I’m sure many of you have heard about the importance of magnesium for various issues from insomnia to bone health. But what many don’t know is that there are several different kinds of magnesium with widely varying effects on the body. For example see this chart from the Link Removed* .
Personally thus far I only have experience with the Citrate (In products such as Natural Calm and laxatives), Sulfate (AKA Epsom Salt), and Chloride (such as Magnesium Oil or flakes). Though I find the Citrate form useful for digestive issues including my poor motility I cant tolerate enough of it to make much difference in deficiency and pain issues without spending all day on the porcelain throne. Sulfate form while helpful for pain and cramping in a good soak is inconvenient and still gives me adverse digestive side effects. Chloride applied topically you guessed it gave me adverse digestive effects and greatly irritated my skin used in the amount I needed for relief from pain.
Which leads me to my next bout of supplement roulette. After several weeks of reading I have decided upon the Malate form. For its reputed benefits on my long term companions aching and muscle pain. First I looked into Glycinate as it is known for being gut friendly with minimal laxative effect even in higher doses. But after speaking to a few people with similar health conditions and personal experience with this form I didn’t feel it would have the effect I am after and has been noted to have an adverse fishy flavor. As I have dysphagia I cannot swallow pills to avoid the flavor and powders are easiest for me to dose and consume over the day which has less chance of shocking my sensitive gut.
Next I looked into Threonate which while well reviewed and generally tolerated by those with sensitive systems it’s 1) far more expensive and 2) extremely limited selection in additive and flavor free powder. Maybe someday a company will catch on to us zebras and create a low allergen potential powdered product.
Which lead me to Malate form as Oxide (AKA Milk Of Magnesia) has low absorption with high laxative effect and Taurate/Orotate are targeted for cardiovascular health with limited effect on pain and spasms. This is the product I intend to purchase. First I have a few other new supplements in the cupboard from the Mito Cocktail and the Polysaccharide Protocol to introduce and experiment with. But I am slowly working my way through options I have faith will lead me to better quality of life than conventional medicine has been able to provide me thus far.
If you have been having difficulty with magnesium deficiency/supplementation or were merely curious about the magic mineral I hope you have found this post helpful in your journey.
*Source link removed due to personal cyber bullying and disability discrimination incident by the entity.