A two-tablet serving supplying 200 mg elemental magnesium as a lysinate glycinate chelate from the ingredient supplier Albion; 240 tablets to a bottle; made by Doctor's Best.
200 mg magnesium (48% of the Daily Value) from 2,000 mg of chelate, so the mineral is about a tenth of the tablet. The printed directions, two tablets twice a day, add up to 400 mg, above the 350 mg supplemental upper limit set by the NIH.
Adults whose food intake falls short of the magnesium RDA (420 mg for men, 320 mg for women past thirty) and who found other forms hard on the stomach. Sleep is the seller's claim, not an established effect.
Keep supplemental magnesium at or under 350 mg a day unless a clinician says otherwise. Reduced kidney function raises the risk of excess. Space it hours apart from certain antibiotics and bone medicines. Loose stools mean too much.
What the label shows
We read the Supplement Facts panel from the label image on the Amazon listing (ASIN B000BD0RT0) and from the product page on doctorsbest.com, both opened on September 30, 2026; they agree. One caution for anyone skimming the Amazon page: its "Important information" text lists the magnesium as "100 mg," which is the amount per tablet; the panel itself is written per two-tablet serving.
| Ingredient | Amount per serving | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Magnesium (from 2,000 mg magnesium lysinate glycinate chelate) (Albion) | 200 mg — 48% DV | The Daily Value is 420 mg. The NIH RDA is 420 mg a day for men aged 31 and over and 320 mg for women aged 31 and over, from all sources including food. Elemental magnesium is 10% of the compound's weight here; each tablet carries 100 mg. |
| Other ingredients | — | Microcrystalline cellulose, croscarmellose sodium, magnesium stearate (vegetable source), stearic acid, hydroxypropyl cellulose, silicon dioxide, hypromellose: binders, a disintegrant and a coating. None adds meaningful magnesium. |
Directions on the brand's page: "Take 2 tablets twice daily, or as recommended by a nutritionally informed physician"; the Amazon text adds "with or without food." Four tablets a day is 400 mg of supplemental magnesium, above the 350 mg Tolerable Upper Intake Level the NIH sets for magnesium from supplements and medicines; two tablets (200 mg) is under it. The panel carries vegan, gluten-free, soy-free and non-GMO icons; the front says "100% Chelated" and shows the Albion Minerals medallion. Albion and TRAACS are trademarks of the ingredient supplier Balchem, and TRAACS ("The Real Amino Acid Chelate System") is that supplier's own brand name for its chelated minerals [3]: an ingredient-supplier mark, not an independent test of the finished tablet. No USP or NSF mark is printed. The Amazon bullets say the tablet is "not buffered with fillers or additives." In Balchem's own terms, a "buffered" chelate adds extra magnesium oxide to raise the elemental magnesium value [3]; the 10% figure on this panel is consistent with an unbuffered chelate, though the label itself does not use the word. Model number DRB-00087.
What the evidence shows
Magnesium takes part in more than 300 enzyme systems, including muscle and nerve function. The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements fact sheet (updated January 6, 2026) is the reference for every number in this report [1]. It lists older adults among the groups more likely to run low, because they tend to eat less magnesium, absorb less of it from the gut and lose more in urine, and it sets the upper limit for supplemental magnesium at 350 mg a day for adults, counting supplements and medicines only, because excess from food is cleared by healthy kidneys.
Absorption and the chelate. ODS says small studies found the aspartate, citrate, lactate and chloride forms are "absorbed more completely" than magnesium oxide and sulfate; glycinate is not on that list either way [1]. The closest human trial to this product is a 1994 double-blind crossover in 12 patients who had lost part of the small intestine to surgery, comparing 100 mg of magnesium as diglycinate with oxide [4]. Overall absorption was not different (23.5% versus 22.8%), but in the four patients who absorbed oxide worst the chelate did clearly better, and it was better tolerated by everyone. Balchem states its chelates are "fully reacted" and "clinically demonstrated to be easier on the gastrointestinal tract than inorganic mineral sources," a supplier's claim we can neither confirm nor dispute [3]. Doctor's Best goes further with "up to 6x better absorbed than other forms of magnesium"; the brand's page gives no reference, and a listing image cites a 2013 article on magnesium bisglycinate in a journal we could not find indexed in PubMed; we could not verify that figure and do not repeat it as fact. In short: the "gentler on the gut" reputation has a plausible mechanism and a little direct support; the "6x" number is unverified.
Sleep. "Muscle Relaxation & Sleep Support*" is the seller's structure/function claim, and the research is thinner than the shelf suggests. A 2021 pooled analysis found only three randomized trials, 151 older adults in all: people fell asleep about 17 minutes sooner on magnesium than on placebo, total sleep time rose by 16 minutes but not significantly, all three trials were at moderate-to-high risk of bias, and the evidence was graded low to very low quality [5]. A 2023 review found that lower magnesium status goes with poorer sleep in surveys, while the randomized trials contradict one another [6]. The most recent systematic review, published in 2026 and covering 12 randomized trials of magnesium on its own, found inconsistent results across questionnaires, EEG, actigraphy and wearables, rated the certainty low or very low, and concluded that the evidence does not support magnesium as a routine remedy for poor sleep, while allowing modest benefit on some self-reported measures in some adults [7]. A possibility, then, not a result to count on, and one that sits behind the steps in our evening routine briefing.
Too much. ODS is direct: high doses from supplements or medicines "can cause diarrhea, nausea, and abdominal cramping," the practical reason the 350 mg limit exists, and the risk of true magnesium excess "increases with impaired renal function or kidney failure because the ability to remove excess magnesium is reduced or lost" [1]. Anyone with reduced kidney function should not add a magnesium supplement without a clinician's guidance.
Medicines. ODS lists four interactions worth knowing [1]. Magnesium reduces absorption of oral bisphosphonates (bone medicines), so take the two at least two hours apart. It binds tetracycline and quinolone antibiotics, which should be taken at least two hours before, or four to six hours after, a magnesium supplement. Loop and thiazide diuretics increase magnesium losses, while potassium-sparing diuretics reduce them. Long-term proton pump inhibitors, the acid-reducing medicines, can lower magnesium over time. A pharmacist can check all of these against your list in a few minutes. For how the common forms differ, see our briefing on magnesium forms.
The label's full directions, four tablets a day, supply 400 mg of supplemental magnesium, above the 350 mg upper limit ODS sets for supplements; two tablets stay under it. If you have reduced kidney function, do not take a magnesium supplement without a clinician's guidance. Loose stools are the early sign of too much.
Who it may suit, and who should look elsewhere
The strengths here are a small, adjustable tablet (100 mg each), a fully chelated form with a reasonable gentleness reputation, a clean excipient list and a low price per milligram. The weaknesses are directions that exceed the upper limit if followed in full, and a front-of-bottle claim the research does not carry.
- May suit adults whose diet is short on leafy greens, legumes, nuts, seeds and whole grains, the main food sources, and who want to close part of the gap with a moderate, measured amount.
- May suit people who found magnesium citrate or oxide loosened their stools and want to try a chelated form in 100 mg steps.
- Look elsewhere, or ask first, if you have reduced kidney function of any degree.
- Look elsewhere, or plan the timing with a pharmacist, if you take a bisphosphonate, a tetracycline or quinolone antibiotic, a diuretic or a long-term acid reducer.
- Look elsewhere if you are buying it as a sleep aid; the trials do not reliably support that expectation, and the routine steps come first.
- Check your multivitamin's panel before adding this; magnesium in a multi counts toward the same 350 mg supplemental limit.
Price, size and where it is sold
On the Amazon listing opened September 30, 2026, the 240-tablet bottle was $23.99, shown as $0.10 per count, marked "In Stock," shipping from Amazon and sold by Doctors Best (the brand's own store). That is $0.20 per two-tablet serving: about $0.40 a day and a 60-day supply at the label's four tablets, or about $0.20 a day and 120 days at two tablets. The brand's own site listed the same bottle at $23.99 that day. The listing states the item is "non-returnable due to Food safety reasons" as an ingestible product, with a refund or replacement only if it arrives damaged or defective, so Amazon's general 30-day return window does not apply here. A 120-tablet bottle of the same formula exists; we did not price it. Prices and stock change; treat these figures as observations for that date only.
Sources
- National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. Magnesium fact sheet for health professionals: RDAs, upper limits, absorption of different forms, risks of excess, interactions with medicines. Updated January 6, 2026. link
- Doctor's Best. Product page for High Absorption Magnesium, 100 mg, 240 Tablets: Supplement Facts, other ingredients, suggested use, trademarks and claims. Opened September 30, 2026. link
- Balchem (owner of Albion Minerals). Magnesium bisglycinate chelate product page (a sister ingredient to the lysinate glycinate used here): description of fully reacted chelates, the buffered version with added oxide, and the TRAACS name. Opened September 30, 2026. link
- Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, 1994. Double-blind randomized crossover comparison of magnesium diglycinate and magnesium oxide absorption in 12 patients after intestinal resection. PubMed record. link
- BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies, 2021. Systematic review and meta-analysis of three randomized trials of oral magnesium for sleep complaints in older adults. PubMed record. link
- Biological Trace Element Research, 2023. Systematic review of observational and randomized studies on magnesium and sleep patterns in adults. PubMed record. link
- Journal of Dietary Supplements, 2026. Systematic review of 12 randomized controlled trials of stand-alone magnesium supplementation for sleep outcomes in adults, with GRADE certainty ratings. PubMed record. link
- Amazon.com product listing, ASIN B000BD0RT0: label images, price, availability, seller and return terms as displayed on September 30, 2026.
This report is educational and is not medical advice. Ask a qualified clinician before starting any supplement, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or take medication.