Pillar Triple Magnesium and Ultra B Active Supplements Review

Many athletes, like 75% of the French population, suffer from a lack of magnesium, mainly due to an unbalanced diet or an overly stressful lifestyle. Fatigue, muscle weakness, cramps, and difficulty falling asleep are classic symptoms of magnesium deficiency, which can impair performance and quality of life. The Australian supplement brand Pillar offers a formula enriched with three selected forms of bioavailable magnesium, which we tested in combination with an ultra-dosed complex of B vitamins. Here are our impressions.

By Guillaume Judas – Photos: @3bikes

Testing energy products or food supplements is obviously a very delicate matter, because in the absence of biological or medical monitoring throughout the testing process, it is impossible to be objective. At most, one can rely on impressions, on sensations, by comparing, for example, muscle sensations after consuming an energy product with the consumption of sugary water at the end of a sustained four-hour ride, but that’s about it.

However, in the case of food supplements consumed over several weeks, other effects may be noticeable, especially if they seem to meet an immediate need. But they remain totally subjective, let’s be clear. For my part, I must admit that I have clearly been lacking magnesium for more than six months. This deficit manifests itself as a feeling of fatigue, restless nights and difficulty falling asleep, and above all numerous muscle cramps during and after exercise, in the legs, in the arms, in the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet. After talking to my doctor, he naturally advised me to supplement, with products easily found in pharmacies without a prescription. But with no success on the symptoms. I even decided to see a naturopath, who advised me a magnesium that he said was more easily assimilated by the body. Again, without success.

Thus, when the importer of the Australian brand Pillar offered me to test Triple Magnesium, I was rather dubious. In the form of a flavored powder to dissolve in a glass of water, this product contains three selected forms of bioavailable magnesium, designed to collectively provide support for neuromuscular function and recovery. Triple Magnesium contains for each serving (two scoops per day, or 50 days for a 200g box) 258 mg of magnesium citrate, 840 mg of magnesium amino acid chelate, and 341 mg of magnesium glycinate dihydrate. This represents the equivalent of 248 mg of total elemental magnesium, whereas a maximum daily dose of 300 mg is recommended to avoid intestinal problems. The product is offered with two flavors, pineapple/coconut as for this test, or red fruits, which makes the supplement very pleasant to consume.

B vitamins as a supplement

B vitamins are necessary for energy production and the proper functioning of the nervous system, and most of them are not stored by the body in sufficient quantities. They have two main functions, directly linked to physical and mental performance: vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6 and B8 are involved in energy production, and vitamins B9 and B12 are necessary for red blood cell production, protein synthesis, cell regeneration, and maintaining the functioning of the central nervous system. In addition to Triple Magnesium, Pillar offers a very rich B vitamin supplement, Ultra B Active, which I consumed at the same time and for the same period, i.e. 50 days. Ultra B Active is very highly dosed, up to 12,000% of the recommended daily intake for vitamin B12. But these recommendations are for sedentary people, and athletes need much more. And as for what is in excess, it is in any case completely eliminated in the urine.

Regarding the two products, I first took them together about an hour before bedtime. Apart from a rather marked coloration of the urine in the morning, I noticed no side effects in this way, and especially no intestinal problems as is sometimes the case with magnesium. Nevertheless, on the advice of the brand’s importer, I modified the intake of B vitamins, to consume them in the morning, before training.

Very rapid effects

Three days after starting to consume these food supplements, I noticed the disappearance of the cramps that had been complicating my life without warning for months. I noticed better muscle recovery, and I regained the ability to string together two long and quite sustained training sessions two days in a row, which I had not been able to do since last winter. In terms of sensation on the bike, there were no miracles of course, but I had the impression of having slightly more “strength”. After a few days, falling asleep in the evening became less complicated, and I had the impression of having more complete, less restless nights. During these 50 days of testing, I was able to string together the kilometers as I had not been able to do since at least the summer of 2022.

Some consumers also report better sleep conditions, as evidenced by the various applications found on connected watches such as Garmin, Suunto or Apple, for example. But not regularly using these applications, I did not use them as a reference.

So this test is strictly not scientific. I’m only talking about sensations. Only impressions. But the fact remains that since last winter, I had been consuming magnesium and vitamin supplements purchased in a parapharmacy daily, without the slightest significant result. And here, with these two Pillar products, certainly more expensive with a price of €40 per box, I had the impression of superior effectiveness. And since I know that I am not the only amateur athlete regularly suffering from stress, cramps, muscle fatigue, recovery problems and difficulty falling asleep, I can only encourage those who are often on the razor’s edge to test these two Pillar food supplements. As for the cost of the cure, I prefer to compare it to that of the dozens of boxes of magnesium and vitamin supplements purchased in a parapharmacy that I have consumed since last winter, and which ultimately proved ineffective.

=> SEE ALSO: All our gear reviews