//www.curezone.org/forums/fm.asp?i=895030#i

I'm very much in favor of mag chloride for supplementation.


//www.curezone.org/forums/fm.asp?i=900327#i


This info is from the International Medical Veritas Association; speaking about the use of magnesium with sports. Maybe it will help your decision. I use it transdermally; just because I already have some. I do take magnesium orally for its laxative properties.


http://www.imva.info/sports.shtml


A whole new world of sports medicine is going to explode onto the scene when athletes and coaches find out that magnesium chloride from natural sources is available for topical use. In this new and exciting breakthrough in sports medicine coaches can now treat injuries, prevent them, and increase athletic performance all at the same time. Magnesium chloride, when applied directly to the skin is transdermally absorbed.[11] Transdermal magnesium chloride mineral therapy is ideal for athletes who need high levels of magnesium. Oral magnesium is not easily absorbed and at high doses creates diarrhea. Oral magnesium also has little to no application in the treatment of injuries and tired worn out muscles.[12]

[11] “Magnesium Oil” (natural transdermal magnesium chloride from
http://www.globallight.net)
delivers high levels of magnesium directly through the skin to the cellular level, bypassing common intestinal and kidney symptoms associated with oral use. Magnesium chloride has a major advantage over magnesium sulfate because it is hygroscopic and will attract water to it, thus keeping it wet on the skin and vastly more likely to be absorbed, while magnesium sulfate simply "dries" and becomes "powdery". Magnesium Oil feels "oily" on the skin. The biggest benefit of topical magnesium chloride administration is that the intestines are not adversely impacted by large doses of oral magnesium.

[12] The problem with oral magnesium is that all magnesium compounds are potentially laxative. And there is good evidence that magnesium absorption depends upon the mineral remaining in the intestine at least 12 hours. If intestinal transit time is less than 12 hours, magnesium absorption is impaired, and this is the case when high does of oral magnesium are administered. Thus it is very difficult to administer what would be considered medicinal does for active athletes orally. Magnesium supplementation is actually crucial for everyone today but we have to pay especial attention to the method of supplementation because this is critical in terms of effective body utilization. Magnesium is absorbed primarily in the distal small intestines or colon. Active uptake is required involving various transport systems such as the vitamin D-sensitive transport system. Since magnesium is not passively absorbed it demonstrates saturable absorption resulting in variable bioavailability averaging 35-40% of administered dose even under the best conditions of intestinal health. Magnesium levels in the body, presence of calcium, phosphate, phytate and protein can affect rate of absorption. These and other conditions make oral magnesium supplements intake chancy and inefficient compared to transdermal intake. Transdermal application of magnesium is far superior to oral supplements and is in reality the only practical way magnesium can be used as a medicine besides by direct injection. One of the major disadvantages of oral magnesium compositions that are currently available is that they do not control the release of magnesium, but instead immediately release magnesium in the stomach after they are ingested. These products are inefficient because they release magnesium in the upper gastrointestinal tract where it reacts with other substances such as calcium. These reactions reduce the absorption of magnesium. “When people are ill, faced with magnesium deficiency and poor digestion, what do you think the odds are of fixing that problem with oral magnesium supplementation and digestive enzymes alone?” asks Dr. Ronald Hoffman. Mildred Seelig, Ph.D., renowned researcher of magnesium, predicts it would take 6 months to normalize magnesium levels in a woman who is magnesium deficient with oral supplementation. In his clinic Dr. Hoffman carefully measures magnesium and found that many patients with low magnesium who take just oral supplements do not normalize. The bottom line is that transdermal magnesium therapy speeds up the process of nutrient repletion in much the same way as intravenous methods.