnesium Glycinate
4:07 – Magnesium Citrate
5:00 – Magnesium L-Threonate
8:01 – Magnesium Taurate
8:44 – Magnesium Sulfate
9:20 – Magnesium Malate
9:49 – Magnesium Chloride
10:24 – Magnesium Oxide
11:33 – Brands I recommend (please see pinned comment for an update)
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Dr Kim is a physician, board-certified in Internal and Obesity Medicine, with a passion for preventive health, weight loss, metabolic health, and longevity.
DISCLAIMER:
This video is for general information and educational purposes only and does NOT constitute the practice of medicine or other professional health services, including giving of a medical advice. NO doctor-patient relationship is formed. The use of this information and the materials provided in the video is at user’s own risk. The contents of the video are NOT intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice and are NOT intended to treat, diagnose, cure or prevent disease. You should NOT delay or disregard obtaining medical advice for any medical condition you have and you should first seek the assistance of your healthcare professional(s) for any such condition(s). You should NOT make any changes in your health regime, diet, medications, or supplements, before first consulting your physician or healthcare provider and before first obtaining a medical exam, diagnosis, and prescription/recommendation from your physician or healthcare provider. Leonid Kim MD will not assume any liability for any direct or indirect losses or damages that may result from use of the information contained in this video, including but not limited to, economic loss, injury, illness, or death. Furthermore, all content in the video is subject to change without notice, so the content creator assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of information contained. Please review all information regarding any medical condition or use of medications and/or supplements with your physician or healthcare provider.
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So, what’s the best magnesium supplement for your health? Well, there are lots of forms to choose from, and the best one really depends on what you’re trying to achieve or it depends on your underlying conditions. And some of you may actually benefit from taking several different forms of magnesium together to fully optimize your health. because it’s so important to get it right as proper magnesium stores are crucial for every aspect of your health from neurological health to heart health, your metabolism, digestion, sleep, anti-aging, and even cancer prevention. So, in this video, I’ll tell you exactly which forms of magnesium is best for your individual needs. And I’ll also tell you the biggest mistakes people make with magnesium and how to avoid them. And at the end of the video, I’ll tell you which brands I personally take and recommend to my patients. I’m Dr. Leith Kim. I am boardcertified in internal and obesity medicine. And on this channel, I discuss the most up-to-date and evidence-based information on the topics of weight loss, metabolic health, and longevity. Let’s get into it. So, let’s start with one of the most popular forms of magnesium, and that is magnesium glycinate. It’s formulated by binding elemental magnesium and the amino acid glycine. And amino acids like glycine are the building blocks of protein. And they’re usually found in meats, bone broth, fish, uh dairy. Now, the reason magnesium glycinate is so popular is because it’s very bioavailable. Or in other words, it’s very easily absorbed and a large portion of it can enter the bloodstream and be utilized by your body. And because it’s absorbed in many different areas of your intestine, it does not give you as many gastrointestinal side effects like diarrhea as other forms of magnesium like magnesium oxide or sulfate, which I’ll cover later in this video. Now, magnesium glycinate has been associated with many different health benefits. Most notable is in the improvement of depression, anxiety, and sleep. But unfortunately, I couldn’t find many good quality studies that tested magnesium glycine specifically. But there was a small case study that showed the magnesium glycinate could be helpful in improving symptoms of depression which mechanistically does make sense as magnesium deficiency is very common among people with depression. Another important reason I usually recommend magnesium glycinate is to help with vitamin D absorption. Magnesium is a very important enzyme in vitamin D metabolism. It serves as a crucial step in taking the inactive form of vitamin D that we get from food or supplements and magnesium converts it into a more biologically active form of vitamin D like 25 hydroxy vitamin D which is the form that is usually measured on a blood test. And there was a double blind randomized control trial that showed that in people with overweight or obesity, adding magnesium glycinate to vitamin D is more effective in raising vitamin D levels compared to vitamin D supplementation alone. Now, one important thing to note when taking the right magnesium glycinate supplement is to pick the brand that has a chilated form of magnesium or a form where magnesium and glycine are chemically bonded to each other which transforms inorganic metallic element into a biological form that is better absorbed. Now many brands use misleading and inaccurate labeling and instead of chelated or chemically bonded magnesium what they sell is blended forms of glycine with a cheaper form of magnesium like magnesium oxide or magnesium carbonate which is a form of magnesium that is not as well absorbed and it’s more likely to give you diarrhea. So there was a quality test performed by now published in December of 2022 that found that most magnesium glycinate products found on Amazon did not actually provide truly chelated forms of magnesium. But what was sold was a cheaper form that is blended and not chemically bonded. And not surprising, but the now magnesium supplement did pretty well in their own funded study. So take it for what it’s worth. And by the way, if you are currently taking a magnesium supplement, let me know in the comments which magnesium supplement that you prefer and tell me why. Because I have my favorite brands, but I’m always looking to learn more about other brands. Next, let’s talk about magnesium citrate. And just like magnesium glycinate, it’s also pretty well absorbed in the body. But at higher doses, magnesium citrate does become a laxative. In a really high doses, it’s often used in bowel preparation before colonoscopies. Magnesium citrate is made out of magnesium bound with citric acid ions. And citric acid is commonly found in citrus fruits like lemons and limes. And just like other forms of magnesium, magnesium citrate is reported to be helpful with anxiety. But we also have studies that show that magnesium citrate can help with metabolic syndrome, specifically blood pressure and insulin resistance. And there was a very small pilot study that was a double blind randomized control trial published in 2021 that showed that supplementation with 400 milligrams of magnesium citrate daily for 12 weeks led to a significant decrease in blood pressure as well as a significant improvement in hemoglobin A1C. Next, we need to talk about magnesium L3rionate or magine. has been getting a lot of attention lately because of its potential impact on brain function, especially memory loss and cognition as well as because of its potential use in chronic pain. Now, magnesium levels are very tightly regulated in our bodies and very little of the magnesium in our blood can actually cross the blood brain barrier, which just as the name suggests is a membrane between the blood and the brain. So, in general, very little magnesium that is ingested is actually transported to our brain or the cerebral spinal fluid. And this is where magnesium L3enate comes in. There’s animal data that suggests the magnesium 3enate can easily cross the bloodb brain barrier. And it can do so due to its unique chemical structure where magnesium that is bonded with thoronic acid which is a metabolite vitamin C. And the structure is what enables it to pass through the barrier and achieve higher concentration of magnesium in the brain. Now, a lot of the excitement is based on small animal studies done in mice and rats, where some studies showed improved memory, improved motor function, and Parkinson’s models, and some studies showed reduced brain inflammation, but it’s hard to draw any kind of conclusions based on animal studies as many of those don’t really translate to human trials. Now, we do have small human studies that can give us a little bit more insight. And the initial study that put magnesium 38 on the map was a small randomized double blind placebo control trial but with only 44 participants ages between 50 to 70 with self-reported complaints of impaired memory or concentration. And the group that took magnesium 3 and8 was found to have a very small possibly clinically significant improvement in executive function and in working memory. In a more recent study published in 2022 was a larger study with 109 participants. That was also a double blind placebo control study that showed that treatment with 400 milligs of magnesium 3 and8ate along with vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin D3 and phosphatidal serereine significantly improved performance in cognition and memory with the older participants showing more improvement than younger participants. But it’s hard to draw any conclusions from this study as we don’t know whether it was the magnesium thriionate or the other vitamins or phosphatylcerene or the combination of some sorts that was responsible for the improved condition. And another important asterisk for both of those studies is that they were both industry funded. So there may be potential conflict of interest. The overall totality of evidence for the benefits of magnesium 3 and 8 is pretty underwhelming at this point. So, this is not one of the supplements I generally recommend to my patients, especially considering its high cost. Also, it’d be very hard to meet your daily magnesium needs with this supplement as it contains very little elemental magnesium. So, if you are taking magnesium 38, I would not count it towards calculating your recommended daily allowance. By the way, trying to figure out how much magnesium to take or your optimal levels of magnesium or how to know if you’re actually deficient magnesium to begin with is a huge topic in and of itself and I will be releasing a video on that soon. So stay tuned for that. Next up is a form of magnesium that’s been getting a lot of excitement and that is magnesium tarate. Now, this form of magnesium is also pretty well absorbed and it contains the amino acid tarine, which is a protein building block that is usually found in clams, shellfish, and poultry. Tarine has been reported to be beneficial in the treatment of high blood pressure, obesity, and high cholesterol. And some studies speculate it even has anti-aging effects. There are some animal studies that show that magnesium tarate can help with high blood pressure as well as having neuroprotective properties in the setting of traumatic brain injury. But unfortunately, the current evidence is mostly based on animal data. And we do need larger human studies before I can recommend it with more confidence. Next, let’s talk about magnesium sulfate, which is formed by combining magnesium, sulfur, and oxygen. Magnesium sulfate is commonly known as Epsom salt. It is often used as a laxative, and many people take Epsom bass to help with muscle cramps or as a way to relax. But there’s not enough evidence to say that Epsom bass can effectively penetrate the skin or if they can be absorbed transdermally to actually increase your body magnesium levels. But anecdotally, many of my patients do find Epsom bass very relaxing. And if that’s the case, that could be an added benefit, even if it doesn’t raise your magnesium levels. Next up is magnesium malate, which is a compound made of magnesium and malic acid. Now, malic acid is usually found in fruit or wine. And this form of magnesium is very well absorbed and probably the easiest to tolerate due to a much less relaxative effect. This is the magnesium I recommend to my patients who have not been able to tolerate other forms of magnesium due to GI upset. By the way, there’s also studies that show the magnesium mali can be helpful in the treatment of fibromyalgia, but that’s a big topic for another day. Next up is magnesium chloride, which is another magnesium that is very efficiently and easily absorbed. It’s reported to be useful in the treatment of depression. And in fact, there was an open label randomized control crossover trial that showed that treatment with 248 milligrams of magnesium chloride for 6 weeks resulted in clinically significant improvements in depression and anxiety scores. Magnesium chloride is also often used as a topical agent for muscle soreness, but just like with magnesium sulfate, there’s just not enough evidence to say if has any clinical benefit or if it’s even absorbed through your skin. And last but not least, there’s magnesium oxide, which is the cheapest and most common form of magnesium you can find. It’s an inorganic form of magnesium that is poorly absorbed by our GI tract. So, it really should not be used to treat magnesium deficiency. Where magnesium oxide shines is in the treatment of constipation. And I want to highlight a double blind randomized placebo control study published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology that showed the magnesium oxide was just as effective as Senna, a common constipation drug in improving the frequency of bowel movements and improving constipation quality of life scores. There’s also some early evidence showing that magnesium oxide could be effective in preventing migraines and is based on the small study from 2019 that was a double blind randomized crossover trial that showed that treatment with 500 milligrams of magnesium oxide was just as effective in migraine prophylaxis as treatment with velpro sodium or depeote. Now, this is a very brief overview of the most common forms of magnesium that we usually take. But if there’s one form you’d like for me to go more in depth on, or if there’s a form I did not talk about, let me know in the comments below and I’ll make a separate video on that in the future.
