Magnesium Bisglycinate

No. The diarrhoea comes from poorly-absorbed forms like magnesium oxide and citrate, which sit in your colon and draw water into the bowel — an osmotic, laxative effect.*⁵ Chelated bisglycinate is absorbed earlier, in the small intestine, so it doesn’t pull water into the bowel and doesn’t produce that laxative effect.*⁵ It’s the form people switch to specifically to escape the bathroom trips.

This is the form most often chosen by people with sensitive stomachs. Because bisglycinate is chelated and absorbed through amino acid transport pathways in the small intestine, it doesn’t create the osmotic effect that makes oxide and citrate so harsh.*⁵ In a 2024 clinical comparison it produced fewer GI side effects — less intestinal motility disruption and less gastric heaviness — than oxide or citrate.*⁸ If a sensitive stomach has made magnesium feel off-limits, this is the form worth trying. You can also take it with food if you prefer.

It shouldn’t. The cramping and bloating people associate with magnesium come from unabsorbed oxide and citrate fermenting and drawing water into the bowel.*⁵ Bisglycinate is absorbed before it reaches the colon, so there’s nothing left there to cause that churn.*⁵ Customers with sensitive guts — including people who describe IBS-type symptoms — routinely tell us they get no cramping, no bloating and no urgency on this form.

That’s a different form. Magnesium citrate and oxide are sometimes used as laxatives precisely because they’re poorly absorbed and draw water into the bowel.*⁵ Bisglycinate is the opposite kind of magnesium: it’s absorbed in the small intestine, so it doesn’t have that laxative action.*⁵ You’re getting the mineral your body needs — 79% of adults fall short*⁷ — without the bathroom effect. If a laxative is what you’re after, glycinate isn’t the form for that.

Yes. Because bisglycinate is so well tolerated, most people are fine taking it on an empty stomach.*⁵ If your stomach is especially sensitive, taking it with a little food can make it even easier — but it isn’t required the way it often is with harsher forms. Take it whenever fits your routine, morning or night.

Because the form you quit was almost certainly the problem, not magnesium itself. Most people who give up are on oxide or citrate — the cheap, poorly-absorbed forms that cause diarrhoea and cramping.*⁵ Switching to chelated bisglycinate is the single change that fixes it for most people: same mineral, absorbed in the small intestine, without the laxative effect.*⁵ It’s the most common reason customers tell us they came back to magnesium at all.

It comes down to absorption. Magnesium oxide is cheap and poorly absorbed, so most of it passes through and causes GI upset. Citrate is better absorbed than oxide but still draws water into the bowel — which is why it’s used as a laxative.*⁵ Glycinate (bisglycinate) is chelated to two glycine molecules and absorbed through amino acid pathways in the small intestine, giving it superior GI tolerability and no laxative effect.*⁵ In a 2024 clinical comparison, bisglycinate had fewer GI side effects than both oxide and citrate.*⁸

Most people do, and quickly. The usual story is that the diarrhoea, cramping and urgency that came with citrate simply stop within a day or two of switching, while the magnesium benefits stay.*⁵ You don’t need to taper or do anything special — just start the bisglycinate in place of your old form. It’s the most common migration we see: people move from citrate to glycinate the moment their stomach has had enough.

Bisglycinate is magnesium bound to two molecules of glycine, a small amino acid. That chelation lets the molecule ride amino acid transport pathways into the small intestine instead of lingering in the colon the way mineral salts do, which is the core reason it’s so much easier on the gut.*⁵ Glycine itself is a gentle, soothing amino acid in its own right.*⁹ Oxide and citrate don’t carry glycine, so they don’t get this benefit. Organic, chelated forms are also generally better absorbed than inorganic ones.*⁵

2 capsules daily, taken at the same time each day. Each serving provides 200mg of elemental magnesium — a strong daily foundation that stays well within the gentle, well-tolerated range.*⁵ Because bisglycinate is so easy on the stomach, you don’t need to split or ramp the dose the way people often have to with harsher forms. Consistency is what matters: daily use over weeks beats any single dose.

Either works, and because it’s gentle on the stomach there’s no “safe” time you have to plan around the bathroom. Some people take it in the morning, others before bed. Pick whichever time you’ll remember consistently — that matters more than the specific time of day.

Yes. Chelated bisglycinate is gentle on the stomach with or without food.*⁵ If your stomach is on the sensitive side, taking it with a light meal can make it feel even easier, but it isn’t necessary. Do whatever fits your routine.

Most people experience none. The GI upset associated with magnesium comes mainly from oxide and citrate; bisglycinate produced fewer GI side effects than both in a 2024 clinical comparison.*⁸ A small number of people notice mild digestive changes in the first few days as their body adjusts, and these typically settle quickly. Taking it with food can help if you’re especially sensitive.

Magnesium is an essential mineral during pregnancy, and many pregnant women are deficient. However, we always recommend consulting your OB/GYN or midwife before starting any supplement during pregnancy or while breastfeeding.

Magnesium bisglycinate pairs well with most supplements including vitamin D, zinc, and omega-3s. Take it 2 hours apart from calcium or iron supplements as they can compete for absorption. Because it’s the gentle form, it won’t add the digestive upset to your routine that a harsher magnesium would.

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We offer a 90-day money-back guarantee. If this isn’t the gentlest magnesium you’ve taken — or it just isn’t right for you — contact us within 90 days for a full refund, no questions asked. We’re that confident.

Plain version: in a head-to-head clinical comparison, bisglycinate caused less gut disruption and less gastric heaviness than oxide and citrate.

Study: Comparative clinical study on magnesium absorption and side effects, Nutrients, 2024 (n=40; compared oxide, citrate, bisglycinate, microencapsulated). View paper →

Plain version: the glycine that magnesium is bound to in bisglycinate is a gentle amino acid that also helps carry it through amino-acid transport pathways into the small intestine.

Study: The glycine site of NMDA receptors: a target for cognitive enhancement, Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry, 2019 (narrative review, 56 citations). View paper →

Plain version: glycinate is absorbed in the small intestine and stays gentle on the gut, while oxide and citrate draw water into the colon and cause osmotic diarrhoea.

Study: Glutamatergic signaling along the microbiota-gut-brain axis, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2019 (review, 259 citations). View paper →

Plain version: the supplement upper limit exists because of diarrhoea — a side effect driven largely by poorly-absorbed forms, not by magnesium itself.

Study: Subclinical magnesium deficiency: a principal driver of cardiovascular disease and a public health crisis (and related dosage perspective), perspective paper, 2023. Updated evidence found 7 of 10 studies reported no significant diarrhoea versus placebo at doses of 128–1200 mg/day, with only 40 attributable GI adverse events in the FDA CAERS database.

Plain version: chelated, organic forms like bisglycinate are absorbed in the small intestine via amino-acid pathways, so they’re gentler on the gut than poorly-absorbed inorganic oxide and citrate.

Study: Bioavailability of magnesium food supplements: A systematic review, Nutrition, 2021 (14 studies, 42 citations). “Inorganic formulations appear to be less bioavailable than organic ones.” View paper →

Plain version: the gut and the rest of the body talk to each other both ways, and magnesium plays a role in that pathway — one more reason a magnesium your gut actually tolerates matters.

Study: Gut over mind: the gut-brain axis, Nutrients, 2025 (review, 15 citations). View paper →

Plain version: 79% of US adults don’t get enough magnesium from food, so most people start from a deficit — which is why finding a form your stomach tolerates matters, so you can actually take it daily.

Study: Magnesium status and supplementation influence vitamin D status and metabolism, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2018 (RCT, n=180, 148 citations; cites NHANES data). View paper →

Every scientific claim on this page is backed by peer-reviewed research from journals indexed in PubMed, Semantic Scholar, and other academic databases. We prioritise human studies published in Q1–Q2 ranked journals (the top 50% by impact). We do not cherry-pick findings — where evidence is mixed, we say so. To be clear about the gentleness claims: glycinate is positioned as easy on the stomach with no laxative effect — it is not a constipation laxative, and it is not claimed to treat any digestive condition. hale. is not a medicine and does not claim to treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always consult your healthcare provider before starting any supplement.