I remember the first time I went into a supplement shop. I walked in looking for something and was instantly hit with a similar overwhelm that I often face when I’m in Home Depot.

And yes, I am a self-sufficient woman but straight up, the place still overwhelms me.

Supplement shops aren’t far off from previously hitting me with overwhelm. There are not just rows but walls of bottles and staff who occupy every aisle. And the amount of supplements continues to grow and so does the confusion on which supplements are the best. Such is the case with magnesium and there are a lot of things I need to clear up, which is the reason why I’m writing to you about:

The Magnesium Myth.

I realize this may bring out the internet trolls, but I’ve never been one to shy away from them either.
However, let me preface this by saying that I’m not telling you you don’t need magnesium, because you do. In fact over 60% of Canadians are deficient in it and suffer from symptoms ranging from:

• Headaches / migraines
• Constipation
• PMS cramps
• Anxiety
• Sugar cravings

Magnesium ions regulate over 300 biochemical reactions in the body through their role as enzyme cofactors. In other words, it’s responsible for a lot.

And in the past as a practitioner I’ve been led to believe that magnesium bisglycinate was more absorbable than magnesium citrate. So when I was approached by Natural Calm, claiming that this just wasn’t the case, I was pretty resistant.

Yes, I’m a born skeptic.

I mean they sell magnesium citrate, so of course they’d want to back it up. But I was open to reading the facts and when I did, my viewpoint on magnesium citrate completely changed. So I thought I’d share some of the common myths and misconceptions about magnesium citrate that are out there.

Myth: Magnesium bisglycinate is better absorbed than Magnesium Citrate.

Upon investigation there wasn’t been a single peer-reviewed study to compare the two. Not one. There was however an abstract that I came across but when looking into it further, that abstract simply described a study that hadn’t gone through the peer-reviewed process for publication.

And the company who wrote the abstract? Well, it actually came from a supplier from a company who actually sells magnesium bisglycinate.

Myth: You would need to take four times the amount of magnesium citrate to equal just one serving of magnesium bisglycinate.

When I tried to find out how to back this up…I found nothing. Literally, there was zero published scientific data to refer to.

It’s almost as if this statement alone was pulled out of thin air…

Myth: Magnesium bisglycinate appears to be the safest and most effective form of magnesium for human absorption according to a magnesium research review published in the European Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine (Siebrect, 2013).

Interestingly enough, this journal doesn’t exist.

Myth: Magnesium citrate interferes with Ceruloplasim and can cause iron dysregulation and ‘health issues.’

I’ve seen this claim float around from Tracy Grady who doesn’t seem to be a medical professional of any kind. The magnesium advocacy group is a marketing platform disguised as legit medical advice – talk about sneaky, right? Plus there isn’t one scientific study to state that this claim is true.

Okay now that all aside, let’s talk about one of the MAIN question I get about magnesium citrate and that is:

“But doesn’t magnesium citrate give you loose poops?”

So here’s the deal…

First is that the human body isn’t intended to take large amounts of magnesium. And there will also be a subset of people who will be sensitive to magnesium citrate. In this case I advise that people take Natural Calm in cool water which slows down the absorption rate. The other option is to pour a bit of hot water in a cup with Natural Calm and then top it off with cool water and sip it slowly throughout the day. Either way, this should remedy the problem.

Lastly one of the main reasons I made the switch boils down to a very important point:

Magnesium citrate does not require stomach acid to be absorbed whereas magnesium glycinate (aka magnesium bisglycinate) does.

This is a big deal because most people I see in practice, have low stomach acid. And yes this includes those of you who have acid reflux! In that scenario, your body overproduces, which then leads to acid reflux. The reality is, when you’re stressed, the last thing your body is doing is focusing on digesting anything because you’re in a fight-or-flight mode. Even as we age, our stomach acid levels go down. Still not sure if you have low stomach acid levels? One tell-tale sign is bloating half hour after you eat!

Now with that all in mind, if the majority of people I see in practice have low stomach acid levels, how on earth are they assimilating magnesium bisglycinate? They aren’t! But with Natural Calm, they don’t require the stomach acid to assimilate it.

This fact alone was a game changer for me.

I also want to point out that in no way, shape or form am I saying magnesium bisglycinate is bad for you. However, what I am saying is that there simply aren’t any studies to substantiate that it’s more absorbable than magnesium citrate.

I realize that the health industry can be one incredibly confusing arena to navigate. One minute something is good for you and the next minute it isn’t. The problem is not the content so much as the context that these studies are written in. This is why I try to provide the most up-to-date information to do the research for you.

Want more information? Just download my free Full Of It Guide now.