What is Chelated Magnesium?
There’s a lot of buzz about chelated minerals and the fact that they make better supplements. But hardly ever do the authors or sales materials actually explain about chelation and what that process is, exactly. The definition of chelation (pronounced key-LAY-shun) comes from chemistry. The word comes from the Greek word ‘chele’, meaning to claw. It refers to the binding of a metal metal ion with an organic molecule (ligand) to form a ring structure. The resulting ring is more stable, and keeps the protects the mineral from undergoing unwanted chemical reactions. A bit more simply: one substance is grabbing onto another, and creating a more stable, combined substance as a result. The part doing the grabbing is called the “chelating substance.” The one being grabbed onto is known as the “chelated substance.” Chelation is a natural process – not something created in a lab. The process was first described in 1983 by a German scientist name Werneer. But it was almost 40 years later, in 192
