I’m excited to share my DIY Magnesium Supplement, and this is the new and improved version that I’ve been using!
What makes it improved? Well, for one thing, you can use just plain carbonated water, which is pretty easy to find. No trying to figure out if this or that soda water has the right ingredients. And you get to add your own baking soda to it, so you get a really complete reaction with the magnesium.
And a really big benefit of this method is that I show you what I use to flavor the whole bottle. So you won’t have to drink it plain. (Some think it tastes sweet, and some…not so much (the term “dirty sock water” has come up.)
You’ll need:
- a 2 liter of plain , carbonated water; a.k.a. “Seltzer Water”
- 1/2 t. sodium bicarbonate of your choice (baking soda)
- 1/4 c. (4 T.) plain Milk of Magnesia
- 1 dropperful of your favorite flavored “SweetLeaf” stevia liquid concentrate.
Follow the directions for mixing on the printable Magnesium Supplement Recipe here.
The end result will give you approximately the same proportion of carbon+magnesium, which = magnesium carbonite.
I’ve recently learned also, that magnesium carbonite can be slightly neutralizing to your stomach acid, so if you’re a person who struggles with acid reflux from not having strong enough HCl, then you may consider adding in a supplemental form, OR, looking at bitter herbs to help increase your digestive juices all the way around. Which is what I’m studying now. 🙂 Hope to post on that soon!
Julie says
January 18, 2013 at 12:42 AMHi Gwen! Is there any reason I shouldn’t use cabonated mineral water, (Perrier)?
hi_itsgwen says
January 19, 2013 at 1:57 PMYou can for sure. 🙂
Its_Gwen says
June 24, 2013 at 2:39 PMCan you tell me which minerals are in it? I’d just be leary about too many ingredients interfering with the reaction. If it’s just a bicarb added, it should work just fine, but the reaction will ‘use up’ the carbonation. The magnesium attaches to all of the carbons, including the ones that make the bubbles. 🙂
Beth says
June 18, 2013 at 9:14 AMThis magnesium supplement has changed a major portion of our lives…that is the part where our 4 yr old sleeps! Our 4 yr old has *always* had sleep issues and I don’t use the word, “always” lightly. When she recently complained about her legs feeling wiggly at bedtime I thought of Restless Leg Syndrome and wondered if she might benefit from some Mg. She has responded wonderfully and even asks for it each night. She was waking every night and coming into our bedroom. Sometimes she was awake for a couple hours, other nights she went straight back to sleep in our glider. Now she sleeps straight through and we’re all more rested for it!
PS Also several other siblings were intrigued by the “miracle drink” and have been taking it as well!
Its_Gwen says
June 24, 2013 at 2:40 PMLOVE this report!
Sarah A. says
June 24, 2013 at 11:29 AMWhen do you add your C powder? I didn’t see it in the directions, just in the picture.
Its_Gwen says
June 24, 2013 at 2:38 PMI add it just before I drink it. 🙂 Makes it fizzy and yummy. I really like the Kroger brand.
Denise says
June 29, 2013 at 9:42 PMWow! MOM? It has barium and strontium in it. Is there any other magnesium source that is safer? That doesn’t seem like something good to ingest on a regular basis. I thought magnesium citrate was the best form of supplementation.
Julskaye says
August 12, 2013 at 8:36 AMGwen, I have been making this for a couple of weeks. I make it and cap it quick, but the time I get through the one liter bottle, the fizz is gone. Does that mean that benefits are gone too?
Its_Gwen says
August 12, 2013 at 5:49 PMThe loss of fizz is not problem at all…the minerals are still in there. 🙂
Carolyn says
October 15, 2013 at 12:39 PMHello…
I’m trying to figure out why it seems whenever I drink 4 oz of the magnesium ‘water’ I get a headache.I noticed it so many times now and wonder if I should ignore it or not? I don’t have stomach problems or anything else I can think of right now that would interact with it? I really want to keep taking it. I bought my club soda at Walmart. And also Walmart brand MOM. I didn’t add more baking soda to it like you suggested though. The fizz is gone, but that doesn’t change the effectiveness of it…right?
Thank you!
Its_Gwen says
October 16, 2013 at 10:46 PMThe fizz goes away as the reaction happens. So that’s fine. I’m not sure I’d continue if you’re experiencing headaches, though. Are you sweetening it or using anything else with it?
Mary says
October 21, 2013 at 6:23 PMYou may want to check into kidney health if you are experiencing headaches. Magnesium cannot always be used if kidneys are not ready.
Sarah says
January 19, 2014 at 2:16 PMHow much of the seltzer water do you drink?
Its_Gwen says
January 24, 2014 at 2:29 PMI was very deficient when I started, so I went with an 8 oz. glass morning & evening.
Teresa says
March 31, 2014 at 3:35 PMCan you kind of turn this into Good Girl Moonshine?
Its_Gwen says
April 3, 2014 at 1:51 PMFabulous idea!
Bree says
October 10, 2014 at 3:17 PMHi Gwen,
Do you drink the mag water straight or diluted? I just made my recipe from of the Afibbers report and they said to dilute the mixture. What are your thoughts? Thanks!
Donna says
October 22, 2014 at 9:15 AMHi Gwen,
I made your magnesium bicarbonate water and I have been drinking the concentrate straight.
I finally read the Afibbers recipe and it gives directions for diluting it to become drinking water “WW”. I also noticed that it has no taste, but reading comments, others thought it tasted awful and you added a sweetener your revised recipe. Do you know what I’m doing wrong? Do you and your husband drink it straight or dilute it? Thank you in advance!
Gwen says
October 22, 2014 at 2:09 PMI drink it straight concentrated, or I will add sweetener to it sometimes. Depends on if I’m in the mood for something sweet. 🙂
The taste probably depends on the minerals already in your water. You can absolutely add it to your daily drinking water if you want and do it that way, and you probably wont’ notice any taste at all if diluted. 🙂 But either way works.
Lou says
October 22, 2014 at 2:56 PMto the gal who gets headaches, it might be worth noting that if your carbonated drink contains aspartame , this ingredient has been know to cause headaches, and even seizures in some people. it gave me headaches with drinking only one can of diet soda, and I’m not usually a very chemically sensitive kind of gal.
Deanna Skaggs says
December 12, 2014 at 4:51 AMI am magnesium deficient. The doctors have given me iv mag almost monthly and po mag daily for over 6 months. It seems to give me very bad diarrhea which is listed as a side affect of it. What can I do about a supplement that I can tolerate. I read that there’s a topical mag thst is effective and doesn’t cause diarrhea. Do you have any opinion on that?
Gwen says
December 12, 2014 at 10:49 PMIf it were me, I’d ask about doing a trial with topical magnesium. Do they know why your body is not metabolizing magnesium into the cells? That’s what I’d be asking.
If you’ve got digestive issues, topical mag is going to be better to get it into your blood stream. But if your body isn’t metabolizing it, then you need to know why to fix it. If your body isn’t metabolizing it, then dumping more in will just continue to stress your body.
Stephanie says
January 20, 2015 at 12:20 AMSo, how much of this stuff could you take if you think you’re really low in magnesium? Also the topical magnesium you’re speaking of could that be magnesium oil? I’m wondering if you’re really low in magnesium how much you could rub on in a day?
Gwen says
January 21, 2015 at 10:15 PMYes, mag oil is topical. I had a medical condition that made me super low in mag, so I did two 8 oz glasses per day for about 150# body weight. I wouldn’t do it forever, but it’s a great approach to get your levels back up to par and got me sleeping great and feeling good and non-twitchy again. 🙂
Donna says
January 23, 2015 at 12:28 PMrecently read an article in which I will try to paste link to … that spoke of the importance of the balance between calcium, Vit D,Vit K2 and magnesium. How do make this balance so the magnesium is effective? Also does your mixture contain all of these as well? thank you http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/01/19/magnesium-deficiency.aspx?e_cid=20150119Z1_DNL_NonBuyer_art_2&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art2&utm_campaign=20150119Z1-NonBuyer&et_cid=DM65508&et_rid=810142001
Gwen says
January 25, 2015 at 11:42 PMHi Donna,
This mixture is just for people who have a deficiency in magnesium. It’s not meant as a daily multi-vitamin, so it doesn’t offer a balance of the minerals and vitamins you mention. Balance is very important, but there are times when you may be low in magnesium where this is a very helpful approach in addressing that. 🙂 I used it when I was very high in calcium, so I needed magnesium to help my body get back to a more balanced state.
Nancy Grant says
February 27, 2015 at 2:39 PMWow! I so want to try this. Thanks for sharing!
🙂
Tia Stevens says
March 11, 2015 at 11:13 AMCan I use just carbonated water I make with my soda stream, or does it need to be store bought seltzer water?
Gwen Brown says
March 11, 2015 at 2:57 PMYou can definitely use soda stream carbonated water, and I’d just add 1/4 tsp of baking soda.
Shawn says
August 4, 2015 at 7:36 AMI’m so glad I found your site! So much useful information, thank you. I was curious…how long after starting this did you start to feel any difference in your symptoms?
Gwen Brown says
August 4, 2015 at 9:23 AMBecause of a medical condition (high blood calcium) I was very deficient, so I noticed a calming/relaxing/deeper sleep effect the day that I started.
Norman says
July 26, 2016 at 8:07 AMHi gwen, can I use magnesium chloride hexahydrate instead of mom to make magbicarb as I’ve just bought it to make magnesium oil, thanks
Gwen Brown says
July 26, 2016 at 5:49 PMI’ve not tried it, Norman. Not sure if the chemical bond between MgCl would respond the same way in the carbonated water.
Trisha says
July 27, 2017 at 1:47 PMOh good…I’ve been struggling w reflux lately. So is my son. Would love to know alternative to meds.
Light Worker says
March 6, 2018 at 10:32 PMMilk of Magnesia is an Osmotic Laxative. See side Effects here:
https://www.everydayhealth.com/drugs/milk-of-magnesia
Natural Calm is the Best Magnesium Supplement!
https://breakingmuscle.com/reviews/product-review-natural-calm-magnesium-supplement
Gwen Brown says
March 16, 2018 at 2:47 PMHello! If you’ll check the post, a reaction takes place during the mixing that results in magnesium carbonate…a different compound with different actions than milk of magnesia.
Natural calm is a good product, but very pricey.