Magnesium glycinate vs citrate: what the doctors said

Which one should you take for sleep?

Dr. Mark Hyman gives the plainest answer, and sends citrate the other way in the same breath:

“my favorite basic one for everybody is magnesium glycinate it's broad spectrum it works across a lot of things that help with sleep with relaxation anxiety PMS cardiovascular health best taken at night uh magnesium citrate you can use if you have constipation so that actually helps you go to the bathroom”

Hyman names it again on a different episode:

“magnesium is my number one sleep supplement about two to 400 even 600 before bed usually start with magnesium glycinate that helps a lot”

Dr. Andrew Huberman lands in the same place from a different angle, and rules citrate out for sleep:

“there are other forms of magnesium: magnesium bisglycinate, which is a somewhat of an alternative to threonate, not known to have cognitive enhancing effects, but seems, at least on par with magnesium threonate in terms of promoting transition into and depth of sleep and so on”

Which one loosens your bowels?

Citrate. Huberman is direct about it:

“Actually, magnesium citrate is a fairly effective laxative, not known to promote sleep and things of that sort”

Here is the disagreement. Dr. Peter Attia puts glycinate in that same group, which Hyman leaves out above:

“magnesium citrate, glycinate, and oxide are fantastic if you're looking for a little speed up of the bowel. If you aren't, you want magnesium carbonate. It's also worth noting magnesium carbonate more fully absorbed than mag oxide, citrate, or glycinate, which is actually why those three help with bowel regularity”

Both are on tape. If glycinate has ever loosened you, Attia predicted it and Hyman did not.

What about absorption?

Dr. Rhonda Patrick puts them in one group:

“these include magnesium citrate magnesium glycinate magnesium tarate these indicate um magnesium malate is also in there these organic salt forms of magnesium are generally more bioavailable and effectively raise plasma magnesium levels compared to inorganic forms of magnesium like magnesium oxide magnesium chloride magnesium sulfate”

Attia rates a third form above both of them. That is the carbonate line in the quote above.

How much magnesium a day?

Attia gives a floor, then names a higher number on the same tape:

“and magnesium 300 to 500 milligrams daily”

“I'm routinely hitting about a gram of magnesium supplemental… And by the way, I think that's a real minimum, right? I mean, I think a gram is really where you want to be”

Attia calls the first figure a minimum, and the second one the target. Both numbers come from Attia.

What about threonate?

Huberman groups threonate with bisglycinate for getting into the brain:

“Magnesium threonate, that's T-H-R-E-O-N-A-T-E, threonate, and magnesium bisglycinate have transporters that allow them to cross the blood-brain barrier more readily than other forms of magnesium”

Patrick rules it out for a different job:

“magnesium threonate is not the best option for meeting daily magnesium needs it shouldn't be included as contributing to your recommended daily allowance of magnesium”

Those two agree. One is about the brain, the other about your daily total.

Will a blood test tell you whether you are low?

Patrick and Hyman both distrust the standard test. Patrick first:

“so our body will just continually pull from our bones to prevent magnesium levels from going below 0.7 m per liter for this reason plasma magnesium is not a good indicator of magnesium status for most healthy adults”

Hyman puts an optimal line on that test, then backs away from the test in the same sentence:

“normal quote normal SE magnesium levels are about 1.8 to 2.3 but I think anything under two is linked to increased health risks and Optimum level should be over two so if you're getting a sear magnesium it should be over two but I I don't like that I like the red blood cell magnesium”

Both land in the same place on the test. That number sits on the magnesium page, next to where your own result lands.

Who should be careful?

These three cautions are Decode's own, so none of them carries a name.

• High doses, roughly above 600 mg a day, can cause diarrhea and cramping. Start low.
• Magnesium binds some antibiotics and the osteoporosis pills like alendronate. Take them at least 2 hours apart.
• Kidney disease slows magnesium clearance. Ask your doctor first.

They sit below some of the numbers quoted above, and that is deliberate. One more, and this one does carry a name:

“daily supplementing with a high dose of zinc because it it can inhibit magnesium absorption”