I want to get magnesium supplements but am confused because there are several different kinds offered by my vitamin supplier. Does anyone here know what kind I should get to partner with my calcium citrate supplements? I have a choice of plain magnesium tablets, magnesium citrate or magnesium with zinc.
Thanks, Linda
Hello Linda! I have been gathering supplement information for a number of years, after being diagnosed with osteo. Three vitally important things that our bones need are calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D3. I now make absolutely certain to take 400 mg magnesium citrate, which is the most easily absorbed form; 1,500 mg calcium citrate; and critically important is Vitamin D3. Be sure you are buying D3. If the lable does not say "D3", the ingredient name must be "cholecalciferol". The D3 dosage is under constant revision in all my readings, as more is learned about this important vitamin. The recommended amount is 400 i.u. a day, but I've read a lot that suggests more is needed.
There is also the potential to absorb enough D naturally from short amounts of sun exposure (I have read that this can be done in 15-20 minutes), without sunscreen; however those in the northern areas can't get enough D from the sun in the winter. Please do some research on your own about this, and talk to your doctor before taking any supplement, or exposing your unprotected skin to the sun.
I personally prefer to take my vitamin and mineral supplements in separate doses, because it's too hard to find, for example, calcium citrate with enough D, especially because they usually don't include my preferred form of D3. Some of the combination supplements don't have the amounts that I want to take. I can maintain control over the amounts by using separate supplements.
For those who get discouraged trying to keep up with the flood of newly available information, please don't get frustrated! I choose to be grateful instead! I find it incredibly wonderful that we are living in a time when so much attention is being paid to this topic, and so much research is being done. There is rarely a need to immediately make a change after you read something new - take time to research it and wait to see if it turns out to be a good suggestion. I enjoy reading all the information such as the vitamin discoveries. Reading information, discussing it on this site, and sharing your questions with your doctor can help prevent feelings of being overwhelmed. I hope this helps!
Wendy
Wendy said it all-- I agree with her 100%. That is exactly what I take daily.
Bev.
I must make a slight change in my previous post. I take 1000 IU of vitimin D3. Bev.
Hi everyone.
I went to buy more calcium yesterday. I was so confused by all the brands and varying ingredients. I finally pulled the pharmasist aside and got his advise. He advised me to stay with what I had already been taking. Maximum strength Citrical Calcium Citrate with Vitamin D3. 4 tabs a day taken individually or two at a time. Total Calcium per day:1,260 mg. Vita D3: 800 mg. They contain Magnesium silicate and Magnesium stearate but it doesnt say how much. Should I be taking a seperate suppliment for the Magnesium I wonder? For what its worth the pharmasist said this was the brand he was buying for his wife.
Hello CAJ! You are on the right track with your Citrical plus D3. Next time you visit your doctor, ask about the amounts. Current info is leaning toward getting 1,000 iu of Vitamin D3, and 1,500 mg. calcium, so this supplement is a little short of those numbers. However, I'm sure you get calcium in your diet which would make up for that, and you might even be absorbing enough extra D from the sun. Or, 800 might be enough for you - your doctor might have more insight. (Unfortunately, you have to be prepared to have your doctor tell you he/she doesn't know - thus the beauty of this site!) Regarding magnesium, I looked online at the citrical product and it looks to me like it's a filler. If it was a significant amount of magnesium, it would be listed on the breakdown the way the calcium and D are listed. So, yes, you definitely need to get 400 mg magnesium CITRATE into you every day. I personally have only found that product at The Vitamin Shoppe (they are online too), and it has nothing with it, just Magnesium Citrate. I take (2) 200 mg tablets together each day. I wish you luck!
Wendy
Thank you so much Wendy. I will go online to the Vitamin Shoppe and order some magnesium. I can just take 5 of the Citracal (just lol) and get 1,575 mg of calcium and 1,000 vita D. I live in Minnesota, I can't count on sunshine./CAJ
Oops Wendy, I forgot, I also take One-a-Day Womens 50 plus multi-vitamin. From that I'm getting: 800 IU of vita D. (doesn't say D3). Calcium, elemental: 405 mg. (doesn't say Citrate).
Hi! Amino acid-chelated magnesium is the preferred form of magnesium. It can also be purchased as magnesium oxide. It should be taken with calcium in a 2:1 ratio of calcium to magnesium.
I use KAL Calcium Magnesium Extra Strength. Each tablet provides 500 mg calcium and 250 mg magnesium. The recommended dose is two tablets per day. The magnesium in the product comes from both magnesium oxide and magnesium amino acid chelate.
Magnesium citrate is used as a laxative. I was surprised to read about someone using it as a supplement.
My nutritionist put me on Magnesium-Potassium Taurate. I take 2 before bedtime. She gets them for me from Cardiovascular Research Ltd. She always researches the purest supps. for me.
Hope this helps!
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