You need magnesium for strong bones, a healthy immune system, normal nerve and muscle function, a steady heart rhythm and for turning your food into energy. Although it is best to get your nutrients from foods, you can also get magnesium from supplements. However, some supplements are more effective than others.
Elemental Magnesium Content
One factor that affects the effectiveness of magnesium supplements is the amount of elemental magnesium they contain. Magnesium oxide supplements contain the most elemental magnesium, followed by magnesium carbonate and magnesium hydroxide. Magnesium citrate, magnesium lactate, magnesium chloride and magnesium sulfate supplements all contain much lower levels of elemental magnesium. However, elemental magnesium content is not the only factor involved in determining the effectiveness of magnesium supplements.
Bioavailability
Another important factor in the effectiveness of magnesium supplements is the bioavailability of the supplements. In other words, how easily your body can absorb them. Magnesium citrate, magnesium chloride, magnesium aspartate, magnesium lactate and magnesium gluconate all have high bioavailability, but magnesium oxide does not, making it less recommended as a magnesium supplement.
Recommended Intake
The recommended dietary allowance, or RDA, for magnesium is 400 mg per day for men between the ages of 19 and 30 and 310 mg per day for women, unless you are pregnant, in which case the RDA increases to 350 mg per day. If you are age 31 or older, the RDA increases by 10 mg per day, making it 410 mg per day for men, 320 mg per day for women and 360 mg per day during pregnancy.
Considerations
Although it is important to get enough magnesium, consuming too much supplemental magnesium can be dangerous. If you take magnesium supplements, don't consume more than the tolerable upper intake level for supplements, which is 350 mg per day for adults. You are unlikely to experience toxicity symptoms from magnesium in food, so meeting your requirements through consuming foods rich in magnesium, such as halibut and cooked spinach, is safer than taking magnesium supplements.
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