Fiber vs Magnesium for digestion
Short answer: For digestion, users rate them about the same: 81% report improvement with Fiber (26 reports) and 83% with Magnesium (29 reports).
Fiber has 1,399 meta-analyses and 3,260 randomized trials on PubMed; Magnesium has 82 and 210.
Based on 56 reports about Fiber and 1,893 about Magnesium. Not medical advice.
| Fiber Supplement | Magnesium Supplement | |
|---|---|---|
| User score | 41 | 51 |
| Verdict | Mostly positive | Mostly positive |
| Positive of reports that state an outcome | 69% | 72% |
| Reports | 56 | 1,893 |
| Research | AResearch: Strong | AResearch: Strong |
| Meta-analyses / RCTs | 1,399 / 3,260 | 82 / 210 |
| Mainly used for | ||
| Weight loss % reporting improvement | 100% (3) | — |
| Appetite % reporting improvement | 100% (4) | 100% (2) |
| Focus % reporting improvement | — | 77% (39) |
| Energy % reporting improvement | — | 75% (73) |
| Sleep % reporting improvement | 100% (2) | 87% (331) |
| Anxiety % reporting improvement | — | 89% (226) |
| Mood % reporting improvement | — | 80% (99) |
| Memory % reporting improvement | — | 100% (7) |
| Performance % reporting improvement | — | 87% (15) |
| Recovery % reporting improvement | — | 96% (24) |
| Pain & inflammation % reporting improvement | — | 91% (33) |
| Digestion % reporting improvement | 81% (26) | 83% (29) |
| Libido % reporting improvement | — | 62% (13) |
| Hormones % reporting improvement | — | 91% (22) |
| Blood sugar % reporting improvement | — | 100% (3) |
| Heart & lipids % reporting improvement | — | 95% (22) |
| Skin & hair % reporting improvement | — | 100% (2) |
| Immunity % reporting improvement | — | 86% (7) |
| Longevity % reporting improvement | — | 100% (3) |
| Common side effects | can exacerbate | diarrhea, drowsiness, stomach issues, vivid dreams |
| Typical dose reported | 6 days/week | daily |
Fiber supplementation is effective at improving constipation. Particularly, psyllium, doses >10 g/d and treatment durations of at least 4 weeks appear optimal, though caution is needed when interpreting the results due to considerable heterogeneity. These findings provide promising evidence on the optimal type and regime of fiber supplementation, which could be used to standardize recommendations to patients. The protocol for this review is registered at PROSPERO as CRD42020191404.
Am J Clin Nutr, 2022 ↗“I truly feel much less stressed in traffic/at work, etc. I cannot believe how little fiber my family has, and therefore I grew up having.”
This review confirms that the quality of literature is substandard for physicians to make well-informed recommendations on usage of oral magnesium for older adults with insomnia. However, given that oral magnesium is very cheap and widely available, RCT evidence may support oral magnesium supplements (less than 1 g quantities given up to three times a day) for insomnia symptoms.
BMC Complement Med Ther, 2021 ↗“after supplementing with 400mg of Magnesium daily. Winter blues hit me hard and my multivitamin wasn't doing any justice, but once I began supplementing Magnesium, everything changed.”
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Percentages come from first-hand user reports and are not clinical outcomes. Talk to a doctor before starting, stopping or combining anything. How we rate