Magnesium Supplements

​If you look to supplement with magnesium, it is nearly impossible to decipher all the combinations and sources. Names like magnesium oxide, carbonate, citrate, malate, chloride, glycinate, sulfate, taurate, gluconate, phosphate, glutamate, l-threonate, etc., are a few of the types of magnesium you will face at the store.

Many doctors recommend magnesium oxide as a supplement because it appears in so many scientific reports. But magnesium oxide has only a 4 percent absorption level. This low absorption level means that if you take 100 mg of magnesium oxide, your body will only absorb 4 mg. The rest goes to create a laxative effect in your intestines. The reason it was used in so many studies is because a magnesium oxide supplement company donated truckloads of their supplement for free so that was the form researchers used! It turns out to be one of the least effective forms you could select.

​ ​What all this means, is you don't get as much magnesium in these supplements as you think you get from reading the label. It can be very deceptive. For more information on excitotoxins, see my book .

​Another popular form of magnesium is called magnesium threonate and is a patented product developed by researchers at MIT. Their research claimed to demonstrate actual restoration of function in aging neurons in laboratory animals. Because of this finding, they market the product as possibly "the only form of magnesium that significantly increases the levels of magnesium within the brain." However, the actual research is less impressive.

​Dr. Dean's personal recommendation is a pico-size magnesium chloride product. Because the magnesium is plant-size, it seems like the best option to reach therapeutic levels of magnesium supplementation at the cell level without the laxative effect kicking in too early. There are limited benefits to all forms of magnesium but her research and expertise resonates with me. To request more information on safe and trusted sources for magnesium supplements, send an email to [email protected] .