Natural Calm vs. generic Magnesium Citrate
#358686 - 05/17/10 07:23 AM
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Zara
Reged: 06/07/06
Posts: 883
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My has been the worst ever since getting pregnant, and my regular Mg supplement doesn't seem to be helping. Last night I found I still had some NC left so I took it and had a small BM this morning which made me decide to buy more NC. However, it's pretty expensive so I'm looking into alternatives. Do you guys think that this Now Foods product would work as well as the original Natural Calm? Seems to me like they're the same, and the Now Foods one retails for half the price and contains more Mg per dose.
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IBS-C, bloating, cramps
pregnant 
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They both contain magnesium citrate although natural calm contains some citric acid. You can add the citric acid if you wish by adding a squeeze of lemon juice.
The natural calm contains 350 milligrams per 4.5 grams ( 77 mg/gr) while the Now Foods contains 630 milligrams per 3.7 grams (170 mg /gr). The Now Foods brand has about 2.2 times as much per gram so if it cost less it is probably a good buy.
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Thanks, Syl, that's what I was thinking as well. I wish there was someone who's had a chance to compare both and could tell me their experience.
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IBS-C, bloating, cramps
pregnant
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Pure magnesium citrate from any vendor should work the same. I suspect there isn't anything to compare
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STABLE: ♂, IBS-D 50+ years - Science of IBS
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Makes sense, I'm just paranoid that maybe the cheaper one would be of worse quality or something. On the other hand, it's a mineral so it should be the same.
I will try the cheaper one, though, and see for myself
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IBS-C, bloating, cramps
pregnant
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Let us know how it works, Zara. Where do you find this new product? Good luck. It will be nice to save some money!
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I will but I won't get it until three weeks from now because I don't feel like paying $$$ for the international shipping. But you can buy it anywhere online - I got it from luckyvitamin.com.
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IBS-C, bloating, cramps
pregnant
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If I have IBS-C/B and distension, would this really help?
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IBS-C and Bloating
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It acts as an osmotic laxative so it helps with constipation. For me, distention and constipation are often closely related so it helps me in that way.
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IBS-C, bloating, cramps
pregnant
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Decided to give something different a try. I couldn't find the powder, but I found tablets. each tablet contains about 200 mg of magnesium citrate, so I've been taking 3 tablets each night (to compare with the tablespoon of NC I typically take every night). Honestly, it's not working as well. My BM's have been incomplete and harder than usual for the last week or so that I've been using the tablets. With the NC, they are soft nothing is left behind.
Today, I've been pretty miserable after several days of incomplete BMs, so I had to take a monster dose of NC to (hopefully) balance me out tomorrow. I may give it another try (FOUR tablets??), we'll see.... anyone else try this stuff?
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Lisa, IBS-C (Vegan)
Stable since July 2007!
Mommy to Rhiannon Marie (Dec. 13, 2008)
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Lisa, how much (how many miligrams) of NC do you usually take? I'm thinking that maybe 3 pills of the other brand may not be enough for you. The pills I take now (magnesium oxide) have 250mg each and I have to take at least 3 of them, sometimes even 4.
I should get the Now Foods "natural calm" next week. It's in a powder form so I'm expecting it to be very similar to the original NC. I'll keep you all updated.
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IBS-C, bloating, cramps
pregnant
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Please do let us know how it goes!
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I took the equivalent amount. A tablespoon of NC is about 600 mg, give or take, and that's the same as three tablets of the NOW stuff. I'm still not back to normal, so this week has been rather frustrating. I took an even bigger ginormous dose of NC tonight so hopefully tomorrow will be better.  I will check again tomorrow for the powdered version, but I don't expect it to be any different than the tablets I bought, since it's the same brand. I'll be anxious to hear how the powder works for you!
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Lisa, IBS-C (Vegan)
Stable since July 2007!
Mommy to Rhiannon Marie (Dec. 13, 2008)
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update
#359409 - 06/22/10 09:49 PM
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Zara
Reged: 06/07/06
Posts: 883
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Tuesday - I took the first dose. When I poured hot water over it it sizzled, just like the original NC. However, it doesn't have the same "citric" taste, it tastes more chalky and doesn't mix as well. After I drank the cup I found a lot at the bottom that wasn't mixed in so I added more water and just drank it really quick. I really don't like the taste of this and will try to mix it with something flavored (juice, milk, etc.). But if it works I don't care about the taste/mixing problem because it's so much cheaper. It might be a good idea to sprinkle on something "mushy" (applesauce, oatmeal, etc) and drink a lot of water with it.
I took more than the recommended dose (rec. is 1 leveled teaspoon and I took 1 heaping teaspoon). I did have a good BM the next morning and I think I'll try sticking to the actual dose next time (it was a little too loose but that's fine with me ).
Wednesday - tried mixing it with apple sauce but it didn't camouflage the chalky taste. Didn't have a good BM the next morning, it felt like there was a lot of water in my colon but no poop really came out (sorry for TMI). I was going to travel after Wednesday so I didn't take it with me as I didn't want to experiment while traveling.
Sunday - mixed in water again, kept stirring and stirring and most of it diluted pretty well. The taste is still disgusting. Had an ok BM the next morning.
MOnday - same as Sunday except for no BM on Tuesday morning.
Overall, I'm not happy with this product. I don't understand how two things that claim to be the same can taste so different and act so different (NC dissolves in water easily but this one doesn't). I'm much happier with my regular OTC Mg supplement. I feel like the mg citrate is all-or-nothing for me, I either take a large dose and have really loose, watery stools, or I take a regular dose and nothing happens. There's no happy medium.
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IBS-C, bloating, cramps
pregnant
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Re: update
#359412 - 06/23/10 05:50 AM
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Syl
Reged: 03/13/05
Posts: 5499
Loc: SK, CANADA
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Natural Calm contains magnesium carbonate plus citric acid which when combined in water produces magnesium citrate. Now Food product contains magnesium citrate only.
The difference accounts for the fizziness and the dissolvability of the two products. In Natural Calm the magnesium carbonate in the presence of water and an acid like citric acid releases carbon dioxide which produces the fizz and magnesium carbonate is converted to magnesium citrate. This is why Natural Calm dissolves better. However, the active ingredient in both products is magnesium citrate which on its own does not dissolve well in water.
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STABLE: ♂, IBS-D 50+ years - Science of IBS
The FODMAP Approach to Managing IBS Symptoms
Evidence-based Dietary Management of Functional GI Symptoms: The FODMAP Approach
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Re: update
#359413 - 06/23/10 06:00 AM
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Zara
Reged: 06/07/06
Posts: 883
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Syl, you never stop amazing me - always have a scientific answer . Thanks! I thought these were exactly the same just based on the "mg citrate" ingredient.
Now I wish the "plain" magnesium citrate didn't taste like c*ap
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IBS-C, bloating, cramps
pregnant
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