Hard to dissolve and, to me, tastes terrible beyond words.
According to an article published by the National Insititute of Health, “hypomagnesemia is common in hospitalized patients, especially in the elderly with coronary artery disease (CAD) and/or those with chronic heart failure. Hypomagnesemia is associated with an increased incidence of diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome, mortality rate from CAD and all causes. Magnesium supplementation improves myocardial metabolism, inhibits calcium accumulation and myocardial cell death; it improves vascular tone, peripheral vascular resistance, afterload and cardiac output, reduces cardiac arrhythmias and improves lipid metabolism. Magnesium also reduces vulnerability to oxygen-derived free radicals, improves human endothelial function and inhibits platelet function, including platelet aggregation and adhesion, which potentially gives magnesium physiologic and natural effects similar to adenosine-diphosphate inhibitors such as clopidogrel. The data regarding its use in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is conflicting. Although some previous, relatively small randomized clinical trials demonstrated a remarkable reduction in mortality when administered to relatively high risk AMI patients, two recently published large-scale randomized clinical trials (the Fourth International Study of Infarct Survival and Magnesium in Coronaries) failed to show any advantage of intravenous magnesium over placebo. Nevertheless, there are theoretical potential benefits of magnesium supplementation as a cardioprotective agent in CAD patients, as well as promising results from previous work in animal and humans. These studies are cost effective, easy to handle and are relatively free of adverse effects, which gives magnesium a role in treating CAD patients, especially high-risk groups such as CAD patients with heart failure, the elderly and hospitalized patients with hypomagnesemia. Furthermore, magnesium therapy is indicated in life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias such as Torsades de Pointes and intractable ventricular tachycardia.”<br /><br />In addition to what magnesium I normally ingest as part of my diet, I take 350mg of elemental magnesium daily (Natural Vitality Calm Magnesium Citrate) and have for a number of years. Because  of my pragmatic  use of magnesium supplements, I accepted the opportunity to review this formulation.<br /><br />One test of the bioavailability of any essential mineral supplement is to measure its concentration in the blood. Magnesium requires an acidic environment for optimum absorption (best to take on an empty stomach to maximize HCL concentration in the gut).<br /><br />This formulation does not readily dissolve in any liquid I tried. My greatest success was achieved by placing it in a blender for five minutes in warm water. OK, no big deal. However, drinking this stuff was impossible for me: IT TASTES HORRIBLE!!! I tried a few fruit drinks, various make-your-own-carbonated-drink mixtures, and gobs of sugar. Without getting too graphic, it honestly reminds me of putrefaction.<br /><br />For my health in particular, adequate magnesium levels are essential. If I had to rely on this stuff I would die. Because of its difficulty in dissolving and its taste, I cannot recommend this product.
Rating: 1 stars