According to Wikipedia, Milk of Magnesia is a high-dose magnesium hydroxide that stimulates the motility in the intestines and flushes out the waste. At 2,000-5,000 mg it is still a safe laxative.

Now here's a cool fact that I found when reading this information on Milk of Magnesia. Magnesium causes the release of the peptide hormone cholecystokinin (CCK) leading to accumulation of water and electrolytes in the intestine. This helps trigger intestinal motility.

Looking at CCK I found that it plays a key role in facilitating digestion within the small intestine. It is secreted from cells in the first segment of the small intestine (duodenum), and releases digestive enzymes from the pancreas and bile from the gall bladder.

This helps explain why people with low magnesium may find they can't digest protein, which may drive them to pursue a vegetarian diet.

Now back to the question. Unfortunately Milk of Magnesia has a lot of stuff in it that you may not want to ingest. Besides magnesium hydroxide, the other ingredients of Milk of Magnesia are sodium hypochlorite, magnesium oxide, beryllium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide, strontium hydroxide and barium hydroxide.

No, don't ask me why they have to put barium and strontium in your Milk of Magnesia. In fact, the ingredients in most of the OTC drugs in the pharmacy come across to me like a witches brew yet nobody pays them any attention!

The amount of magnesium your tissues can readily use is based on the amount of elemental or ionic magnesium that is released. There are several organic salt chelates that are highly absorbable such as magnesium citrate, taurate and malate. Two forms to avoid are magnesium aspartate and glutamate. Aspartate breaks down into the neurotransmitter aspartic acid, which without being bound to other amino acids is neurotoxic. Glutamate also breaks down into the neurotransmitter glutamic acid, which without being bound to other amino acids is also neurotoxic. Both are components of aspartame which should also be avoided.

Carolyn Dean MD ND
The Doctor of the Future




DISCLAIMER The entire contents of this blog post are based upon the opinions of Dr. Carolyn Dean, unless otherwise noted. The information in this blog post is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Dean. Dr. Dean encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your own research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional.