Qualia Magnesium+ Ingredients

Introduction

Why did Qualia create a magnesium supplement? There’s a few reasons, but let’s start with how we view ourselves as a company and where magnesium fits into that picture. We started out as a “brain” company with a focus on nootropics, which led to the creation of our flagship product QUALIA MIND®. We’re still keenly interested in ways to support the brain in performing at its best. Magnesium is a brain essential nutrient. It supports, among other things, neurotransmission and the integrity of the blood-brain barrier (1). Given its essentiality, not surprisingly, suboptimal magnesium status can take a toll on the brain (1). Creating a magnesium product made sense since we care so deeply about the brain.* 

More recently, with products such as QUALIA SENOLYTIC® and QUALIA NAD+®, we’ve also become a company with a focus on healthy aging. The hallmarks of aging is one of the scientific models used to better understand the underlying processes and cellular mechanisms involved in getting older. Twelve hallmarks of aging have been proposed (2). In early 2024, a scientific article described magnesium’s role in all twelve hallmarks, and proposed that maintaining optimal amounts of magnesium may contribute to healthy aging (3). Magnesium status is commonly suboptimal with aging. Factors including lower dietary intake, poorer intestinal absorption, and increased elimination make it more challenging for older adults to maintain optimal magnesium status (4, 5). Creating a magnesium product also made sense since we want to support healthy aging.*

Brain and healthy aging—magnesium is important for supporting both, so it’s a thematic fit for a Qualia product. One of our goals for Qualia supplements is that they be felt. How is magnesium experienced? Magnesium is commonly used to support clear thinking, healthy moods, stress resilience, and quality sleep. For many people, magnesium is a “felt” supplement, which is part of what we value at Qualia.*

Lastly, a magnesium formula is a fit because insufficient magnesium intake is one of the most common nutritional inadequacies. A majority of Americans of all ages ingest less magnesium from food than the recommended amount (6). Put simply, getting enough magnesium from the diet can be challenging.* At Qualia, we specialize in tackling challenges. But why is achieving optimal magnesium status such an issue?

The two main sources of dietary magnesium are foods we eat, especially fruits, vegetables and other plant foods, and water we drink. In recent times, most of us get less magnesium from both. Soils are depleted of minerals and food processing can lead to losses of magnesium (7, 8). Much of the food that we eat isn’t as rich in magnesium as we need it to be. The same is true for the water we drink. 

At one point in human history, a non-trivial amount of dietary magnesium was from "hard" water containing high concentrations of dissolved minerals. Modern methods of softening and purifying water significantly reduce the magnesium content (and other minerals in drinking water). If we are drinking purified water, almost all of the magnesium has been removed. Unless we are fortunate to live in a place where the tap water happens to be magnesium-rich (and we drink it rather than purifying it), or we buy mineral water that is high in magnesium, the water we drink is generally going to be magnesium-poor (9–11).*

On average, we are not getting enough magnesium in what we eat and drink, with at least half of adults falling well short (12). This is a problem. What’s the result? As the years pass, many of us have persistently poor magnesium status; we have deficits in the amount of magnesium our cells and mitochondria rely on to do cellular work, counter stress, and do hundreds of other jobs. How does this show up in your life? Feelings of fatigue, difficulty handling stress, issues with sleep, challenges with our moods, and muddled thinking are common ways we experience poor magnesium status.*

Many of us are not getting enough magnesium to optimize magnesium balance in the body. But how much magnesium do we need? The recommended daily intake (RDI) of magnesium varies by age, gender and life stage. Guidelines recommend that adult men should aim for around 400-420 milligrams per day, while adult women should target 310-320 milligrams. Pregnant and lactating women may require slightly more (12). Experts within the biohacking and functional medicine communities argue that these RDI amounts aren’t adequate for everyone. Strenuous exercise, as an example, increases the amount of magnesium we need to consume (13).*

One way to close the gap between what we consume in food and water, and what our body truly needs to perform at an optimal level, is to supplement magnesium. But how much should we get from dietary supplements? We included 350 mg of elemental magnesium in a two capsule serving size of QUALIA MAGNESIUM+ (175 mg per capsule). We chose this amount for a couple of reasons. First is that 350 mg is the recommended upper limit of magnesium being supplied from dietary supplements for adults and children (12). The National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements recommends that magnesium from dietary supplements not be consumed in amounts above this upper limit unless recommended by a healthcare provider. We wanted to offer enough magnesium to be at this upper limit but not go over it.*

Another reason we selected the amount of magnesium we did is that it is in the range used in many of the human clinical studies. The 175 mg per capsule is a versatile amount of magnesium. There are human studies that have produced excellent results for some health areas, support for noise stress as an example, with an amount of magnesium close to what’s found in one capsule. There’s also studies where the amounts of magnesium used have been more consistent with the amount found in two capsules. We expect most users will want to supplement with two capsules, but whether it’s one or two, the amount of supplemental magnesium found in QUALIA MAGNESIUM+ will be within a clinically studied range.*

Before we create any Qualia product, we ask ourselves whether we believe we can make something better than what’s on the market. The answer for QUALIA MAGNESIUM+ was yes. We also like to make products we want to take. It’s important to consistently get sufficient magnesium, because it doesn’t take long before inadequate magnesium intake can cause declines in tissue levels, including in our brain (14).* We made this product because we want to take it …and we want to share it with you. We think it raises the bar on magnesium supplementation. I invite you to try QUALIA MAGNESIUM+ and share your experiences.

When we formulated QUALIA MAGNESIUM+, our goal was to include forms of magnesium that are actually retained and used well in the body. Bioavailability was necessary but not sufficient. We wanted to make sure that the forms of magnesium we included did what magnesium is supposed to do. We don’t take magnesium because it is bioavailable (that’s a feature not a benefit); we take it to support optimizing tissue levels, which promotes health and performance. It’s not just the amount of magnesium that goes in your mouth that matters: it’s what gets to your cells. Some forms of magnesium do better than others when it comes to optimizing magnesium in different tissues. We selected the nine forms of magnesium in QUALIA MAGNESIUM+ with this idea in mind.*

These are a few publications from scientific journals highlighting some of the different forms of magnesium. I’ll go into more details about each of them below.

Aquamin Mg is a bioavailable magnesium (Pubmed 30018220).*

Magnesium Acetyl Taurate supported brain magnesium levels (Pubmed 30761462).*

Magnesium Aspartate supports hearing during noise stress (Pubmed 8135325).*

Magnesium Citrate supported heart and metabolic health (Pubmed 34859788).*

Magnesium Creatine Chelate supported muscle hydration (Pubmed 14506619).*

Magnesium Gluconate is one of the best retained forms of magnesium (Pubmed 16548135).*

Magnesium Bisglycinate and Magnesium Taurate support a healthy mood (Pubmed 16542786).*

Qualia Magnesium+ Ingredients

Aquamin® Magnesium

What’s the most plentiful source of biologically available magnesium on the planet? The answer is the hydrosphere (i.e. oceans, lakes, and rivers) (15). Life began in the oceans. Our cells and their mitochondria evolved there. The magnesium they relied on was from water surrounding them; they literally swam in a sea of it. Were there other minerals in this water? In the ocean, magnesium is never alone. It’s always accompanied by many other trace minerals. The same is true in plants—fruits, vegetables, and other plant foods supply magnesium with trace minerals. Humans evolved consuming magnesium in combination with a rich assortment of trace minerals. Is your magnesium supplement supplying these trace minerals? If not, could this be a problem?*

Many of us drink demineralized water sometimes, and quite often most of the time. Water purification removes minerals. Many of the most popular bottled waters have been purified. Reverse osmosis is one of the most used home, office, and restaurant water filtration systems—it can remove 92-99% of the magnesium and other minerals. Are there health consequences from drinking demineralized water? Yes! Demineralized water can cause minerals to be pulled from body stores and eliminated through urine. Drinking waters that are low in minerals can lead to issues with dental and bone health. Water with low mineral content can also disrupt the body’s ability to maintain mineral balance, which impacts lots of areas of health (16). And, in animals, long-term drinking of purified waters produces many changes to metabolism (17).* 

When we were creating QUALIA MAGNESIUM+, we wanted to support people in optimizing magnesium status, and we wanted to make it easier to get the full spectrum of trace minerals that we may not be getting as plentifully in the diet and drinking water. This is why one of the types of magnesium is Aquamin® Mg. Aquamin Mg is a bioavailable magnesium derived from the clean sea waters off the Irish coast. This form of magnesium has been studied for supporting gut microbiota (18); like us, the beneficial bacteria in the gut need magnesium and rely on us to provide it. Since it is sourced from sea water, Aquamin Mg contains 70+ other minerals and trace minerals that naturally occur in our oceans (19, 20). Some trace minerals, like copper, selenium, and zinc have been extensively studied and play important roles in health. And some trace minerals, boron and lithium as examples, may be important for supporting optimal tissue levels of magnesium (21–23). We suspect many other trace minerals may have an impact on magnesium balance as well.*

Aquamin® is a registered trademark of Marigot Ltd. of Cork Ireland. 

Magnesium Acetyl Taurate

I want to introduce you to Magnesium Acetyl Taurate (synonym Magnesium Acetyltaurinate). This is a patented magnesium salt of acetyl taurine. Some of the most knowledgeable biohackers and health experts already know about this new form of magnesium. I’m certain that the broader public will become more familiar with it in the coming years. Why? The short answer is that Magnesium Acetyl Taurate is a great brain form of magnesium—it may be the best form for supporting brain magnesium levels. People taking it typically report experiencing it as a very calming magnesium.*

Magnesium is an essential brain nutrient. The brain needs a lot of ATP (i.e., cell energy); magnesium supports making and using it. Magnesium is important for supporting optimal nerve transmission and neuromuscular coordination. One of the main neurological benefits of magnesium is due to its interaction with the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor. Activity of NMDA is essential for maintaining a balance between excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission. Magnesium is a cofactor for supporting the biosynthesis of dopamine and serotonin, neurotransmitters that support healthy motivation and mood. And, magnesium supports molecules involved in neuroplasticity, like BDNF. These are just some of the reasons the brain and nervous system benefit from magnesium (1, 24). Magnesium can cross the blood-brain barrier. But optimizing magnesium levels in the brain is easier said than done. In studies, it has not been as simple as giving a bioavailable form of magnesium. Some forms of magnesium have promoted brain magnesium levels; others have not (25).*

One of the things that surprised our science team, when reviewing magnesium research, was how rarely changes in tissue levels—the brain or any other tissues—have been measured following supplementation with magnesium. One of the few exceptions is Magnesium Acetyl Taurate. In two studies—one in mice and another in rats—Magnesium Acetyl Taurate enhanced brain magnesium, and this occurred even when it was given in low amounts (other bioavailable forms of magnesium did not improve brain magnesium when given in these lower amounts) (25, 26). But, in these studies, Magnesium Acetyl Taurate was not a “muscle” magnesium, failing to increase magnesium in muscle tissue (25, 26). We’ve included other types of magnesium in QUALIA MAGNESIUM+ for muscle support. Three important lessons can be learned from Magnesium Acetyl Taurate studies. They are that: (1) bioavailability doesn’t equal greater tissue levels, (2) some forms of magnesium are better than others for supporting healthy magnesium levels in a tissue like the brain or muscles, and (3) just because a form of magnesium can support healthy magnesium levels in some tissues does not mean it is the best form for all tissues.*

Magnesium Aspartate

Tens of millions of Americans, and hundreds of millions of people worldwide, are routinely exposed to noise levels, during our work or leisure activities, that put stress on our hearing. Are you one of them? Occupational exposure to some types of noise is a well known noise stress. Recreational activities, such as listening to loud music (either live concerts or playing music too loudly) are a source of noise stress. With the growth of ear buds, increase in playing video games, etc., noise stress is a problem that has been growing, and will likely continue to grow (27). Noise stress impacts more than just our hearing. One of the other areas it impacts is thinking, especially learning and memory as we get older (28, 29). There’s a reason noise stress is often called noise pollution. In a real sense, like other forms of pollution, it can adversely affect our health. If we want to remain healthy as we age, we need to preserve our hearing.*

Noise stresses the inner-ear cells that convert sound waves into electrical signals that travel to the brain. These hair cells vibrate in response to sound. When sounds are too loud, these cells can be physically and chemically stressed. Scientists have studied how these inner-ear cells safeguard themselves. One of the things they found was that magnesium status plays a critical role in protecting these cells (and hence our hearing) (30). Optimal magnesium levels are needed to help shield hearing from noise stress. But, when we need it the most, noise can also be causing our body to expend more magnesium (we eliminate more in the urine with noise stress) (31). This brings us to Magnesium Aspartate.*

Magnesium Aspartate has been the main form of magnesium studied in humans under conditions of noise stress. This form of magnesium has supported hearing in being more resilient to, and bouncing back better when we are exposed to noise stress (32–35). Because of these studies, at Qualia we think of Magnesium Aspartate as the “hearing” magnesium. Magnesium Aspartate is bioavailable and retained well in the body; it is among the best types of magnesium for promoting our tissue stores (36). The aspartate found in Magnesium Aspartate can be used to build proteins—aspartate is the precursor to several amino acids, including four that are essential for humans: methionine, threonine, isoleucine, and lysine.*

Magnesium Bisglycinate Chelate

Before getting to Magnesium Bisglycinate Chelate, let’s talk a bit about glycine. Glycine was discovered in the early 1800’s. Its name comes from the Greek word for sweet, because glycine has a sweet taste similar to sugar. Glycine is a conditional amino acid. While we can make glycine inside the body (i.e., it’s non-essential), there are circumstances where the amount we make and what we get in the diet appear to be insufficient to optimize functional health. Glycine is used to make many proteins in the body. An example is glutathione, which functions as part of cellular antioxidant defenses and detoxification (37–39). Glycine is also used throughout the body to make collagen  (40) and in the brain as a neurotransmitter (41–44). In adults, glycine is an inhibitory neurotransmitter, principally in the spinal cord and brainstem, where it supports processing of the sensory and motor information that allows for movement, vision, and hearing. Glycine has also been studied for supporting sleep (45, 46). Put simply, glycine is important for health.*

Magnesium Bisglycinate Chelate is the mineral magnesium chelated to two glycine molecules to support its bioavailability—the “bis” in bisglycinate comes from the Latin word for “twice” (i.e., twice glycine). Bisglycinate and glycinate are often used interchangeably, but magnesium bisglycinate is the more accurate chemical name, whereas magnesium glycinate is the common name. Magnesium Bisglycinate Chelate is thought of as having very good bioavailability. It’s very often promoted for sleep and relaxation support because of the combination of magnesium and glycine. While there’s no human studies of Magnesium Bisglycinate Chelate for sleep or relaxation—there is evidence for mood support (47)‚—we’re inclined to put credence in its reputation for two reasons. One reason is that it’s been so widely commented on by people comparing different forms of magnesium and at Qualia we do put some weight on subjective experience. The other reason is that it's one of the few forms of magnesium that’s been found to optimize brain magnesium levels (25).*

When trying to determine if a particular form of magnesium may be better, the same, or worse, we put more weight on studies that show changes in tissue levels rather than only reporting on bioavailability. The study where Magnesium Bisglycinate supported brain magnesium is a case in point. In this study, it was bioavailable, enhancing blood magnesium levels. As mentioned, it also promoted magnesium brain levels. But it did not successfully support muscle magnesium balance. Magnesium Malate was also tested in this study. It also influenced blood magnesium levels, so was bioavailable. But Magnesium Malate did not enhance magnesium in the two tissues assessed—brain or muscle (25). Studies like this one make it evident that we should not confuse bioavailability with being able to support tissue magnesium balance: they are not the same thing. We should not be surprised when some forms of magnesium can optimize magnesium status better than others. [Note: This study is part of the reason you won’t see Magnesium Malate in QUALIA MAGNESIUM+, and why you will see a diverse portfolio of different types of magnesium.]*

Magnesium Citrate

Magnesium citrate is magnesium salt of citric acid. We consider it to be a “versatile” form of magnesium supplement. This is because, in one study, it was the only form of magnesium that supported healthy magnesium status in both the brain and muscles (25). It’s also been versatile when used in human clinical studies, where it has supported heart health (48, 49), metabolic health (50, 51), and physical comfort related to muscle and nerves (52–56). Some of this versatility may be related to the citrate. But, before we get to that, let’s discuss magnesium’s role in cellular energy.*

Magnesium is essential for supporting mitochondrial performance (about 1/3rd of intracellular magnesium is inside mitochondria) (57). Magnesium supports the breakdown of sugars (glycolysis), which is an important step in transforming the stored energy in food into cellular energy. Magnesium has many functions within the cell, but the most prominent is being bound to ATP. It is this magnesium-ATP complex that is required to speed up the work of hundreds of enzymes. When it comes to doing cellular work, ATP doesn't act alone, it teams up with magnesium for its activity (58). Citrate is also an important molecule when it comes to energy metabolism. The central hub of cellular energy metabolism is called the citric acid cycle—it is named after citrate, because of citric acid’s prominent role in fueling this cycle that links breakdown of carbohydrates and fats to cellular energy production. So, Magnesium Citrate could be thought of as also being an “energy metabolism” form of magnesium.*

Magnesium Citrate is a widely used form of magnesium with very good bioavailability. We think its use and reputation is well-deserved. But, it’s also a form of magnesium with a reputation for producing loose stools if given in too high amounts. We wanted to include some Magnesium Citrate in QUALIA MAGNESIUM+, but not too much. We selected an amount we believe will be a “just right” amount to support many people, especially when combined with the eight other forms of magnesium in the formula.*

Magnesium Creatine Chelate

Before getting to Magnesium Creatine Chelate, let’s go over the prominent role magnesium has in supporting a healthy stress response. How people subjectively experience magnesium insufficiency and feeling “stressed” have some commonalities (fatigue, irritability, nervousness, etc.) (59). Magnesium also has a number of functional roles that interact directly with stress (60). It’s a cofactor needed to make several important neurotransmitters and neurohormones involved in a healthy stress response. Part of the immediate response to stress is to shift magnesium from inside to outside cells. This is a healthy adaptive response to stress, but, if stress is extended, it can slowly drain cellular magnesium stores. And, low magnesium status seems to reduce the tolerance to stress, while contributing to an exaggerated response to some forms of stress.*

Stress worsens magnesium status, but when we are stressed we need even more support from magnesium. Think of magnesium as being akin to the question of which came first, the chicken or the egg, when it comes to stress—stress taxes magnesium stores, while poor magnesium status increases sensitivity to stress (this is the magnesium status and stress vicious cycle (59)). Not surprisingly, magnesium has been used for stress support for decades.* This brings us to creatine. While creatine is best known for supporting muscle growth and exercise performance, on a cellular level, it’s also involved in supporting a healthy response when cells and mitochondria are stressed (61). And, on a whole body level, creatine supports us during stressors like intense exercise or sleep deprivation (62, 63).*

Creatine’s most established function is its use in the phosphocreatine (phosphagen) system, where it has a key role in tissues that use high amounts of energy, like muscles and the brain. This system regenerates ATP from ADP in tissues, and is especially important in circumstances with high energy demand. Because of this role, creatine is often described as an ATP “buffer.” This brings us to Magnesium Creatine Chelate. It has been used in clinical studies for the support of exercise performance, muscle function, and cellular fluid balance. In these studies, Magnesium Creatine Chelate has outperformed a combination of magnesium and creatine, so the chelated form has had an additive effect (64–68). Several grams of creatine are typically used when it’s supplemented for muscle performance. QUALIA MAGNESIUM+ isn’t supplying an amount of creatine intended to support saturating muscle creatine stores; we are including the Magnesium Creatine Chelate to contribute to and augment the magnesium blend.*

Magnesium Gluconate

The total magnesium amount in the body varies between 22 and 26 grams. More than 99% of the total body magnesium is located in the intracellular space, mainly stored in bone (60-65%), muscle and soft tissues (34-39%), whereas less than 1% is located in the extracellular space, most of which is in the plasma, serum and blood. I’ve mentioned magnesium bioavailability in passing. Virtually all magnesium supplements make a claim about bioavailability. But, at Qualia, when it comes to magnesium, we consider bioavailability as so yesterday. Let’s get a better understanding of what it does and doesn’t mean. Bioavailability, of course, has some importance. Many people assume magnesium bioavailability means more is retained and gets into tissues. It does not mean this. The way magnesium bioavailability is measured in most studies has little to nothing to do with whether magnesium went into tissues or was retained in the body.*

Bioavailability has to do with the amount of magnesium that enters circulation after we take it orally. There are many issues with bioavailability studies. Let’s discuss two of them. Some studies use changes in the amount of magnesium circulating in the blood, and less frequently inside erythrocytes (i.e., red blood cells [RBC]) to evaluate bioavailability. But as I mentioned above, very little magnesium is found in circulation (less than 1% of body magnesium), and what is there is tightly controlled. What’s in circulation is simply not a useful marker of tissue levels. Because something goes up in the blood stream does not mean it will go up in tissues; it’s a lot harder getting things into cells. When plasma levels go up, the physiological response is to increase the amount of magnesium eliminated in the urine (69). Put another way, higher absorption is often followed by higher excretion. Sometimes it’s even this higher excretion that’s used to make the case that one form of magnesium was more bioavailable than another (36, 70), with the idea being that if more was in the urine, more must have been absorbed. I suspect that, like us, you’d not be particularly impressed that more magnesium is being wasted as it passes out of the body in the urine. For these and other reasons, correlations between magnesium contents of various tissues are at best weak, and most often, nonexistent with circulating or RBC magnesium (71). The amount of magnesium in circulation is simply not a great determinant for whether a form of magnesium is doing a good job in supporting more optimal tissue pools. Another issue is that many bioavailability studies are single dose or very short term, neither of which are particularly predictive for a system like the body that specializes in adapting over time—magnesium would ideally be supplemented for at least a couple of weeks to a month before evaluating bioavailability, and this is almost never done [29]. 

This brings me to retention studies, and why we included Magnesium Gluconate. Assessing magnesium retention is more complicated than measuring bioavailability. In a study designed to determine both, Magnesium Gluconate performed exceptionally well. The study was done in animals and lasted for two weeks, so it was not a single dose or short study. It compared ten forms of magnesium, including several found in QUALIA MAGNESIUM+. All of the organic magnesium salts (e.g., Magnesium Aspartate, Magnesium Citrate, Magnesium Gluconate) were better retained than the inorganic forms of magnesium (e.g., Magnesium Carbonate, Magnesium Oxide, Magnesium Sulfate). The salt that had the greatest retention was Magnesium Gluconate. I mentioned that magnesium in plasma and RBC often has little correspondence to retention. That was also the case in this study. Both were measured at the end of this study, and, despite clear differences in retention between the ten forms of magnesium, plasma and RBC magnesium levels were similar for all forms of magnesium (36). Retention was an important consideration for Qualia when it came to deciding which forms of magnesium to include. There are far too few studies that measure magnesium retention, and it’s not talked about anywhere near enough. But, at the end of the day, we don’t want our magnesium supplements to transiently increase what’s in circulation; we want more to be retained in the body. Magnesium’s benefits don’t come from bioavailability; they occur when the body retains the magnesium.* 

Magnesium Taurate

Before moving on to the next form of magnesium, let’s briefly discuss taurine and acetyltaurine. Magnesium Acetyl Taurate is magnesium bound to acetyltaurine molecules. Magnesium Taurate is magnesium bound to taurine molecules. I’ve seen these two forms of magnesium confused. This is understandable since they both have “taurine” in the name. But taurine and acetyltaurine are different molecules. While acetyltaurine is a taurine metabolite, acetyltaurine and taurine don’t appear to have identical functions in the body (72). We would not expect Magnesium Acetyl Taurate and Magnesium Taurate to perform identically in the body either. They are both good forms of magnesium, but they are different forms.*

Now let’s learn a bit about taurine. Poor magnesium status has been linked to all twelve of the Hallmarks of Aging (3). Poor taurine status has also been proposed to be a driver of unhealthy aging—it impacts many of the Hallmarks of Aging (73). This has resulted in it being suggested taurine may be a potential “longevity amino acid” that may support healthier aging (74). Taurine is present in nearly all tissues, and is the most abundant free amino acid in muscle, heart, brain, and retina. Taurine is present in all ocular tissues—retina, lens, cornea, etc.—and is critical for retinal and photoreceptor cell function. Taurine also supports neuroprotective functions in the central nervous system and healthy hearing (75, 76). Whether it is healthy aging, or the health of most of our tissues and organs, taurine plays a supporting role.*

Magnesium Taurate is a magnesium salt of taurine. It can also be called magnesium taurinate or magnesium ditaurate, with the "di-" coming from a Greek word that means "twice or containing two," because magnesium taurate contains a single magnesium ion bound to two taurines. We’ve seen Magnesium Taurate referred to as a “heart” form of magnesium, because of the functional role both magnesium and taurine play in supporting heart health. Research suggests this reputation may be deserved (77). Studies also suggest it is a “vision” magnesium (78, 79), which makes sense given the prominent role taurine plays in supporting healthy vision. Because taurine is important for mitochondrial function, and because taurine supports healthy function in many tissues, we believe Magnesium Taurate is among the more versatile forms of magnesium supplementation. The amount of taurine supplied in a two capsule serving of QUALIA MAGNESIUM+ is in the range of the average dietary intake of taurine in omnivores (75-135 mg/d) (80, 81): We included this form of magnesium to support both healthy magnesium and taurine status.*

Concentrated Sea Water Minerals

When we discussed Aquamin Mg, I mentioned that humans evolved consuming food and water that contained magnesium and trace minerals. Let’s focus on water. Drinking water that’s low in minerals can disrupt the body’s ability to maintain mineral balance, which impacts lots of areas of health, including bone, dental, heart, and metabolic health (16). Drinking water varies tremendously in magnesium and trace mineral content. Some water is magnesium-rich and contains a wide variety of trace minerals. Other water, especially if it's been purified, can be virtually free of both. A study that analyzed 540 different drinking water brands of still and carbonated water in 21 countries found that magnesium levels in the water ranged from none to, in some instances, more than 100 mg per liter. Most of the bottled water brands analyzed in the United States (US) had trivial amounts of magnesium (i.e., close to none). A similar trend was evident with other minerals in these water brands, with most bottled water brands being low in minerals (9).*

Drinking water could potentially make a large contribution to our intake of magnesium and trace minerals. In reality, for many people, their water is more of a problem than a solution when it comes to minerals. Consumption of drinking water that’s low in minerals has been increasing in the US and around the world as we’ve become more reliant on buying bottled waters. This is an underrecognized health problem. It’s also a problem that is not getting much attention. Many health conscious consumers aren’t even aware drinking water low in minerals is an issue or that the water they are drinking may be mineral poor. When we were creating QUALIA MAGNESIUM+ this was one of the problem areas we wanted to solve.*

While we can’t change the amount of minerals in a person’s drinking water, where we could make a difference was by supplying magnesium and a full spectrum of other minerals. Two of the magnesium sources we included, Aquamin Mg and Concentrated Sea Water Minerals, were selected because they also contain trace minerals. Concentrated Sea Water Minerals is a standardized mineral and trace mineral complex  extracted from the Great Salt Lake in Utah. It is a source of magnesium, chloride (another important electrolyte mineral), and 60+ other naturally occurring minerals and trace minerals found in this inland sea. The amount included is intended to augment dietary intake by providing some of the minerals that may be removed from water with water purification or depleted in soil because of modern agricultural practices. Though our bodies only need a small amount, it’s important we do not underestimate their importance or how challenging it is to get adequate amounts of trace minerals in our food and water. One of the things that makes QUALIA MAGNESIUM+ unique is this emphasis on magnesium plus trace minerals.*

Boron (as boron glycinate)

Boron is a trace mineral. Since 1857, boron has been known to be present in plants—fruits and fruit juices are among the best dietary sources—where it is essential for plant life. Early animal studies suggested that boron was not an essential mineral in animals and humans, so researching boron’s role in health was ignored for many years. This began to change in the 1970s and 80s. Since then boron has been studied for supporting areas including healthy bone strength, joint health, and brain function (82, 83).*

Some of the human research on boron was inspired by noticing that there were areas where dietary boron intake was lower (less than 1 mg per day) and higher (3–10 mg per day) and that the difference in dietary intake was correlated to some areas of health (84). This led to researchers varying dietary intake of boron and measuring what occurred. Some of the areas of health studied were cognitive performance, joint health, and sex hormone levels (85, 86).* Another area studied has been mineral retention.

In both human and animal studies, boron supplementation has promoted a more optimal magnesium balance. Human studies have primarily investigated urinary losses of magnesium. Boron intake has consistently been reported to have a modest impact on magnesium in circulation, urinary elimination, and retention (22, 23, 87, 88). The combination of factors suggests that ensuring optimal boron intake may be an important factor for supporting a healthy magnesium balance. Animal research corroborates boron’s impact on magnesium balance (89–92): boron appears to be especially important for supporting retention of magnesium in bones (93–97), which is the location where about 60-65% of the body’s magnesium is stored. There’s no established recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for boron—median adult dietary intake is estimated to be between 0.87 to 1.35 mg/day (98). We included an amount of boron to complement typical dietary intakes. We supply boron as boron glycinate: this is boron complexed with glycine to support its bioavailability.*

The Science of Magnesium, Magnified

It’s not just the amount of magnesium that goes in your mouth that matters: it’s what gets to your cells. Some forms of magnesium do better than others when it comes to optimizing magnesium in different tissues. We selected the nine forms of magnesium and 70+ minerals found in QUALIA MAGNESIUM+ with this idea in mind*. Experience the science of magnesium, magnified. Shop QUALIA MAGNESIUM+ now.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

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