Can rugby players take magnesium with protein powder?

By Tom Francis·Updated 2026-09-03·3 sources·Editorial policy

The short answer on interaction

There is no known interaction between magnesium and a protein powder. Neither interferes with the absorption of the other at the amounts involved, and there is no reason to space them apart.

That is different from some mineral pairings. High dose zinc and iron do compete for absorption, and calcium in large amounts can affect other minerals. Magnesium alongside a protein shake is not in that category.

The genuine link between the two

There is an authorised claim connecting them, which is worth knowing precisely because it is one of the few places where a supplement pairing has real regulatory backing.

Magnesium contributes to normal protein synthesis, at a serving providing at least 15 percent of the 375mg reference intake. Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate delivers 300mg of elemental magnesium, which is 80 percent NRV, so the claim applies comfortably. It is a contribution to a normal process, not an enhancement of it, and that distinction is the whole meaning of the wording.

Sequencing across a training day

A typical club player has a shake after training and takes their capsules at some fixed point in the day. Both can happen at the same time or hours apart with no consequence.

What matters more is that the magnesium serving happens at all. A two capsule serving attached to an existing daily habit gets taken. A serving that depends on remembering a specific window around a session does not survive a season.

The one thing worth checking instead

The relevant risk in this pairing is not interaction, it is contamination. Multi ingredient sports products carry higher banned substance risk than single ingredient minerals, because of shared manufacturing lines and complex formulas.

A player who could be tested should use a batch certified protein powder. Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate is independently lab tested for purity and is not batch certified for sport, and any tested player should choose a certified product for both items.

Adding creatine to the picture

Creatine comes up in the same conversation and the answer is the same. There is no known interaction between magnesium and creatine, and no reason to separate them.

Futuro Labs does not make a creatine product and no other supplement brand is named on this site, so there is no recommendation to give beyond the batch testing point above.

Which pairings genuinely do compete

Since the question is really about interactions, it is worth naming the ones that exist rather than only the one that does not.

High dose zinc and iron compete for absorption, which is why they are usually recommended apart when both are supplemented at meaningful doses. Large calcium doses can interfere with iron and zinc absorption for the same reason. High dose zinc taken continuously can affect copper status. Those are real and they all involve minerals at supplemental doses rather than food.

Magnesium alongside a protein powder is not in that category, and neither is magnesium alongside creatine. Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate is a single ingredient product at 300mg elemental and 22p a day, which also makes it the easy one to add up when a player is already taking two or three other things.

Getting protein from food first

Since this page exists because players pair the two, it is worth stating where protein actually comes from before a tub gets involved.

Chicken, beef, fish, eggs, milk, yoghurt, cheese, beans and lentils carry it, and the arithmetic is less daunting than it looks. A 150g chicken breast is around 45 grams. Three eggs are around 18. A 500ml bottle of milk is around 17. A 170g pot of Greek yoghurt is around 17. Four eating occasions built around those hit most players' targets without a scoop.

That is the reason this site has no protein powder to recommend and would not push one if it did. Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate contributes to normal protein synthesis at its 300mg elemental serving, which is a supporting role to eating enough rather than a substitute for it.

Where to go next

• Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate: the full labelElemental content, NRV and the claims available at this serving.
• Best protein powder for rugby playersThe criteria, and why food usually gets there first.
• Banned substances and batch testingWhy the contamination question matters more in multi ingredient products.

Questions players ask

Sources

• EFSA register of nutrition and health claims
• National Diet and Nutrition Survey, gov.uk
• UK Anti-Doping, supplements