Learn
Understand the label.
Then decide.
Practical guides to ingredients, serving sizes, product records, and the line between evidence and inference.
Magnesium
7 min read · August 2026
Magnesium glycinate vs. citrate: what actually differs
Both provide elemental magnesium. Here is what the evidence supports about absorption, digestion, serving size, and the limits of a form-to-form comparison.
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Clear answers,
carefully bounded.
We use primary sources where possible, link every article to its references, and distinguish the product label from broader educational context.
Label literacy
How to read a Supplement Facts panel without guessing
Start with the serving, separate dietary ingredients from other ingredients, and resist comparing front-label numbers before you know what they mean.
Magnesium
Elemental magnesium vs. magnesium glycinate
Why a label can state 2,500 mg of magnesium glycinate while declaring 275 mg of magnesium—and why the smaller number is the one used for Daily Value.
Creatine
Creatine, plainly: dose, loading, and consistency
What a 5 g serving means, why loading protocols exist, and how a gradual daily approach differs.
Transparency
What a certificate of analysis can—and cannot—tell you
A COA can be useful evidence, but only after you identify the product, batch, test scope, laboratory, and date it actually covers.
Omega-3
Fish oil labels: finding the EPA and DHA that matter
1,000 mg of fish oil is not 1,000 mg of omega-3. How to find the EPA and DHA figures, match them to the serving you actually take, and see what the label cannot tell you about freshness.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D on the label: mcg, IU, and the upper limit
Labels now list vitamin D in micrograms. How to convert to IU, what the Daily Value does and does not mean, and how to add up every source against the upper limit.
Protein
Whey isolate vs. concentrate: what the protein label tells you
Both come from milk. How isolate and concentrate differ, why a scoop of isolate is not 90% protein once flavor is added, and what "whey" means if lactose or a milk allergy is your concern.
Mushrooms
Mushroom supplement labels: polysaccharides, beta-glucans, and what was actually tested
"Fruiting body," "mycelium," "40% polysaccharides." What each term on a mushroom label means, why polysaccharides and beta-glucans are not the same number, and the questions a label cannot answer.
Probiotics
Probiotic labels: strains, CFU, and what the big number means
"20 billion CFU." "13 strains." How to read a probiotic name, what a CFU count does and does not tell you, and why the strain designation is the detail most labels leave out.
Beetroot
Beetroot supplements: why the nitrate number matters
Beetroot is studied for its nitrate, not its color. How much nitrate the research used, why powders and capsules vary so much, and what a beetroot label usually leaves out.
A useful boundary
Education, not a diagnosis.
These guides are general information. They are not medical advice and do not replace a conversation with a qualified healthcare professional.