Elemental Magnesium

Hello the Magnesium I have been taking says that it is 200 mg bisglycinate magnesium per capsule, but only 28 mg of Elemental magnesium. Does this mean that only 28mg of the capsule is actually magnesium?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/22/2019 03:43PM by katesshadow.

That's exactly what it means.

True katesshadow, and as Carey noted that, in essence, elemental magnesium refers to the actual magnesium you get from a compounded magnesium supplement.

The elemental magnesium portion of a given magnesium supplement is the actual magnesium percentage relative to a typically larger component of either mineral salts added or amino-acid chelate added (i.e. in your example "Glycinate"), in order to increase bioavailability of the elemental magnesium fraction of the overall compound,

Magnesium ( plus many or other ionic minerals) require the booster effect from adding either a specific mineral salt or the amino-acid chelate due to elemental magnesium being essentially an inorganic 'rock', and thus is not terribly absorbable without a little help to convert it to and 'organic' form of magnesium. A properly chelated amino acid tends to outperform most mineral salt additives (though some folks/ supplement makers may debate that last point).

Looking at your magnesium glycinate as a good example of a generally effective oral mag repletion supplement, notice that the amount of elemental magnesium listed is usually a smaller fraction, in this case, one part of the supplement is elemental magnesium while two parts of the compound is chelated glycine, plus then any fillers added.

This ratio of elemental magnesium to chelated amino acid used will vary based on the specific amino acid that is chelated, i,e, taurine, glycine, malate etc.

Don't get hung up with trying to go only for the highest level of reported elemental magnesium percentage, as the most important thing is the overall bioavailability of a given supplement. which is reflected more from the combination of the chelated amino acid and the element magnesium and not solely based on elemental mag level alone.

For those who may want to learn more about chelated minerals, and magnesium glycinate in particular, here is an in-depth review on the topic: Isotrope.com

Cheers!
Shannon

What Carey and Shannon have said is correct.

However, I hope you are taking more than one capsule per day--28 mg per day seems very low. Different forms of magnesium can have very different absorption rates, therefore, it can be difficult to determine how many capsules an individual should take each day. The manufacturer's guidelines can be helpful. Testing of levels can be difficult so paying attention to how your body is responding is a good guideline.

Elemental matter, other than oxygen, is useless to the human body. If you can find it on the periodic chart, you can’t eat/breathe/drink it. It will always have to be in some compounded form that can cross the intestinal wall and be metabolized by the liver into an ionic form of the element circulating in the bloodstream.

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wolfpack
Elemental matter, other than oxygen, is useless to the human body. If you can find it on the periodic chart, you can’t eat/breathe/drink it. It will always have to be in some compounded form that can cross the intestinal wall and be metabolized by the liver into an ionic form of the element circulating in the bloodstream.

True, but for our purposes, katesshadow is only getting 28 mg of mag in her capsule.

I have been taking 3 capsules a day thinking I was getting a total of 600 mg of magnesium. I ran out so I bought a new brand that says it is 225 milligrams of elemental magnesium for 3 capsules. Should I just start out with the three capsules per day? It is also magnesium glycinate but does specify 225 mg of elemental magnesium (for 3 capsules)

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katesshadow
I have been taking 3 capsules a day thinking I was getting a total of 600 mg of magnesium. I ran out so I bought a new brand that says it is 225 milligrams of elemental magnesium for 3 capsules. Should I just start out with the three capsules per day? It is also magnesium glycinate but does specify 225 mg of elemental magnesium (for 3 capsules)

Yes, I'd start there and work up.

Thank you and everyone else for your replies. Chemistry is like a foreign language to me. Funny it's my son's major 😊