# Measuring magnesium sulfate **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 16, 2018, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/measuring-magnesium-sulfate/812480 "2018-04-16T03:08:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sara20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@sara20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sara20)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2018, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/measuring-magnesium-sulfate/812480/1 "2018-04-16T03:08:28Z")
I take magnesium carbonate pills for as a supplement, but they are large so I chew them up, but they never dissolve fully so it is like swallowing and chewing sand. I am planing on using magnesium sulphate powder (epson salts) to get my magnesium instead. How would I measure out about 300mg of this? I need to know how many mg are in a teaspoon. This page [DailyMed - EPSOM SALT- magnesium sulfate granule](https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=8d0b341f-81b4-49a0-a712-1e0c79f778fc) says “•magnesium content 495 mg per teaspoon (5 grams)” but 5 grams is 5000mg, and considerably more powder than I am taking now as a pill so I am confused. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2018, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/measuring-magnesium-sulfate/812480/2 "2018-04-16T03:27:50Z")
An alternative would be to get a mortar and pestle and grind the pills up: > **[Mortar and pestle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortar_and_pestle)** > > Mortar and pestle is a set of two simple tools used from the Stone Age to the present day to prepare ingredients or substances by crushing and grinding them into a fine paste or powder in the kitchen, laboratory, and pharmacy. The mortar (/ˈmɔːrtər/) is characteristically a bowl, typically made of hard wood, metal, ceramic, or hard stone such as granite. The pestle (/ˈpɛsəl/, also US: /ˈpɛstəl/) is a blunt, club-shaped object. The substance to be ground, which may be wet or dry, is placed in the ... ---
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2018, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/measuring-magnesium-sulfate/812480/3 "2018-04-16T12:43:02Z")
We really need to know what you mean by when you say > [@](#): > > How would I measure out about 300mg of this? What is the “this”? Do you want 300mg of magnesium sulfate? That’s easy. Get a scale that weighs in milligrams and measure it out. Don’t have a scale? **IF** 1 teaspoon is 5000mg (and that is a big IF\*), then 1/8 a teaspoon would be 625mg so 300 mg would be about half of that. If, on the other hand, you want 300mg of magnesium, then you’d need a bit more. Epsom salt is not just magnesium sulfate. Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate that complexed with 7 water molecules and known chemically as magnesium sulfate hepahydrate. This means that only 11% or so of the weight of the Epsom salt is actually magnesium, the rest is water and sulfate. In this case, about half a teaspoon would contain about 300 mg of magnesium. This might not help, but Epsom salt is a common laxative. It helps “loosen things up” because it is not absorbed by the body so the body tries to pass it through the digestive track (usually with a bunch of water). This means that not only could taking Epsom salt have unanticipated results, but you also aren’t getting the magnesium since it is not being absorbed by the body. You might want to talk to a pharmacist about what you are currently taking and what options you might have to make it easier for you. \*The 1 tsp = 5grams thing works for water where 1 tsp is about 5 ml and 5 ml of water weighs 5 grams. Epsom Salts are considerably heavier than water (drop some in water and it sinks very rapidly) so I suspect a teaspoon of Epsom Salts weighs more than 5 grams. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2018, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/measuring-magnesium-sulfate/812480/4 "2018-04-16T13:42:37Z")
What condition would require a magnesium supplement? ---
**Author:** ![sara20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@sara20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sara20)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2018, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/measuring-magnesium-sulfate/812480/5 "2018-04-16T23:39:22Z")
> [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](#): > > We really need to know what you mean by when you say > What is the “this”? Do you want 300mg of magnesium sulfate? That’s easy. Get a scale that weighs in milligrams and measure it out. Don’t have a scale? **IF** 1 teaspoon is 5000mg (and that is a big IF\*), then 1/8 a teaspoon would be 625mg so 300 mg would be about half of that. > > If, on the other hand, you want 300mg of magnesium, then you’d need a bit more. Epsom salt is not just magnesium sulfate. Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate that complexed with 7 water molecules and known chemically as magnesium sulfate hepahydrate. This means that only 11% or so of the weight of the Epsom salt is actually magnesium, the rest is water and sulfate. In this case, about half a teaspoon would contain about 300 mg of magnesium. > > This might not help, but Epsom salt is a common laxative. It helps “loosen things up” because it is not absorbed by the body so the body tries to pass it through the digestive track (usually with a bunch of water). This means that not only could taking Epsom salt have unanticipated results, but you also aren’t getting the magnesium since it is not being absorbed by the body. You might want to talk to a pharmacist about what you are currently taking and what options you might have to make it easier for you. > > \*The 1 tsp = 5grams thing works for water where 1 tsp is about 5 ml and 5 ml of water weighs 5 grams. Epsom Salts are considerably heavier than water (drop some in water and it sinks very rapidly) so I suspect a teaspoon of Epsom Salts weighs more than 5 grams. I am still a bit confused, my current pills say magnesium oxide 250mg, 63% of your daily value, so if I wanted to use magnesium sulfate instead would I need to take about half a teaspoon or about 1/8 of a teaspoon? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2018, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/measuring-magnesium-sulfate/812480/6 "2018-04-17T00:27:25Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > What condition would require a magnesium supplement? Hypomagnesemia. It’s not rare. Chronic use of proton pump inhibitors like omeprazole has been associated with it. Losses of magnesium thru the bowel, such as with acute or chronic diarrhea, malabsorption and steatorrhea, and small bowel bypass surgery can also cause it. As can acute pancreatitis. Urinary losses from use of certain medications or excess alcohol can also result in low Mg. As can aldosteronism and primary hyperparathyroidism. There are some familial magnesium wasting syndromes too.