Ghost Fitness/Magnesium/Is 1000 mg of magnesium glycinate too much?
Is 1000 mg of magnesium glycinate too much?
The short answer
No: 1000mg of magnesium glycinate is about 200mg of elemental magnesium at the 20% figure, half the 400mg guidance level. The table: 500mg is about 100mg, fine; 1200mg about 240mg, fine; 2000mg about 400mg, at the level; and 800mg of elemental magnesium is over it.
- 1000mg of glycinateabout 200mg elemental, 53% NRV: fine, half the level
- 500 and 800mg of glycinateabout 100mg and 160mg elemental: fine, and small
- 1200 and 2000mg of glycinateabout 240mg, fine; about 400mg, at the level
- 800mg of elemental magnesiumover the level: loose stools likely, no benefit over 300
Our brand: the worked example on this page
Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate
- 22p a day
- 180 capsules, 2 capsules daily
- Lab tested
- Made in the UK
1500mg of glycinate, the figure between the table's rows: Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate on Amazon UK, 1500mg bisglycinate giving 300mg elemental at 80% NRV, £19.99 for 90 days at 22p. Full label breakdown. The 1000mg every-day page is here; the conversion table on the conversion page.
The decode, because every figure in the question is a compound weight that the 20% multiplier turns into a small elemental number
Is 1000mg of magnesium glycinate too much, and the variants asking about 500, 800, 1200 and 2000mg, are all answered by one decode, because every one of those figures is a compound weight that a multiplier turns into a much smaller elemental number. Magnesium bisglycinate on the commercial figure most ingredients declare is about 20% magnesium by weight, the pure chelate being about 14%, so 1000mg of magnesium glycinate contains about 200mg of elemental magnesium at 20%, roughly 53% of the 375mg nutrient reference value, and about 140mg at 14%, the conversion page's range, and 200mg elemental is half the UK supplemental guidance level of about 400mg, well under the EU's 250mg laxative-threshold figure too, so 1000mg of glycinate is not too much by any published ceiling and is, for a lifter meaning to take a reference-value dose, somewhat less than the section's 300mg. The tub's %NRV line confirms which multiplier its ingredient uses, about 53% at 20% and about 37% at 14% for a 1000mg product, and the label guide's elemental rule applies as always: the big number on the front is the carrier and not the mineral. Is 1000mg of magnesium glycinate too much daily, or per day, the variants add: no, daily is the pattern a maintenance nutrient assumes, and 200mg elemental a day is a modest daily dose, taken with a meal like any other.
The decision table for the other five figures, the one figure that is over, and the table filed
The other figures decode the same way. 500mg of magnesium glycinate: about 100mg elemental at 20%, roughly 27% NRV, fine and small, a top-up rather than a lifter's dose, the 500mg pages' reading. 800mg of glycinate: about 160mg elemental, 43% NRV, fine. 1200mg of glycinate: about 240mg elemental, 64% NRV, fine, approaching the section's 300mg. 2000mg of glycinate: about 400mg elemental at 20%, the guidance level itself, the top of the range rather than over it, and about 280mg at 14%, fine, with no reason to reach the higher figure since nothing accrues over 300mg and the laxative effect approaches. And the one figure in the question that is not a compound weight, 800mg of magnesium: if the searcher means 800mg of elemental magnesium, that is double the guidance level, loose stools likely for most people, no benefit over 300mg, harm unlikely in working kidneys and a doctor's question in kidney disease, the too-much ladder's second rung; if they mean 800mg of glycinate, it is the 160mg above. The unit, then, decides the whole table, and the %NRV on the tub decides the unit. The table filed: 500, 800, 1000, 1200 and 2000mg of magnesium glycinate are about 100, 160, 200, 240 and 400mg of elemental magnesium at the commercial figure, all fine and the last at the level, 800mg of elemental magnesium is over it, and the worked example's 1500mg of glycinate sits between the rows at 300mg elemental and 80% NRV, £19.99 for 90 days at 22p, the label printing both figures so that the reader never has to decode it.
| The figure | Elemental magnesium at 20% | Against the 400mg level |
|---|---|---|
| 500mg of magnesium glycinate | About 100mg, 27% NRV | Fine; a top-up |
| 800mg of magnesium glycinate | About 160mg, 43% NRV | Fine |
| 1000mg of magnesium glycinate | About 200mg, 53% NRV | Fine; half the level |
| 1200mg of magnesium glycinate | About 240mg, 64% NRV | Fine; near the section's dose |
| 2000mg of magnesium glycinate | About 400mg | At the level; no reason to reach it |
| 800mg of elemental magnesium | 800mg | Over: loose stools likely, no benefit over 300 |
The verdict, a small number behind a big one
Is 1000mg of magnesium glycinate too much: no, 1000mg of the compound being about 200mg of elemental magnesium at the commercial 20% figure, half the 400mg UK guidance level and under the EU's 250mg figure too, with the decision table placing 500, 800, 1200 and 2000mg of glycinate at about 100, 160, 240 and 400mg elemental, all fine and the last at the level, and 800mg of elemental magnesium over it, the %NRV line on any tub telling which unit the front means. The figure between the rows: Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate, 1500mg bisglycinate giving 300mg elemental at 80% NRV, £19.99 for 90 days at 22p a day, both numbers printed.
What to check on the label
- Decode the compound first: multiply by about 0.2.
- Read 1000mg of glycinate as 200mg: half the level.
- Place each figure against 400mg: fine, at, or over.
- Check the unit on the %NRV line: 53% for 1000mg of glycinate.
- Stop at 300mg elemental: nothing accrues above it.
Our brand
The worked example: Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate
Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate is the worked example for magnesium reviews because its label states every number a review needs: 1500mg magnesium bisglycinate at 20%, 300mg elemental, 80% NRV, 2 capsules a day, 180 capsules for £19.99, 22p a day, UK made, vegan HPMC shell, batch tested for lead, mercury, arsenic and cadmium, and only the register's own magnesium claims printed.
- Elemental magnesium per serving
- 300mg (80% NRV)
- Form
- magnesium bisglycinate 20%
- Serving
- 2 capsules a day
- Bottle
- 180 capsules, 90 days
- Price
- £19.99 (22p a day)
- Capsule
- vegetarian shell, vegan product
Questions people also ask
Is 1000mg of magnesium glycinate too much per day?
No: 1000mg of the compound is about 200mg of elemental magnesium at the commercial 20% figure, roughly 53% NRV, half the UK guidance level of about 400mg supplemental, and a modest daily dose for a lifter.
Is 2000mg of magnesium glycinate too much?
It is about 400mg of elemental magnesium at 20%, the guidance level itself, the top of the range rather than over it, and about 280mg at the pure 14% figure; there is no reason to reach it since nothing accrues over 300mg.
Is 800mg of magnesium too much?
As 800mg of elemental magnesium, yes, double the guidance level with loose stools likely and no benefit over 300mg; as 800mg of magnesium glycinate it is about 160mg elemental and fine, the unit deciding and the %NRV line telling which.
Is 1200mg of magnesium glycinate too much?
No: about 240mg of elemental magnesium at 20%, roughly 64% NRV, under the level and close to the section's 300mg dose, taken with a meal like any other.
How do I know whether my label means compound or elemental?
From the %NRV beside the figure: 1000mg at about 53% NRV is a compound weight of a 20% ingredient, while 300mg at 80% NRV is an elemental figure, and a label printing both has done the decode for you.
Sources
- 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
- Retained Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex XIII: nutrient reference value for magnesium 375mg. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2011/1169/annex/XIII
- 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
- The European Food Safety Authority's tolerable upper intake level for magnesium: 250mg a day from supplements, water and added sources, set at the threshold of the mild osmotic laxative effect rather than at a level of harm, and distinct from the UK expert group's guidance level of about 400mg. https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/4186