Magnesium Archives

The magnesium morass

I recently purchased magnesium from the Needs 2000 catalog, page 121: "NTI-5030 Magnesium Glycinate...500MG...100 TAB". What I assumed I would receive was 100 tablets with 500MG Magnesium Glycinate in each tablet. When I placed the order by phone, I was told that the catalog was in error and that the tablets were 400MG. OK. I could live with that. But that was just the beginning of the confusion. What follows is an exchange I've had with Dr. Stoll regarding the type and amount of magnesium in several products I've used among which is the NTI product above. As you'll see, the truth-in-labeling philosophy frequently was on vacation.As further information develops, I'll add to this post. The earliest e-mail is at the top.

> > > Dr. Stoll,
> > >
> > > You asked how much elemental
> > > magnesium was in the magnesium glycinate that I recently purchased.
> Such
> > a
> > > simple question yet a circuitous answer! I have just been on the
phone
> > with
> > > Stan, the President of Needs, the nutritional supplement suppliers for
> > about
> > > twenty minutes. The gist of what he told me was as follows: The
> > magnesium
> > > glycinate that I just received from Needs says the following on the
> > label:
> > > "Directions: Four (4) tablets daily..." and "Serving size 4 Tablets."
> > Then
> > > in a table lower down: "Magnesium (magnesium glycinate) 400mg". Stan
> > tells
> > > me that "If the word 'Magnesium' appears by itself on the label, the
> > number
> > > following is the amount of elemental magnesium per dose." Therefore,
he
> > > alleges that each tablet on his product provides 100mg of elemental
> > > magnesium. As you can see from the label I've given above, the label
> says
> > > "Magnesium (magnesium glycinate)", so I wonder if that qualifies for
his
> > > definition of "Magnesium by itself."
> > >
> > > I retrieved from the trash can the Miller Magnesium Aspartate that I
> used
> > > to take. It was sold by Vitamin Shoppe as 500mg Magnesium Aspartate.
> Its
> > > label says (clearly, Thank God) "500mg Magnesium Aspartate yielding
> > > Magnesium 65mg, Aspartic Acid 435 mg." The Miller product was $10 for
> 100
> > > tablets. The Needs product (Nutritional Therapeutics, Inc) is $10.50
> also
> > > for 100 tablets. So, IF Stan is correct in his comment about the
amount
> > of
> > > elemental magnesium in the NTI product, for about the same money, you
> get
> > > about 50% more elemental magnesium than the Miller product. And
> elemental
> > > magnesium is the name of the game, isn't it? However, I'd sure like
to
> > see
> > > that printed on the NTI label. If Stan is just blowing smoke, then
God
> > > knows how much elemental magnesium is in the NTI product.
> > >
> > > Steve

> > Thanks, Steve.
> >
> > It IS kind of a shame that so many manufacturers are so vague about the
> > inportant information. The Miller product does what will eventually be
> > required by the government.
> >
> > Stan may be right. It makes sense to me but how the average consumer
could
> > know that is beyond me. Since you have already made contact with Stan,
> ask
> > him the exact formula for magnesium glycinate. I am sure that is not a
> > trade secret since any textbook would have that information. I have a
> good
> > chemistry text (about 3" thick) and could figure it out exactly if I had
> the
> > formula. His statement of how much magnesium there is in each tablet of
> > magnesium glycinate sounds about right to me without my knowing the
exact
> > formula.
> >
> > I think Stan's explanation of the rules would include his statements
since
> > the lable states 400 mgm and he says that means 100 mgm of elemental
> > magnesium.
> >
> > It would be SO easy for the manufacturer to put all this on the label in
> > plain english (as Miller does) that I have trouble understanding why
most
> do
> > not.
> >
> > Namaste`
> >
> > Walt

> Walt,
>
> I spoke to Stan Meyerson this morning and here's a summary. If the word
> stands alone, i.e., "Magnesium" or "Magnesium (magnesium glycinate)" the
> number following reflects elemental magnesium. Conversely, as I
understand
> it, if the label says "Magnesium Glycinate 400mg", there's no way to know
> how much elemental magnesium is in the tablet without knowing the chemical
> formula.
>
> Then things got more interesting. I looked at the Country Life Chelated
> Magnesium product that we are now finishing up and its label says:
> "Magnesium (as magnesium amino acid chelate & magnesium oxide) 250 mg".
I
> told Stan that, using the above definition of elemental magnesium, the
> Country Life product has 2.5 times more of the elemental magnesium as the
> NTI product he sells for about the same price. Surprisingly, he
concurred!
> BUT notwithstanding the greater elemental magnesium of the Country Life
> Product, says Stan, the NTI product is better because: 1-the magnesium
> glycinate is more readily absorbed than the magnesium oxide; and, 2-The
"NT
> factor" carrier of the NTI product additionally facilitates the magnesium
> absorbtion. His comment: "You probably get as much magnesium absorbed in
> one100mg/tablet NTI product as one 250mg/tablet Country Life product."
>
> Sooooooooooooo, even elemental magnesium isn't the final answer (sorry
> Regis) :). You've always said that the forms of magnesium that are the
best
> are Orotate, Aspartate, and Glycinate. But, if what Stan says is true, it
> may be better to get a product with a lesser amount of elemental magnesium
> on the label IF the carrier is markedly better.
>
> I also spoke to John Casey, owner of Nutritional Therapeutics for 10
> minutes. He reaffirmed all of the above regarding the delivery systems
and
> elemental magnesium. He was quite surprised that I was considering taking
> 1-2G of his product per day. He thought that it was too much, especially
if
> it were taken all at once. Per your bulletin board responses, this seems
to
> be a reasonable dose considering I have had atrial fibrillation episodes
> twice in the past 6 years. If his Magnesium Glycinate product with the
"NT
> Factor" delivery system IS more absorbable, do you think your
recommendation
> of 1-2g of elemental magnesium/day for someone in my afib circumstance
> should be lessened?
>
> Your recent response to my e-mail makes me think you may have
misunderstood
> what Stan said as it relates to the label of the NTI product. To
paraphrase
> what he said, The NTI product has 100mg elemental magnesium PER TABLET.
The
> 400mg elemental magnesium is the based on the dosage of 4 tablets. It is
> NOT that a tablet has 400mg of magnesium glycinate with 100mg of elemental
> magnesium in that tablet.
>
> Thanks for your help in clarifying this morass. I understand it much
better
> and resolve not to purchase any magnesium product without knowing its
> elemental content.
>
> Steve
>
>

Hi, Steve.

The "carrier" (HT Factor) Stan is mentioning is the "glycinate" in the
molecule. It is too bad that he seems to need to keep at least a part of
his product "mysterious". If you pressed him he would admit it.
Unfortunately, by his evasiveness he is just confusing the issue.

He is right that there is more elemental magnesium in the "oxide" product.
However, what is important is the AVAILABLE elemental magnesium. NONE of
that magnesium is available to the person. He is also right in that much
more of the elemental magnesium in his product is AVAILABLE.

The amount I have recommmended to resolve a problem like you are describing
IS the AVAILABLE magnesium. It is REAL hard to get too much magnesium.
Some people, at least at first, cannot even absoeb enough magnesium to
help--that is why the IV doses may be needed for a few weeks [see the
archives]. Of course, one can take too much of anything--even air or water.
That is why a dose is recommended. If you took the whole bottle at once,
you would have no problem but if you did that every day for a while it
might.

So, the dose is right. After a few months of relief, it might be OK to cut
the dose in half; not because it was too much but to save your pocketbook.
Eventually, as you reduce the dose every month or so, you will get your
symptoms back and know that you have passed the "maintenance dose" for YOU.

Hope this is making sense to you.

It would be helpful to others if you would put this entire discussion on the
bulletin board. Then others would see the kinds of difficulties one might
have trying to find out exactly what you have been learning.

Walt

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Re: The magnesium morass