Magnesium supplementation

Magnesium salts are available as a medication in a number of formulations. They are used to treat magnesium deficiency, low blood magnesium, eclampsia, and several other conditions. Magnesium is important to health. Magnesium salts are available as a medication in a number of formulations. They are used to treat magnesium deficiency, low blood magnesium, eclampsia, and several other conditions. Magnesium is important to health. Usually in lower dosages, magnesium is commonly included in dietary mineral preparations, including many multivitamin preparations. In 2016 it was the 179rd most prescribed medication in the United States with more than 3 million prescriptions. More common side effects from magnesium include upset stomach and diarrhea, and calcium deficiency if calcium levels are already low. Overdose of magnesium (hypermagnesemia) is only possible in special circumstances. It can cause nausea, vomiting, severely lowered blood pressure, confusion, slowed heart rate, respiratory paralysis. In very severe cases, it can cause coma, cardiac arrhythmia, cardiac arrest and death. Magnesium overdose can be counteracted by administering calcium gluconate. In practice, magnesium is given in a salt form together with any of several anionic compounds serving as counter-ions, such as chloride or sulfate. Nevertheless, magnesium is generally presumed to be the active component. An exception is the administration of magnesium sulfate in barium chloride poisoning, where sulfate binds to barium to form insoluble barium sulfate. Magnesium is absorbed orally at about 30% bioavailability from any water soluble salt, such as magnesium chloride or magnesium citrate. The citrate is the least expensive soluble (high bioavailability) oral magnesium salt available in supplements, with 100 mg and 200 mg magnesium typically contained per capsule or tablet. Magnesium aspartate, chloride, lactate, citrate and glycinate each have bioavailability 4 times greater than the oxide form and are equivalent to each other per amount of magnesium, though not in price.