Is 1000 mg of magnesium Complex too much?

It depends on the salts, because a blend's compound weight can hide a fourfold range of magnesium

Is 1000mg of a magnesium complex too much has an answer that depends on the salts in the blend more than on the number, and the reason is a range that single-salt readers never meet. A magnesium complex is a blend of salts, typically bisglycinate, citrate and malate, sometimes taurate, oxide or others, and each salt carries a different fraction of magnesium by weight: bisglycinate around 14 to 20%, citrate around 16%, malate around 15%, taurate around 9%, and oxide around 60%, so that 1000mg of compound means very different amounts of the mineral depending on the mix. A chelate-and-organic-salt blend, glycinate, citrate and malate in roughly equal parts, yields around 150 to 200mg of elemental magnesium from 1000mg of compound, 40 to 53% of the NRV, well under the 400mg guidance level and, for a lifter meaning to take a reference-value dose, on the small side. An oxide-led blend, the type page's pattern on cheaper products, can yield up to about 600mg from 1000mg of compound if oxide dominates, over the guidance level, laxative for most people because oxide is also the least absorbed salt, and the blend a reader least suspects because the front says complex rather than oxide. And if the 1000mg is elemental, a figure a complex label sometimes prints when it sums the mineral across its salts, it is over the level by a wide margin, loose stools near certain, no benefit over 300mg for a lifter whose shortfall 300mg closes, and harm only in failed kidneys, the too-much ladder's second rung. Three readings of one number, spanning a fourfold range, which is the whole reason the complex page calls division the blend's real property.

The only line that tells you which, the reading in practice, and the number filed

The only line that tells you which reading applies is the %NRV beside the magnesium figure on the nutrient table, because it is calculated from the elemental total whatever the salts: a 1000mg complex declaring magnesium at 40 to 53% NRV is a chelate blend delivering 150 to 200mg elemental, fine and modest; one declaring around 80 to 107% is delivering 300 to 400mg, at or near the level, a full dose; one declaring well over 100% is oxide-led or is stating the elemental figure, over the level and laxative; and one declaring no %NRV at all has left the reader to guess across the fourfold range, which is a reason to put it back. The reading in practice runs three lines: the %NRV for the elemental total, the ingredients list for the order of the salts, oxide first meaning an oxide-led blend whatever the front says, and the capsule count, since a 1000mg complex is usually three or four capsules and the per-capsule elemental figure is the blend page's division. The verdict by reading: a chelate blend's 1000mg is not too much and is possibly too little, a full-dose blend's 1000mg is at the level and fine, an oxide-led blend's 1000mg is too much in the laxative sense and poorly absorbed besides, and 1000mg elemental from any complex is over the level with nothing to gain. The number filed: 1000mg of a magnesium complex is anywhere from about 150mg to about 600mg of elemental magnesium depending on the salts, or 1000mg elemental if the label sums the mineral, the %NRV being the only line that tells you which, and the worked example being one salt with one figure and no range to guess, 1500mg bisglycinate giving 300mg elemental at 80% NRV, £19.99 for 90 days at 22p.

The verdict, a number that means four things until the %NRV says which

Is 1000mg of a magnesium complex too much: it depends on the salts, 1000mg of a glycinate-citrate-malate blend being about 150 to 200mg of elemental magnesium and on the small side, a citrate-led blend about 250 to 350mg and a full dose, an oxide-led blend up to about 600mg and over the level in the laxative sense, and 1000mg stated as elemental far over it with nothing gained over 300mg, so that the %NRV beside the figure is the only line that tells you which reading applies and a complex with no %NRV is a complex to put back. One salt, one figure, no range: Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate, 1500mg bisglycinate giving 300mg elemental at 80% NRV, £19.99 for 90 days at 22p a day.

What to check on the label

Questions people also ask

How much elemental magnesium is in 1000mg of a magnesium complex?

Anywhere from about 150mg for a glycinate-citrate-malate blend, whose salts are 15 to 20% magnesium, to about 600mg for an oxide-led blend, oxide being about 60% magnesium, which is why the %NRV beside the figure is the only reliable guide.

Is 1000mg of magnesium complex safe to take daily?

If the %NRV shows 40 to 53%, it delivers 150 to 200mg elemental and is fine and modest; if it shows over 100%, it is oxide-led or stated as elemental, over the 400mg guidance level and laxative, and the ingredients list will show oxide first.

Why don't magnesium complexes state one elemental figure clearly?

Some do on the nutrient table; the front often prints the compound total because it is a larger number, and the fourfold range across salt mixes makes the %NRV the line to read, a complex with none being one to put back.

Is a magnesium complex better absorbed than a single salt?

No trial says so: the salts were studied one at a time, citrate and bisglycinate absorbing well and oxide poorly, and a blend that includes oxide has diluted its good salts with its worst while dividing a fixed capsule.

What should I take instead of a 1000mg complex?

A single well-absorbed salt at a stated elemental dose, bisglycinate at 300mg elemental over two capsules, with the compound weight and the mineral both printed so there is no range to guess.

Sources

1. The magnesium bisglycinate chemistry: the pure chelate, one magnesium to two glycine, is about 14% magnesium by weight, and commercial bisglycinate ingredients, buffered or of different chelate ratios, declare magnesium contents up to about 20%. PubMed record
2. Firoz M, Graber M. Bioavailability of US commercial magnesium preparations. Magnesium Research 2001;14(4):257-262. PubMed record
3. Retained Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex XIII: nutrient reference value for magnesium 375mg. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2011/1169/annex/XIII
4. Expert Group on Vitamins and Minerals. Safe Upper Levels for Vitamins and Minerals. Food Standards Agency, 2003 (magnesium guidance level 400mg a day from supplements). https://cot.food.gov.uk/sites/default/files/vitmin2003.pdf

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