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Taking two together

Can you take apple cider vinegar pills with magnesium?

Written by the Full Measure editorial team, which sells supplements. Approved for publication by the Full Measure owners. Updated .

Drafted with AI assistance from the sources listed below. How we write these

Quick answer

No official source we read names an interaction between apple cider vinegar and magnesium, and we found no study of the two together. Vinegar pills carry no graded benefit, and their acid content varies widely. Magnesium from supplements is limited to 350 mg a day, and both can upset the stomach.1,2,3

Key facts

  • In one absorption study, it took nine vinegar capsules taken together to supply 750 mg of acetic acid.4
  • Tests of eight apple cider vinegar tablet products found wide differences in acidity, acid content and label claims.1
  • Magnesium citrate dissolves well even without stomach acid, while magnesium oxide dissolves poorly.5
  • No upper limit is set for apple cider vinegar, and we found no long-term safety study of vinegar pills.2,6

What is known about the two together

Nothing documents a problem with the pair. NIH's magnesium fact sheets do not mention vinegar, none of the official sources on our list has a page on apple cider vinegar, and a PubMed search found no study that gave people both.7

Most of what is known about vinegar comes from drinking it diluted with meals, not from pills, and a 2020 review judged the evidence for any health effect insufficient. Pills and liquid also behave differently.2,6

In 12 healthy young adults, four vinegar tablets swallowed whole had no measurable effect after a meal, although their label listed 1.5 g of acetic acid against 1.25 g in the liquid vinegar that did. Crushed and dissolved tablets fell in between.8

Does vinegar's acid help magnesium absorb?

No study we found has tested it. What is known is that stomach acid matters for some forms of magnesium and hardly at all for others.

In laboratory tests, magnesium oxide barely dissolved in water and only 43% dissolved at peak stomach acid levels, while magnesium citrate dissolved well even in plain water.5

Glycinate, the form in our Magnesium Glycinate, was absorbed about as well as oxide overall in its one isotope study. How much acid a vinegar capsule adds is not known either: labels give the powder's weight rather than its acetic acid, and in one study it took nine capsules to supply 750 mg.4,9

At the strength FDA expects of cider vinegar, 4 g of acetic acid per 100 mL, a 15 mL tablespoon holds at least 0.6 g of acetic acid and 30 mL at least 1.2 g.10

A note on our vinegar capsules

What else is in a meal changes how much magnesium is taken up. Phytate, oxalate, some kinds of fiber and high doses of other minerals lower uptake; protein, medium-chain fats and some carbohydrates, such as inulin and resistant starch, raise it.11

Our Apple Cider Vinegar capsules list 200 mg of inulin beside the vinegar powder. The review that names inulin does not say how much of it it takes to change magnesium uptake, so we make no claim that an amount this small does.11

Amounts studied and limits

The two side by side2,3,6,12
Apple cider vinegarMagnesium
Graded benefitNoneEstablished nutrient roles, graded moderate
Amounts studiedLiquid, 5 to 30 mL a day in daily trials197 to 994 mg a day in trials
Upper limitNone set350 mg a day from supplements and medicines
Our product, per serving1,000 mg of vinegar powder275 mg in Magnesium Glycinate

Our vinegar label gives the powder's weight, not its acetic acid content, so it cannot be compared with the liquid amounts in trials. We make no benefit claim for it.8

What's in ours

What’s in ours

  • Gut Health: Organic Apple Cider Vinegar Powder, 1,000 mg per serving, from the label

What’s in ours

Side effects and who should ask first

A published report describes injury to the esophagus from an apple cider vinegar tablet.1

In a study of 16 healthy young adults, vinegar drinks taken with breakfast caused more nausea than a control drink, and the lower appetite that followed was largely explained by that nausea.13

Magnesium supplements can cause diarrhea, nausea and cramping at high intakes. In a four-week trial of bisglycinate at 250 mg of magnesium a day, side effects were no more common than with placebo.3,14

In 10 people with type 1 diabetes and slow stomach emptying (gastroparesis), 30 mL of apple cider vinegar a day for two weeks slowed emptying further, which the authors said could make blood sugar harder to control.15

A published case report links drinking large amounts of cider vinegar to low potassium, high renin levels and osteoporosis.16

  • Ask your doctor first if you take insulin or another medicine that lowers blood sugar: liquid vinegar can lower the rise in blood sugar after a meal, and whether pills do is unknown8
  • Ask first if you have diabetes with slow stomach emptying (gastroparesis)15
  • Ask first if you have trouble swallowing or a history of esophagus problems1
  • Ask first if you have kidney disease or reduced kidney function7
  • Ask first if you take an antibiotic, a bisphosphonate, a diuretic, a medicine for acid reflux, gabapentin or levothyroxine3
  • Ask first if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or under 18

Questions people ask

Can you take apple cider vinegar pills with magnesium glycinate?

No source names a problem with that pairing. Glycinate was absorbed about as well as oxide in its one isotope study, and in a four-week trial bisglycinate caused no more side effects than placebo. Vinegar pills have no long-term safety study.6,9,14

Should you take them at the same time?

No study tested timing for the pair. Vinegar was studied around meals, taken at the start of the meal. For magnesium, a larger share is absorbed from several small amounts than one large one, and a small pilot study found more magnesium in urine when it was taken with meals than fasting.8,11,17

See what we make

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See the Full Measure lineGut HealthCreatine + ElectrolytesMagnesium Glycinate

Sources

  1. Hill LL, Woodruff LH, Foote JC, Barreto-Alcoba M. Esophageal injury by apple cider vinegar tablets and subsequent evaluation of products. J Am Diet Assoc. 2005;105(7):1141-4. Opened 2026-10-01.
  2. Launholt TL, Kristiansen CB, Hjorth P. Safety and side effects of apple vinegar intake and its effect on metabolic parameters and body weight: a systematic review. Eur J Nutr. 2020;59(6):2273-2289. Opened 2026-10-07.
  3. Office of Dietary Supplements, National Institutes of Health. Magnesium: Fact Sheet for Consumers. Updated March 22, 2021. Opened 2026-10-06.
  4. Sugiyama S, Fushimi T, Kishi M, et al. Bioavailability of acetate from two vinegar supplements: capsule and drink. J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 2010;56(4):266-9. Opened 2026-10-01.
  5. Lindberg JS, Zobitz MM, Poindexter JR, Pak CY. Magnesium bioavailability from magnesium citrate and magnesium oxide. J Am Coll Nutr. 1990;9(1):48-55. Opened 2026-10-07.
  6. Castagna A, Ferro Y, Noto FR, et al. Effect of Apple Cider Vinegar Intake on Body Composition in Humans with Type 2 Diabetes and/or Overweight: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Nutrients. 2025;17(18):3000. Opened 2026-10-01.
  7. National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. Magnesium: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. Updated January 6, 2026. Opened 2026-10-06.
  8. Feise NK, Johnston CS. Commercial Vinegar Tablets Do Not Display the Same Physiological Benefits for Managing Postprandial Glucose Concentrations as Liquid Vinegar. J Nutr Metab. 2020;2020:9098739. Opened 2026-10-01.
  9. Schuette SA, Lashner BA, Janghorbani M. Bioavailability of magnesium diglycinate vs magnesium oxide in patients with ileal resection. JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr. 1994;18(5):430-435. Opened 2026-10-01.
  10. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. CPG Sec. 525.825 Vinegar, Definitions; Adulteration with Vinegar Eels. Compliance Policy Guide, last revised March 1995. Opened 2026-10-07.
  11. Schuchardt JP, Hahn A. Intestinal Absorption and Factors Influencing Bioavailability of Magnesium: An Update. Curr Nutr Food Sci. 2017;13(4):260-278. Opened 2026-10-07.
  12. Zhang X, Del Gobbo LC, Hruby A, et al. The Circulating Concentration and 24-h Urine Excretion of Magnesium Dose- and Time-Dependently Respond to Oral Magnesium Supplementation in a Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. J Nutr. 2016;146(3):595-602. Opened 2026-10-07.
  13. Darzi J, Frost GS, Montaser R, Yap J, Robertson MD. Influence of the tolerability of vinegar as an oral source of short-chain fatty acids on appetite control and food intake. Int J Obes (Lond). 2014;38(5):675-681. Opened 2026-10-07.
  14. Schuster J, Cycelskij I, Lopresti A, Hahn A. Magnesium Bisglycinate Supplementation in Healthy Adults Reporting Poor Sleep: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial. Nat Sci Sleep. 2025;17:2027-2040. Opened 2026-10-01.
  15. Hlebowicz J, Darwiche G, Björgell O, Almér LO. Effect of apple cider vinegar on delayed gastric emptying in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus: a pilot study. BMC Gastroenterol. 2007;7:46. Opened 2026-10-01.
  16. Lhotta K, Höfle G, Gasser R, Finkenstedt G. Hypokalemia, hyperreninemia and osteoporosis in a patient ingesting large amounts of cider vinegar. Nephron. 1998;80(2):242-243. Opened 2026-10-07.
  17. Sharbaugh AJ, Ayyash OM, Riley JM, Averch TD, Semins MJ. Timing of magnesium supplementation in patients with nephrolithiasis: A randomized controlled trial. Clin Nephrol. 2025;103(5):312-317. Opened 2026-10-07.

This page is information, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about your own situation.