Can you take magnesium glycinate and magnesium L-threonate together?
Yes, with caution
Yes. They don't fight each other, but both count toward one magnesium total, so keep the combined elemental amount under 350 mg.
What happens when you combine them
People stack these two for different jobs. Magnesium glycinate is the general-purpose form: it covers dietary intake, supports muscles, and goes in the evening. Magnesium L-threonate was designed to raise brain magnesium, and its cognitive evidence is emerging. Neither blocks the other. The catalog flags the pair for one reason, and that reason is arithmetic.
Glycinate doses are stated as elemental magnesium: 100 to 350 mg. L-threonate doses are the compound: 1,000 to 2,000 mg, which is only about 8% elemental. So 1,000 mg delivers roughly 80 mg of magnesium and 2,000 mg roughly 160 mg. The ceiling for supplemental magnesium is 350 mg elemental, and the limit exists because doses above it cause loose stools and GI upset.
Put the two together and the room for glycinate shrinks. At 2,000 mg of L-threonate you have about 190 mg of elemental magnesium left for glycinate; at 1,000 mg, about 270 mg. Food magnesium doesn't count toward the ceiling, so you only add up the supplements.
The exclusions apply to both forms. Severe kidney disease and hypermagnesemia rule out magnesium supplements entirely. Oral bisphosphonates are a high-severity interaction and tetracycline antibiotics a moderate one, so keep every magnesium dose at least 2 hours away from either, or check with your doctor first.
How to time it
Both are evening supplements, and there's no absorption conflict between them, so one before-bed slot works. Take them 1 to 2 hours before bed, with or without food. Glycinate is usually 2 capsules and L-threonate 3, so the stack is 5 pills at bedtime.
Start at the bottom of both ranges: 100 mg elemental glycinate with 1,000 mg L-threonate, about 180 mg elemental in total. If your stomach complains, the total is the usual cause. Trim the glycinate first, since the L-threonate is the reason you're stacking. The 2 hour gap from zinc and iron applies to the combined dose just as it does to glycinate alone.
Common questions
Do you need both magnesium glycinate and L-threonate?
Most people don't. Glycinate alone covers intake, muscles, and evening wind-down at a lower price. Add L-threonate only if the brain-specific angle is what you're after, knowing its evidence is emerging. The comparison walks through the choice.
How much elemental magnesium is in magnesium L-threonate?
About 8% of the compound weight. A 2,000 mg dose delivers roughly 160 mg of magnesium, and a 1,000 mg dose roughly 80 mg. A label number that looks huge counts for less toward your total than one glycinate capsule.
Does the 350 mg magnesium limit include food?
No. The 350 mg ceiling covers supplemental magnesium only, because the GI side effects come from concentrated doses. Add up your glycinate and the elemental share of your L-threonate, and leave spinach and almonds out of the sum.
Can you take magnesium glycinate and L-threonate at the same time?
Yes. Both are night-timed and they don't compete for absorption, so the same before-bed slot is fine. Splitting them buys nothing. Keeping the combined total under 350 mg elemental is the only rule.
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