Ghost FitnessGhost Fitness/Magnesium/Magnesium taurate vs magnesium glycinate: which should lifters take?
Magnesium taurate vs magnesium glycinate: which should lifters take?
Lifters should take glycinate. Taurate carries about 9% elemental magnesium, so a real dose needs three or four capsules, and no human trial shows the taurine partner adding anything. Glycinate delivers 300mg elemental in two capsules for 22p a day.
- About 9%elemental magnesium in taurate
- 3 to 4taurate capsules for a real dose, against 2
- 0human trials showing taurate beats glycinate
- 22pa day for the glycinate worked example
The glycinate side: Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate on Amazon UK, 180 capsules for £19.99. Label breakdown.
The taurate pitch, stated fairly
Magnesium taurate is magnesium bound to taurine, an amino acid with its own literature around the heart, blood pressure and a calming, inhibitory role in the nervous system. The pitch stacks the two reputations: magnesium for muscle and nerves, taurine for the heart and calm, so taurate for the stressed lifter who cares about both. Taurine also appears in sports nutrition in its own right, which lends the form a training-adjacent shine. As with malate and threonate, the fair question is whether the partner earns its place at the dose a capsule actually contains.
What the numbers and the evidence say
Two facts decide it. First, elemental content: taurate is about 9% magnesium, so 1000mg of it carries about 90mg, and reaching 300mg elemental takes three to four large capsules, which doubles or triples the daily cost and halves the odds the habit survives a training block. Second, the taurine dose is decorative: the taurine literature that exists used grams per day, and the few hundred milligrams riding along in a taurate serving is an order of magnitude short, so the heart-and-calm story is being carried by an amount that cannot carry it. No human trial compares taurate against glycinate on anything, and the magnesium claims, normal muscle function, psychological function, nervous system, tiredness, belong to the mineral at whatever dose you actually absorb. Tolerance is fine on both; this comparison is settled by arithmetic rather than side effects.
| Magnesium taurate | Magnesium glycinate (worked example) | |
|---|---|---|
| Elemental magnesium | about 9% of compound | 20% buffered bisglycinate; 300mg per 2 capsules printed |
| Capsules for 300mg elemental | 3 to 4 | 2 |
| The partner's dose | A few hundred milligrams of taurine; the taurine studies used grams | Glycine as a tolerability feature, no claims made on it |
| Human head-to-head evidence | None | None claimed; the magnesium trials used ordinary salts |
| Typical UK cost per day at 300mg elemental | 40p to 80p | 22p |
| Cost per 100mg elemental | typically 15p to 30p | about 7p |
Taurate costs are ranges from UK retail listings checked in September 2026. A taurate matching 7p per 100mg elemental with a shown panel would be a fair buy as a magnesium; none checked did.
The verdict for a training week
Take glycinate: 300mg elemental in 2 capsules with the evening meal, at the best tolerance and the lowest unit price available, from a label that prints everything. The worked example is Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate: 1500mg bisglycinate at 20%, 300mg elemental, 80% NRV, vegan HPMC capsules, UK made under GMP and BRC, third-party panels shown, £19.99 for 180, 22p a day. If taurine itself interests you for its own literature, that is a separate product at a gram-level dose and a separate decision; buying it as a garnish inside a low-percentage magnesium is the one way to get neither ingredient at a working dose.
What to check on the label
- Elemental per serving: taurate labels often carry 90mg to 180mg; the target is 300mg.
- Capsules per serving: three or four is a cost and adherence problem.
- The taurine dose read honestly: hundreds of milligrams against a grams-per-day literature.
- Cost per 100mg elemental: about 7p is the benchmark; taurate runs 15p to 30p.
- Same label checks as ever: elemental line, form first, panel shown.
The worked example: Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate
Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate is the glycinate side: 300mg elemental per 2 capsules (80% NRV) from bisglycinate 20%, vegan, UK made, panels shown, 22p a day from a £19.99 bottle of 180.
- 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 magnesium taurate better than glycinate?
No human trial says so, and taurate's 9% elemental content means more capsules for less magnesium at a higher price.
Is magnesium taurate good for the heart?
The heart story belongs to taurine at gram doses and to magnesium's own normal muscle function claim. The few hundred milligrams of taurine in a taurate serving is far below the studied amounts.
Which is better for sleep, taurate or glycinate?
Neither form has a sleep claim; the small sleep trials used ordinary magnesium. Glycinate is preferred at night because a full dose is tolerated.
Can I take taurine separately with magnesium glycinate?
Yes; they do not interact. That pairing at least doses each ingredient honestly, which a taurate capsule does not.
Which magnesium should lifters take overall?
Glycinate at 300mg elemental daily. Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate: 2 capsules, 22p a day, UK made, panels shown.
Sources
- Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate listing, Amazon UK, label and price checked 31 August 2026. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BT7Z5VQW
- Retained Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex XIII: nutrient reference value for magnesium 375mg. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2011/1169/annex/XIII
- EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies. Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to magnesium. EFSA Journal 2010;8(10):1807. https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2903/j.efsa.2010.1807
- 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
- Firoz M, Graber M. Bioavailability of US commercial magnesium preparations. Magnesium Research 2001;14(4):257-262. PubMed record
- Zhang Y, Xun P, Wang R, Mao L, He K. Can magnesium enhance exercise performance? Nutrients 2017;9(9):946. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28846654/