r/Supplements • u/ApartmentSuspicious3 • 9h ago
General Question Question about labels
Maybe I am an idiot but I wanted to make sure I understand the doses correctly on some things.
Take magnesium supplements for example. Some say things like "magnesium (elemental) from magnesium oxide" so it is clear how much actual magnesium is there.
But frequently I see multivitamins that just say "magnesium (as magnesium citrate)" what are they referring to exactly? The magnesium or the entire thing?
2
u/prosupplementcenter 7h ago
It’s the magnesium. On a US Supplement Facts panel, the number next to a mineral has to be the amount of the mineral itself, so Magnesium 200 mg (as magnesium citrate) means 200 mg of actual magnesium, and the part in parentheses just tells you which compound it came from. The elemental wording on your other label means exactly the same thing. That brand is just spelling it out.
People get tripped up by the front of the bottle, or a listing that says Magnesium Citrate 500 mg with no breakdown. That’s the weight of the whole compound, and citrate is only about 11% magnesium by weight, so you’d be getting closer to 55 mg. Always go by the Supplement Facts panel.
Not a dumb question. Plenty of marketing counts on nobody checking.
1
u/Cognitivedaily 4h ago
Good question. On a standard US Supplement Facts label, "Magnesium 200 mg (as magnesium citrate)" means 200 mg of elemental magnesium. The citrate describes its chemical form. That's different from a product advertising "1,000 mg magnesium citrate" outside the Supplement Facts panel, which may refer to the compound's total weight. The distinction matters when combining supplements. If you take magnesium glycinate and magnesium citrate, you should add their elemental magnesium amounts, not the weights of the compounds. Also check the serving size. Sometimes the listed amount is for two or three capsules rather than one.
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u/Anxiety_Priceless 1h ago
And then there's "equivalents" like Dietary Folate Equivalent to make it more complicated
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