Magnesium salts - Which to choose?

Magnesium is naturally found in the form of magnesium salts, due to its high reactivity.

If we look at the electronic configuration of this chemical element we note the presence of two electrons in the outermost orbital; these electrons are easily transferred to other chemical elements that need electrons to complete their external energy level; the magnesium deprived of two electrons results positively charged → magnesium ion Mg ++; if instead we observe the electronic configuration of chlorine we notice the presence of seven electrons in the outer orbital; therefore, chlorine tends to attract an electron eagerly to itself, so as to complete the octet; in this way, once the missing electron is acquired, it is called Cl-ion chlorine. This explains how magnesium chloride (Mg Cl ₂ ) is formed.

After this brief chemical digression, we briefly see the health characteristics of the various magnesium salts.

The first characteristic to consider when evaluating a health-giving magnesium salt is the quantity of elemental magnesium contained in it; in the above case, it is evident that a gram of magnesium chloride contains a certain percentage of elemental chlorine and a certain amount of elemental magnesium.

Knowing how much elemental magnesium is present in the various salts allows us to know the amount of salt to be taken to cover the daily requirement of this mineral.

Since magnesium salts are often taken to increase the levels of this mineral in the body and fill any deficiencies, it would seem logical to move towards higher salts of elemental magnesium. In reality this aspect is subordinated to the capacity of the human intestine to absorb the magnesium contained in the salt (see further details). For this reason, in order to fill specific magnesium deficiencies, it is important to choose the best absorbable sources, while for other applications - such as the antacid or laxative effect - salts that are not significantly absorbed by the human intestine are preferred.

Generally speaking, the best absorbed magnesium salts are those in which the mineral is bound to organic compounds (gluconate, aspartate, pyruvate, malate, citrate, pidolate, lactate, orotate). Magnesium chloride is also a well absorbable source, and - compared to the previous ones - has the advantage of a low cost. On the other hand, the other sources of inorganic magnesium (magnesium oxide, magnesium carbonate, magnesium sulphate) are the object of the most criticisms regarding the bioavailability of the magnesium contained in them. Unfortunately, the scientific studies published on the subject are still insufficient to establish with certainty the health applications of the different magnesium salts, given the presence of a small number of researches with results, however, often conflicting. For this reason the following - the result of a re-reading of scientific articles and university texts - must be considered with due caution.