From: peter@tsto.co.uk   
      
   On 17/08/15 12:43, Grokman Grokman wrote:   
      
   > " nope. You can't use the reactive form in pills, it would hurt people."   
   >   
   > If you agree that the product of "reactive" MgO and HCl is MgCl2 and H2O,   
   what exactly is hurting people?   
   >   
      
   The unreacted MgO.   
      
   Both before it gets to the stomach (throat, oesophagus), and then before   
   it reacts with HCl in the stomach.   
      
      
      
   Of course there probably won't be much unreacted "reactive" MgO left if   
   the pill is left out - because "reactive" MgO is hygroscopic, absorbs   
   moisture from the air, and turns into the hydroxide.   
      
   No manufacturer is going to put "reactive" MgO in a pill for that reason   
   alone, it would spoil the pill; and then there is the caustic effect,   
   for which that goes doubly - reactive MgO is just not suitable for pills.   
      
      
   You can put unreactive MgO into pills, it is safe and does not absorb   
   moisture, but only a very small proportion of it will react and turn   
   into MgCl2 under normal stomach conditions. The rest will just pass   
   through the gut unchanged.   
      
   If you have a suitable form of reactive MgO then you can add it to water   
   to form a suspension of Mg(OH)2. They feed this to calves sometimes, so   
   I guess at least a veterinary grade is available.   
      
      
      
   But mostly people use magnesium hydroxide in pills, not magnesium oxide.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)