Magnesium Glycinate

What is Magnesium Glycinate?

Magnesium is the fourth most abundant mineral in the body and is essential for a wide range of processes in the body (10). Magnesium Glycinate is a chelated form of magnesium bound to the amino acid glycine. This structure enhances absorption and improves tolerability, making it one of the most bioavailable and gut-friendly forms available (16).

Unlike some forms that cause digestive upset (such as magnesium oxide or citrate), magnesium glycinate is gentle and unlikely to cause laxative effects, even at therapeutic doses (7,16). It’s particularly valued for its calming, sleep-promoting, and neuromuscular benefits, and is perfect for optimising your recovery after a day on the trail (1).

Optiventure uses magnesium glycinate in the sunset formula, where its relaxing and regenerative qualities support deep recovery and better sleep.

Why Do Outdoor Adventurers Need Magnesium?

Magnesium assists your body in over 300 enzymatic reactions, including energy production, muscle contraction, protein synthesis, nerve transmission, and stress regulation (10,15). Its health benefits are well documented, especially its ability to reduce the severity of asthma, migraines, and depression (3). 

During hiking, your body burns through magnesium due to physical exertion, sweating, altitude exposure, and dietary imbalances. Replenishing it is key to good recovery. 

We are still figuring out the full potential of magnesium for exercise performance, as due to methodological problems and a dilution of research across so many different forms of magnesium (citrate, oxide, glycinate, malate, etc), we can’t make as many concrete conclusions as we can for other nutrients – yet! (2,9)

Research continues to find that magnesium supplementation, especially magnesium glycinate, is especially useful for:

Supporting muscle relaxation and reducing cramps (1)

Promoting deep, restorative sleep via GABA modulation (4,13)

Enhancing stress resilience and mood stability (6)
Replenishing electrolytes lost through sweat and physical effort (7)

It’s a foundational nutrient that keeps muscles supple, nerves calm, and sleep solid.

Dietary Sources of Magnesium?

Magnesium is found in leafy greens, legumes, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and dark chocolate. But diets, especially on-trail diets, are often low in these foods. The shift toward refined carbs, protein bars, and convenience meals leads to widespread suboptimal intake (8).

Excess caffeine, alcohol, and sweating also deplete magnesium stores (6).

What’s the Best Form of Magnesium For Hikers?

Magnesium comes in many forms, and they’re not all created equal:

Magnesium oxide: Poorly absorbed and laxative in effect (2,9) however trials on people with insomnia found it effective at reducing cortisol levels and improving sleep quality (12)

Magnesium citrate: Has great absorption but limited elemental magnesium concentration, so you need to consume a lot more to get an effective dose (2). Unfortunately, it has a laxative effect in larger doses. (9)

Magnesium malate: Highly bioavailable, supports muscular energy production, and is gut-friendly — making it the ideal choice for adventurers (10). We’ve included this in the sunrise capsule of Optiventure. Read our guide to magnesium malate here! (ADD LINK)

Magnesium glycinate: Great for anxiety and sleep (4). This is why we’ve included this in the sunset capsule of Optiventure.

Key Information About Magnesium Glycinate

Deficiency Stats

Magnesium deficiency is widespread, and it’s thought that up to half of the population of both Americans and Australians falls short of the RDI due to diet, stress, and physical exertion (4,6,15).

Signs include:

• Muscle cramps and spasms (6)
• Increased inflammation (14)
• Low energy and fatigue
• Seizures and arrhythmias (4)
• Insomnia or restless sleep
• Headaches and migraines (6)
• Anxiety or irritability

Why Optiventure Has 100mg of Magnesium Glycinate

The sunset formula includes 100mg of elemental magnesium from glycinate — a dose chosen to:

• Calm the nervous system for deeper sleep
• Reduce muscle soreness and twitching (1)
• Improve stress response after long days
• Avoid laxative effects common with other forms (16)

There’s no upper limit for natural dietary intake of magnesium as no negative effects have been observed. For supplemental magnesium, a limit of 350mg/day has been established, mainly to mitigate against diarrhea – the first sign that intake is excessive (8).

Paired with 100mg of magnesium malate in the morning formula, this ensures 24-hour support — energy by day, recovery by night without remotely approaching the upper limit.

References

1. Reno, A. M., Green, M., Killen, L. G., O'Neal, E. K., Pritchett, K., & Hanson, Z. (2022). Effects of magnesium supplementation on muscle soreness and performance. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 36(8), 2198–2203. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000003827
2. Blancquaert, L., Vervaet, C., & Derave, W. (2019). Predicting and testing bioavailability of magnesium supplements. Nutrients, 11(7), 1663.https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11071663
3. De Baaij, J. H. F., Hoenderop, J. G. J., & Bindels, R. J. M. (2015). Magnesium in man: Implications for health and disease. Physiological Reviews, 95(1), 1–46. https://doi.org/10.1152/physrev.00012.2014
   
4. Rawji, A., Peltier, M. R., Mourtzanakis, K., Awan, S., Rana, J., Pothen, N. J., & Afzal, S. (2024). Examining the effects of supplemental magnesium on self-reported anxiety and sleep quality: A systematic review. Cureus, 16(5), e59317. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.59317
5. Firoz, M., & Graber, M. (2001). Bioavailability of US commercial magnesium preparations. Magnesium Research, 14(4), 257–262. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11794633/
6. Razzaque, M. S. (2018). Magnesium: Are we consuming enough? Nutrients, 10(12), 1863.https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10121863
7. Costello, R., Rosanoff, A., Nielsen, F., & West, C. (2023). Perspective: Call for re-evaluation of the tolerable upper intake level for magnesium supplementation in adults. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 123(9), 1409–1417. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2023.06.009
8. National Health and Medical Research Council. (2006). Nutrient reference values for Australia and New Zealand: Magnesium.https://www.nrv.gov.au/nutrients/magnesium
9. Walker, A. F., Marakis, G., Christie, S., & Byng, M. (2003). Mg citrate found more bioavailable than other Mg preparations in a randomised, double-blind study. Magnesium Research, 16(3), 183–191.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14596323/
10. Gröber, U., Schmidt, J., & Kisters, K. (2015). Magnesium in prevention and therapy. Nutrients, 7(9), 8199–8226.https://doi.org/10.3390/nu7095388
11. Lukaski, H. C. (2001). Magnesium, zinc, and chromium nutrition and athletic performance. Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology, 26(Suppl), S13–S22. https://doi.org/10.1139/h2001-038
12. Natural Health Research Institute. (2013, November 22). Study suggests magnesium may improve sleep quality.https://www.naturalhealthresearch.org/33236-2/
13. Abbasi, B., Kimiagar, M., Sadeghniiat, K., Shirazi, M. M., Hedayati, M., & Rashidkhani, B. (2012). The effect of magnesium supplementation on primary insomnia in elderly: A double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial. Journal of Research in Medical Sciences, 17(12), 1161–1169.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23853635/
14. Nielsen, F. H. (2010). Magnesium deficiency and increased inflammation: Current perspectives. Journal of Inflammation Research, 3, 109–117.https://doi.org/10.2147/JIR.S11838
15. Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2014). Australian health survey: Usual nutrient intakes.https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/health-conditions-and-risks/usual-nutrient-intakes/latest-release
16. Baghurst, K. I., Record, S. J., Baghurst, P. A., & Syrette, J. A. (1991). Zinc and magnesium status of Australian adults. Nutrition Research, 11(1), 23–32.https://doi.org/10.1016/S0271-5317(05)80147-2
17. National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. (2016, February). Magnesium: Fact sheet for health professionals [Fact sheet]. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium‑HealthProfessional/