Expert Answer
What is the best form of magnesium to take?
Quick Answer
Glycinate or malate for daily magnesium needs (Patrick). Carbonate for best absorption without GI effects (Attia). Threonate for cognitive support only - do not count it toward your daily requirement. Citrate or oxide if you want bowel regularity.
Strong Consensus
on Magnesium overall
What Researchers Say
Recommends glycinate and malate. Explicitly warns that threonate has low elemental magnesium - do not count it toward your daily RDA.
Rotates three forms - SlowMag, magnesium L-threonate and magnesium oxide - to reach about a gram of elemental magnesium a day.
Takes threonate and glycinate as part of his sleep cocktail alongside theanine and apigenin.
Recommends magnesium as foundational. Discusses glycinate for sleep support.
Detailed Answer
Magnesium form matters more than most people realize. The experts have clear but differing preferences.
Patrick recommends glycinate and malate for good bioavailability and elemental content. She explicitly warns that threonate is a poor source for meeting daily needs due to low elemental magnesium.
Attia does not pick one form. He rotates three - SlowMag, magnesium L-threonate and magnesium oxide - to reach roughly a gram of elemental magnesium a day, and treats the total as the thing that matters more than the vehicle.
Huberman's sleep stack uses threonate (145mg) or bisglycinate for sleep - but these are targeted for brain effects, not meeting daily magnesium requirements.
Oxide is where they split. Hyman and Patrick group it with the cheap, poorly absorbed forms and tell you to skip it; Attia still uses it, as one of three forms, because he is chasing a total elemental dose rather than the best-absorbed single pill. If you are taking one product, the panel's shared ground is glycinate or malate for the daily 300-400mg, with threonate at night as a sleep and cognition add-on rather than a way to hit that number.
Related Questions
Can you take multiple forms of magnesium?
Yes. Both Attia and Huberman take multiple forms. Attia uses three different forms throughout the day.
Does magnesium form affect sleep?
Yes. Glycinate and threonate are most recommended for sleep. Huberman takes both as part of his sleep cocktail.
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