Trouble With Magnesium Glycinate

[Logan-]

Hi. I bought KAL Magnesium Glycinate some months ago, and bought a lot of it. This is the product: https://www.amazon.com/KAL-Magnesium-Glycinate-Chelated-Servings/dp/B00013YZ1Q

I have been using it for a few months; but lately I started to experiment with it by taking it sublingually when I am having a migraine attack. The problem is, every time I take it sublingually, my tongue and especially my throat hurts for a day. This is weird. And it has a very bad taste.

I have taken another magnesium supplements sublingually before, and never experienced this pain, or the bad taste. Looked at the excipient list, these are: Cellulose, stearic acid, silica, and magnesium stearate.

Could it be the silica? I have taken another supplements with silica before, but did not experience this with them. Maybe the amount of silica is higher in this product?

I checked labdoor.com, it says that this product has concerning levels of arsenic in it. Kal Magnesium Glycinate Review

Does anyone have any idea? I have 3 bottles left, and I wouldn't want to throw these away, unless they are dangerous.

Do you think the pain in my tongue and my throat is a sign that it causes inflammation all the way through my digestive system? My gut is already damaged, and I wouldn't want to mess things up even more.

 

[ecstatichamster]

It does seem to cause irritation in the gastrointestinal tract anyway. So perhaps it does so the way you’re taking it and I would stop.

 

[Dave Clark]

I recently was getting some bio-feedback tests for some of my supplements. Collagen, which has glycine in it, did fine for me, but when tested for glycine powder I tested weak. I use magnesium glycinate, and it makes me wonder if I should stick to other forms until I get it checked. If I recall from posts on this forum, there seems to be a certain percentage of people who don't do well with glycine in any supplement form. Maybe Logan should try another form and see if his symptoms disappear.

 

[Wilfrid]

It's probably because the magnesium isn't fully reacted with the amino acid.
If it has also a very bad taste ( like a metallic one ), chances are that the chelated magnesium is not very " pure ", i.e not fully reacted.
If you take the case of Albion TRAACS chelated magnesium for example, you will have at least three " grades ". The first one, also known as a " buffered grade ", is often a magnesium chelated with a free glycine amino acid, and have the highest elemental magnesium, usually in the oxide form ( around 18% ).
The second one ( which I suspect is the one used by KAL ) is the " standard " grade with around 10% of elemental magnesium but this grade of magnesium is still not 100% fully reacted and can have a metallic taste in the mouth.
And the third one "taste free " grade which is the 100% fully reacted magnesium glycinate with the highest purity and it's the one you want if you go sublingualy. It contains around 8% elemental magnesium.
Unfortunately when swallowing pills, you don't know which one you are currently ingesting unless doing it sublingualy like you did. Just ask to KAL consumer service which kind of grade they are using for their pills.
However, the " taste free " grade is by far the safest of all.

 

[Wilfrid]

Plus, I see that the product does contains silica.
Under anhydrous conditions, silicon dioxide can act as a Lewis acid and thus can promote unwanted reactions and accelerates product decomposition.
It might not be impossible that this kind of reaction/degradation occurs with the traces of the unreacted magnesium left ( the oxide form have a very high Ph and can probably reacts with the silica) in the finished product.....

 

[ddjd]

Just pay a bit more for pure encapsulations 360 X mag glycinate capsules. You won't regret it

 

[Logan-]

Thanks for the replies so far. I have Crohn's disease, should I keep using the KAL magnesium glycinate, or discard the bottles completely? I don't have to take them sublingually, I can swallow them if they are not contributive/causing gut inflammation?

 

[Logan-]

Bump.

 

[ecstatichamster]

Try them. If Your Butt feels sore you can stop or lower the dose.

 

[Logan-]

I've been using them for three months, but I have never tried them sublingually like this before. It clearly causes inflammation on my throat if I take it sublingually. I have never noticed gut soreness, but maybe it's contributing to at least some level of inflammation still. It's not easy for me to understand it while I already have gut inflammation because of Crohn's.

@Wilfrid, is the KAL magnesium glycinate safe to take? I don't have to take them sublingually, if that's causing the issue. What I want to know is, does that cause inflammation in the digestive tract when swallowed. What do you think, based on your explanation?

 

[Wilfrid]

I've been using them for three months, but I have never tried them sublingually like this before. It clearly causes inflammation on my throat if I take it sublingually. I have never noticed gut soreness, but maybe it's contributing to at least some level of inflammation still. It's not easy for me to understand it while I already have gut inflammation because of Crohn's.

@Wilfrid, is the KAL magnesium glycinate safe to take? I don't have to take them sublingually, if that's causing the issue. What I want to know is, does that cause inflammation in the digestive tract when swallowed. What do you think, based on your explanation?

I don't know if this supplement is safe or not. To a certain extent, all magnesium supplements, when ingested on a daily basis, can be risky with an history of intestinal inflammation.

 

[Logan-]

Do you have a recommendation for a safer oral magnesium supplement? It could be any kind in any form (tablet, powder, liquid, capsule etc.).

 

[Wilfrid]

From my understanding, I would probably stay away from a supplement/tablet which both contains silica ( not for the persorption issue ) and magnesium element that is not fully reacted.
And if your magnesium pill have a " taste ", it's not a fully reacted one.

 

[ecstatichamster]

I’ve found magnesium threonate doesn’t cause irritation. It is very expensive.

 

[Wilfrid]

Do you have a recommendation for a safer oral magnesium supplement? It could be any kind in any form (tablet, powder, liquid, capsule etc.).

If you can put your hand on ALBION TRAACS " taste free " grade powder with no excipients, it will probably worth trying.

 

[Peater Piper]

There was (is?) a lawsuit against companies selling magnesium glycinate supplements because they were using large amounts of magnesium oxide without listing it on the label. I don't know if that could be your issue or not. I used the same product years ago and it did cause some digestive troubles. I bought magnesium glycinate powder from Purebulk after confirming it was a pure chelate. I've had no issues, even up to 800 mg a day, although it tastes foul, like rotting fish (I don't know if that's a concern or not). I usually mix a dose into about a tablespoon of water and do a "shot," then quickly chase it with some food to remove the taste. I don't know if you could tolerate the taste sublingually.

 

[Logan-]

There was (is?) a lawsuit against companies selling magnesium glycinate supplements because they were using large amounts of magnesium oxide without listing it on the label. I don't know if that could be your issue or not. I used the same product years ago and it did cause some digestive troubles. I bought magnesium glycinate powder from Purebulk after confirming it was a pure chelate. I've had no issues, even up to 800 mg a day, although it tastes foul, like rotting fish (I don't know if that's a concern or not). I usually mix a dose into about a tablespoon of water and do a "shot," then quickly chase it with some food to remove the taste. I don't know if you could tolerate the taste sublingually.

Thanks for writing. What were the digestive trubles you experienced with the KAL magnesium glycinate?

Regarding PureBulk's product, When I look at their website, they don't say anything like "non-buffered" "fully reacted" "TRAACS" etc.

PureBulk Supplements

@Dan Wich 's website says it contains magnesium oxide.
Magnesium glycinate supplements with the fewest additives - Toxinless

What do you mean by "pure chelate"? How did you confirm?

If you can put your hand on ALBION TRAACS " taste free " grade powder with no excipients, it will probably worth trying.

Thanks. Found some magnesium supplements that conform to your standards.

Some of the supplements:
***https://www.vitacost.com/now-foods-magnesium-bisglycinate-powder NOW Foods Magnesium Bisglycinate Powder
https://www.amazon.com/NOW-Magnesium-Bisglycinate-Powder-8-Ounce/dp/B00NIJ03C0
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Now-Foods-...478986&sr=8-9&keywords=magnesium+bisglycinate
Magnesium Bisglycinate Powder

***
https://www.amazon.com/Bisglycinate-No-Laxative-Absorption-Bioavailability-Headaches/dp/B076S3CSCB Magnesium Bisglycinate 100% Chelate TRAACS. No-Laxative Effect. Maximum Absorption & Bioavailability, Fully Reacted & Not Buffered. Sleep, Energy, Anxiety, Leg Cramps, Headaches. Non-GMO BioSchwartz
Magnesium Bisglycinate 100% Chelate TRAACS

***https://www.amazon.co.uk/Magnesium-Bisglycinate-Absorption-Buffered-Elemental/dp/B01INKVVRO Magnesium Bisglycinate – Highest Absorption – Premium Grade – No Fillers – Non Buffered – 90 Veg Caps – 500mg Magnesium Bisglycinate per cap (50mg Elemental Magnesium) by BB&G HEALTH CORP.

****https://www.amazon.com/Magnesium-Bisglycinate-Absorption-Supplement-Non-Laxative/dp/B0172LH89A Pure Magnesium Bisglycinate POWDER • For Purists Only • Harvard Studied Absorption • Chelated Supplement for Mg • Non-Laxative/Buffered • No Big Pills,... Periodic Essentials

I am thinking about buying NOW's product at the top of this list, but everyone says it has a very bad taste which makes me suspicious. It's interesting because they claim that the product is TRAACS. Do you have an explanation for that? Maybe I shouldn't buy that one and buy the taste-free ones on the list?

 

[Logan-]

This one looks very good and is very popular, but the excipients look suspicious to me. What do you think about its excipient list @Wilfrid?

https://www.amazon.com/Doctors-Best-Absorption-Magnesium-Glycinate/dp/B000BD0RT0

 

[Peater Piper]

hanks for writing. What were the digestive trubles you experienced with the KAL magnesium glycinate?

Regarding PureBulk's product, When I look at their website, they don't say anything like "non-buffered" "fully reacted" "TRAACS" etc.

The Kal magnesium gave me bloating, and sometimes diarrhea if I attempted a high dose. This was in 2016.

Regarding PureBulk's magnesium glycinate powder, I emailed them back in May. Their reply: "Our current batch of magnesium glycinate is 13.21% magnesium and 86.79% glycine. No fillers are used." No digestive issues even with higher doses. I never heard of TRAACS until this thread. When I was looking into it, I read that true magnesium glycinates should be 11-14% magnesium, the rest glycine. Looking at the certificate of analysis from 2015 on Dan's page, it's clear PureBulk changed their formulation (or I was lied to).

 

[Wilfrid]

The Kal magnesium gave me bloating, and sometimes diarrhea if I attempted a high dose. This was in 2016.

Regarding PureBulk's magnesium glycinate powder, I emailed them back in May. Their reply: "Our current batch of magnesium glycinate is 13.21% magnesium and 86.79% glycine. No fillers are used." No digestive issues even with higher doses. I never heard of TRAACS until this thread. When I was looking into it, I read that true magnesium glycinates should be 11-14% magnesium, the rest glycine. Looking at the certificate of analysis from 2015 on Dan's page, it's clear PureBulk changed their formulation (or I was lied to).

I think that the highest grade, high quality chelated magnesium should be around 8% magnesium. And it must be taste free.
Here is the page on Albion website:
Albion Human Nutrition - TRAACS®, you can see in the magnesium section the different kind of qualities available to the manufacturing companies. The " taste free " grade is the best quality but its selling price too, which means that few manufacturers are really using it in their supplements.