Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I've been taking several magnesium supplements over the past few years, because I occasionally develop symptoms of low magnesium. I have CFS and in general CFSers tend to have issue with electrolyte imbalances, sometimes due to excess urination. The problem with magnesium is that, unlike calcium, potassium and obviously sodium, our modern western diet doesn't contain mich magnesium at all, so most people are actually more or less deficient in magnesium. Which, as for everything, is not a huge problem is someone is in very good health, but it can be a problem is one's health is already not very good. In terms of magnesium there are a lot of forms and while they all provide magnesium, they act in a different way. Some, like magnesium oxide, are downright pointless (Studies have shown that about 3% of the magnesium in Mg Oxide is absorbed). If it's not assimilated by the body you are just wasting your time and producing very expensive urine. Magnesium sulfate is also not very bioavailable if taken internally, though there is absorption if used externally (soaking in epsom salts). Magnesium citrate is probably the best bang for your buck, because it's acceptably bioavailable and it's cheap. I've read studies that show about 50% of the magnesium in Mg citrate is absorbed. But if you are prone to diarrhea, you will likely experience diarrhea before you can take a full dose of magnesium. I've also experimented with magnesium glycinate and magnesium malate. They are both good, higher absorption rate than citrate, and much less likely to cause diarrhea. For some reason, though, the magnesium malate gives me nausea for a few hours after taking it. Nothing serious but quite annoying, so until now my favorite form of magnesium was the glycinate (as explained in my other review on it). All three kinds of magnesium (citrate, glycinate, malate) have been effective in providing relief from the arrhythmia that I get when my magnesium levels get too low. This was, however, all I could get out of the magnesium supplements. I know magnesium should also provide relaxation, possibly by antagonizing NMDA receptors in the brain. This led me to try magnesium threonate, which supposedly is the only form of magnesium that crosses the blood brain barrier, and as such it should have a more significant CNS effect compared to other forms of magnesium because it actually can get to the brain. Smart Mag has the advantage of combining magnesium threonate with magnesium glycinate (that I already know is good) and magnesium taurate (which is also supposed to have a calming effect more than other forms of magnesium because of the taurine), which sounds like the ultimate magnesium combination! Also very important to notice that this looks like a quality supplement. For starters it's made in the USA which is always good, and the "other ingredients" are VERY good, just cellulose for the cap and rice flour and magnesium stearate. It's really rare to find supplements that don't contain silicate, titanium dioxide, or worse. The caps are not too big but not small either, I'm posting a pic with a quarter for reference. I have no problem swallowing them. At this point I haven't taken this supplement for very long, but I can tell that FINALLY I have found a magnesium supplement that seems to have an anti-anxiety effect and to improve my sleep a little bit. It's nothing like taking a benzodiazepine or other sedatives, it just seems to induce a calmer state, the tension and adrenaline I feel when I feel anxious seem to slowly go away. And I have been waking up less at night. For me this is a huge deal! Because of this and the quality of the ingredients, I can say that I'm very satisfied with this product. [...]