Magnesium which foods

Your heart, muscles, and kidneys all need magnesium to work properly. The mineral also helps build teeth and bones. Drinking too much alcohol or caffeine on a regular basis can affect your magnesium levels as well. The National Institutes of Health recommends the following daily intake of magnesium:. Magnesium is found naturally in many different foods. Still, the average adult may only get 66 percent of their daily-recommended magnesium in their normal diet. This could be a result of the amount of processed foods we eat.

The following 10 foods are some of the best natural sources of magnesium. Try incorporating more of these foods into your diet to get a magnesium boost. Most whole grains are a good source of magnesium, but whole wheat flour wins with mg per cup. Use whole wheat instead of white flour for baking, and buy whole wheat bread at the store. One ounce of almonds has 80 mg, or about 20 percent of your recommended daily intake.

Cashews have 74 mg per ounce, and 2 tablespoons of peanut butter contain 49 mg of magnesium. These toasted nuts can be added to a variety of dishes for extra texture and flavor. Dark chocolate has 64 mg of magnesium in a 1 oz serving and one square is loaded with antioxidants which is great for heart health.

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Trending Topics. Normal serum magnesium concentrations range between 0. Hypomagnesemia is defined as a serum magnesium level less than 0. Magnesium homeostasis is largely controlled by the kidney, which typically excretes about mg magnesium into the urine each day [ 2 ]. Urinary excretion is reduced when magnesium status is low [ 1 ].

Assessing magnesium status is difficult because most magnesium is inside cells or in bone [ 3 ]. The most commonly used and readily available method for assessing magnesium status is measurement of serum magnesium concentration, even though serum levels have little correlation with total body magnesium levels or concentrations in specific tissues [ 6 ]. Other methods for assessing magnesium status include measuring magnesium concentrations in erythrocytes, saliva, and urine; measuring ionized magnesium concentrations in blood, plasma, or serum; and conducting a magnesium-loading or "tolerance" test.

No single method is considered satisfactory [ 7 ]. Some experts [ 4 ] but not others [ 3 ] consider the tolerance test in which urinary magnesium is measured after parenteral infusion of a dose of magnesium to be the best method to assess magnesium status in adults. To comprehensively evaluate magnesium status, both laboratory tests and a clinical assessment might be required [ 6 ]. DRI is the general term for a set of reference values used to plan and assess nutrient intakes of healthy people.

These values, which vary by age and sex, include:. Table 1 lists the current RDAs for magnesium [ 1 ]. For infants from birth to 12 months, the FNB established an AI for magnesium that is equivalent to the mean intake of magnesium in healthy, breastfed infants, with added solid foods for ages 7—12 months.

Magnesium is widely distributed in plant and animal foods and in beverages. Green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains, are good sources [ 1 , 3 ]. In general, foods containing dietary fiber provide magnesium. Magnesium is also added to some breakfast cereals and other fortified foods. Some types of food processing, such as refining grains in ways that remove the nutrient-rich germ and bran, lower magnesium content substantially [ 1 ]. Selected food sources of magnesium are listed in Table 2.

The U. Food and Drug Administration FDA developed DVs to help consumers compare the nutrient contents of foods and dietary supplements within the context of a total diet. The DV for magnesium is mg for adults and children aged 4 years and older [ 11 ].

FDA does not require food labels to list magnesium content unless magnesium has been added to the food. Magnesium supplements are available in a variety of forms, including magnesium oxide, citrate, and chloride [ 2 , 3 ].

The Supplement Facts panel on a dietary supplement label declares the amount of elemental magnesium in the product, not the weight of the entire magnesium-containing compound. Absorption of magnesium from different kinds of magnesium supplements varies.

Forms of magnesium that dissolve well in liquid are more completely absorbed in the gut than less soluble forms [ 2 , 12 ]. Small studies have found that magnesium in the aspartate, citrate, lactate, and chloride forms is absorbed more completely and is more bioavailable than magnesium oxide and magnesium sulfate [ ]. Magnesium is a primary ingredient in some laxatives [ 18 ]. Although such a dose of magnesium is well above the safe upper level, some of the magnesium is not absorbed because of the medication's laxative effect.

Magnesium is also included in some remedies for heartburn and upset stomach due to acid indigestion [ 18 ]. Dietary surveys of people in the United States consistently show that many people consume less than recommended amounts of magnesium.

In a study using data from NHANES — to assess mineral intakes among adults, average intakes of magnesium from food alone were higher among users of dietary supplements mg for men and mg for women, equal to or slightly exceeding their respective EARs than among nonusers mg for men and for women [ 23 ].

When supplements were included, average total intakes of magnesium were mg for men and mg for women, well above EAR levels. No current data on magnesium status in the United States are available. Determining dietary intake of magnesium is the usual proxy for assessing magnesium status.

NHANES has not determined serum magnesium levels in its participants since [ 24 ], and magnesium is not evaluated in routine electrolyte testing in hospitals and clinics [ 2 ]. Symptomatic magnesium deficiency due to low dietary intake in otherwise-healthy people is uncommon because the kidneys limit urinary excretion of this mineral [ 3 ].

Early signs of magnesium deficiency include loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and weakness. As magnesium deficiency worsens, numbness, tingling, muscle contractions and cramps, seizures, personality changes, abnormal heart rhythms, and coronary spasms can occur [ 1 , 2 ].

Severe magnesium deficiency can result in hypocalcemia or hypokalemia low serum calcium or potassium levels, respectively because mineral homeostasis is disrupted [ 2 ]. Magnesium inadequacy can occur when intakes fall below the RDA but are above the amount required to prevent overt deficiency.

The following groups are more likely than others to be at risk of magnesium inadequacy because they typically consume insufficient amounts or they have medical conditions or take medications that reduce magnesium absorption from the gut or increase losses from the body. The chronic diarrhea and fat malabsorption resulting from Crohn's disease, gluten-sensitive enteropathy celiac disease , and regional enteritis can lead to magnesium depletion over time [ 2 ].

Resection or bypass of the small intestine, especially the ileum, typically leads to malabsorption and magnesium loss [ 2 ]. The magnesium loss appears to be secondary to higher concentrations of glucose in the kidney that increase urine output [ 2 ]. Magnesium deficiency is common in people with chronic alcoholism [ 2 ]. In these individuals, poor dietary intake and nutritional status; gastrointestinal problems, including vomiting, diarrhea, and steatorrhea fatty stools resulting from pancreatitis; renal dysfunction with excess excretion of magnesium into the urine; phosphate depletion; vitamin D deficiency; acute alcoholic ketoacidosis; and hyperaldosteronism secondary to liver disease can all contribute to decreased magnesium status [ 2 , 27 ].

Older adults have lower dietary intakes of magnesium than younger adults [ 21 , 28 ]. In addition, magnesium absorption from the gut decreases and renal magnesium excretion increases with age [ 29 ]. Older adults are also more likely to have chronic diseases or take medications that alter magnesium status, which can increase their risk of magnesium depletion [ 1 , 30 ].

Habitually low intakes of magnesium induce changes in biochemical pathways that can increase the risk of illness over time. This section focuses on four diseases and disorders in which magnesium might be involved: hypertension and cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, and migraine headaches. Hypertension is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Studies to date, however, have found that magnesium supplementation lowers blood pressure, at best, to only a small extent.

A meta-analysis of 12 clinical trials found that magnesium supplementation for 8—26 weeks in hypertensive participants resulted in only a small reduction 2.

Department of Health and Human Services recommends that American adults get between to milligrams mg of magnesium daily. Check out the following foods high in the macromineral magnesium, including dark leafy greens, nuts and seeds, fish, soybeans, avocados, bananas, dark chocolate , and fat-free or low-fat yogurt. Magnesium-rich foods include dark leafy greens, which play the role of the ultimate superfood , offering up crucial vitamins and minerals as well as a host of health benefits.

Choose raw or cooked magnesium greens such as baby spinach, collard greens, kale , or Swiss chard. You can avoid a magnesium deficiency by stocking your body with dark leafy greens for very few calories.

A cup of raw kale, for example, packs nearly 7 mg of magnesium 1. Just 1 ounce oz of dry roasted almonds contains 80 mg of magnesium, or about 19 percent of the DV. Other foods containing magnesium include cashews, peanuts, and pumpkinseeds , according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Combine your favorite magnesium-rich nuts and seeds in a healthy homemade trail mix — the perfect afternoon snack to keep your energy up and hunger levels down.

Add fish such as mackerel, wild salmon, halibut, and tuna to your menu to boost your magnesium intake, as well as vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids. The American Heart Association AHA recommends eating fish particularly fatty fish like salmon and albacore tuna at least two times two servings a week.

A past review also suggests there may be a link between high intakes of fish and a low incidence of mental health disorders such as depression. Soybeans are a magnesium-rich food that also offers fiber , vitamins, minerals, and amino acids the building blocks of protein. Snack on a half-cup serving of dry roasted soybeans — a rich source of energy calories , magnesium mg, or 25 percent DV , and protein