PlainPill

Fiber vs Magnesium Citrate for digestion

Short answer: For digestion, more users report improvement with Fiber — 81% of 26 reports, versus 68% of 40 for Magnesium Citrate.

Fiber has 1,399 meta-analyses and 3,260 randomized trials on PubMed; Magnesium Citrate has 14 and 135.

Based on 56 reports about Fiber and 357 about Magnesium Citrate. Not medical advice.

Fiber
Supplement
Magnesium Citrate
Supplement
User score4160
Verdict
Mostly positive
Mostly positive
Positive
of reports that state an outcome
69%65%
Reports56357
ResearchAResearch: StrongAResearch: Strong
Meta-analyses / RCTs1,399 / 3,26014 / 135
Mainly used for
Weight loss
% reporting improvement
100% (3)—
Appetite
% reporting improvement
100% (4)—
Focus
% reporting improvement
—56% (9)
Energy
% reporting improvement
—67% (12)
Sleep
% reporting improvement
100% (2)86% (74)
Anxiety
% reporting improvement
—88% (50)
Mood
% reporting improvement
—72% (25)
Memory
% reporting improvement
—33% (3)
Recovery
% reporting improvement
—100% (2)
Pain & inflammation
% reporting improvement
—100% (5)
Digestion
% reporting improvement
81% (26)68% (40)
Heart & lipids
% reporting improvement
—80% (5)
Common side effectscan exacerbatediarrhea, stomach issues, drowsiness, fatigue
Typical dose reported6 days/week400 mg / every night
Fiber
Latest review conclusion

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 ↗
What a user said
“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.”
Full Fiber profile →
Magnesium Citrate
Latest review conclusion

This systematic review provides Grade C (possibly effective) evidence for prevention of migraine with magnesium. Prophylactic treatment of migraine by means of high levels of magnesium dicitrate (600 mg) seems to be a safe and cost efficient strategy in clinical use.

Headache, 2018 ↗
What a user said
“Magnesium citrate is the bees knees for me. I know everyone man and his dog always talks about it but it does seriously help with sleep onset for me personally.”
Full Magnesium Citrate profile →

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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