Here is a very interesting study showing that magnesium bisglycinate is effective for treating leg cramps in pregnant women. Here is a study showing the very poor 4% bioavailability (absorption) of magnesium oxide This can lead to dehydration, which as mentioned above, makes the cramping worse. Furthermore, because magnesium oxide causes diarrhea, a lot of people lose significant amounts of water when taking it. Because it doesn’t absorb well, it won’t help at all with leg cramps. The remaining 96% draws water into the large intestine and causes diarrhea as an unwanted side effect. In fact the most common magnesium supplement on the market is magnesium oxide, which absorbs at a rate of only about 4%. Most magnesium supplements do not absorb very well at all. This is unfortunately not surprising because it happens all the time. It tells us nothing about other forms of magnesium and how effective they may or may not be with regards to leg cramps. The key is that this study is discussing magnesium oxide only. Magnesium oxide is: “not significantly better than placebo for alleviating nocturnal leg cramps.” Here is a link to that double blind study of 94 adults taking either magnesium oxide or a placebo to see if it helped with leg cramps. This can, and did, lead to false conclusions. The study below talks about magnesium oxide only, but based on this study Reuters put out a press release with the title talking about “magnesium” in general rather than mentioning the specific form. When one specific form of magnesium is studied for something, all too often we hear inaccurate conclusions discussing magnesium supplementation “in general”. Since each form is different and has different effects on the body, we should always discuss the specific form of magnesium and not talk about “magnesium” in general terms. All of these forms are different and they should never be discussed interchangably. It is essential to always keep in mind that magnesium supplements come in many different forms (such as bisglycinate, citrate, oxide).
There is a lot of misinformation about magnesium supplementation. What does the science say about taking supplemental magnesium for leg cramps, and why is it confusing and misleading? It also mentions that dehydration can make the cramping worse (more on this below). It mentions that cramps can occur from “a deficiency of magnesium”. This article from Harvard Health discusses some common causes of muscle cramping. This out of whack calcium to magnesium ratio leads to a buildup of lactic acid and painful muscle cramping of the calf and other leg muscles. We also get too much calcium (which makes muscles contract) compared with our magnesium intake (which makes muscles relax). This is why this condition gets more and more common as we age.
We also lose a lot of the magnesium we do get from sweating, poor absorption, excess sugar or caffeine intake, and even aging. Most of us are not consuming enough magnesium through our diets. These nocturnal leg cramps feel like a sudden tight and painful knot in the calves, feet, quads, or hamstrings. Most often they are harmless, except for the fact that they really hurt and will ruin your otherwise peaceful sleep.
Millions of men and women (especially those over 50 years old) get painful leg cramps almost every night.
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