Major minerals
Magnesium
300+ enzymes
Cofactor for 300+ enzymes; sleep, muscle relaxation, ATP.
Upper-limit caution
The Tolerable Upper Intake Level for Magnesium is 350 mg per day. Routine intakes above this level — counting food + supplements — raise the risk of adverse effects. Multivitamins, fortified foods, and standalone supplements stack faster than people expect.
Forms to avoid
Not all Magnesium forms absorb equally well. The following forms are commonly used because they're cheap, but their bioavailability is materially lower than alternatives — watch for them on supplement labels:
- oxide
- sulfate
Formulate's product scoring penalizes these forms when they appear as the primary Magnesium source — see the methodology page for the rubric.
How Magnesium appears on labels
Supplement labels list Magnesium under several names depending on the chemical form used. Any of these on an ingredients panel counts toward your Magnesium intake:
- magnesium
- magnesium glycinate
- magnesium citrate
- magnesium malate
- magnesium oxide
- magnesium threonate
- magnesium l-threonate
- magnesium taurate
- magnesium bisglycinate
Deep dive
For mechanism of action, dosing protocols, evidence grade, and interaction warnings on Magnesium, see the full encyclopedia entry:
Electrolytes (Sodium/Potassium/Magnesium) encyclopedia entry →Related major minerals
Track your full intake
Formulate's free desktop app aggregates Magnesium (and ~40 other nutrients) across every supplement in your stack — flagging underdoses, overlaps, and upper-limit overshoots in one view.
Get the appMedical disclaimer. This page is educational and does not replace advice from a qualified healthcare provider. Targets and upper limits are general adult reference values; individual needs vary by age, sex, pregnancy status, and clinical context.