Magnesium Rich Foods List

Many people do not get a sufficient amount of magnesium into their bodies because of a lack of foods high in magnesium in their diet. Magnesium is something that is vital to our bodies and there can be severe health consequences if we are lacking in it. This page provides a comprehensive guide to magnesium including answering the question 'what is magnesium?'. We have provided you with a magnesium rich foods list to help you recognise just how easy it is to get the magnesium that you need through a variety of tasty foods with magnesium in them. We even have a section on magnesium foods suitable for babies!

What is magnesium?

On a page all about magnesium rich foods it makes perfect sense to start off by answering the most fundamental question, and that is 'what is magnesium?'. Magnesium is one of the essential minerals that our bodies require in order to function properly and stay healthy. It is a substance that is known as 'inorganic' meaning that it does not derive from plants, this is because it comes from the earth itself. Magnesium is required in larger amounts than several of the other essential minerals that are known as 'trace minerals', however this amount is still rather small. Our next section shows how much magnesium is required from the foods high in magnesium or other magnesium sources on a daily basis.

Magnesium rich foods - how much magnesium do we need?

You now know exactly what magnesium is and we have also mentioned how important magnesium rich foods can be for getting an adequate amount of the essential minerals, but how much magnesium is needed each day? Below we have highlighted the amount of magnesium that it is recommended you take in each day, this does not necessarily have to be through magnesium rich foods but these will provide you with a wealth of other benefits too as many of them contain several of the other vitamins and minerals that our bodies need.

• Males aged 11-18 - 270-400 milligrams of magnesium a day
• Men aged 19-30 - 400 milligrams of magnesium a day
• Men aged over 30 - 420 milligrams of magnesium a day
• Females aged 11-18 - 280 milligrams of magnesium a day
• Women aged 19-30 - 310 milligrams of magnesium a day
• Women aged over 30 - 320 milligrams of magnesium a day
• Babies - Up to 40 milligrams of magnesium a day, checking with a doctor is recommended here Children up to the age of 10 - up to 170 milligrams of magnesium a day

Please note that these approximations and can vary slightly.

As we have said there are other ways to take in magnesium in addition or instead of foods containing magnesium such as supplementation. Magnesium supplements usually come at around levels of 750 milligrams.

Although there are many important benefits for getting the right amount of magnesium and many adverse consequences for lacking in it, it is important to remember that taking an excessive amount can cause problems due to it's toxicity.

Benefits of foods high in magnesium

The benefits of foods high in magnesium are not as well known as the benefits of other essential minerals such as calcium, the main reason for this being that there you generally hear a lot about calcium on the television and in magazines so it is hard to forget about it. Magnesium on the other hand is something that is nowhere near as well publicised, for instance if you think about calcium then you immediately think about teeth and bones, as over the years you will have been told whether directly or indirectly that these are two of the main things that can be helped by getting the right amount of calcium. If you think about magnesium then there is a high chance you don't know what it is good for, but this section is going to tell you about what the benefits of eating foods high in magnesium are.

Below are a list of benefits that can be obtained by eating a healthy amount of foods high in magnesium:

• Magnesium helps the body to process vitamin D in the parathyroid gland
• Magnesium can aid in the reduction of cholesterol levels
• Magnesium can reduce the chances of cardiovascular disease
• Magnesium assists the regulation of blood pressure
• Due to it's positive effect on the metabolism, magnesium can help to reduce the chances of developing type 2 diabetes
• Magnesium helps maintain the strength of your bones and can prevent osteoporosis
• Magnesium has been known to assist in reducing migraines
• Magnesium is believed to aid insomnia
• Another benefit of magnesium due to it's positive effect on the metabolism is that it helps prevent weight gain
• Magnesium helps to prevent pre-menstrual syndrome

As you can see there are a great many benefits from ensuring your body has a sufficient amount of magnesium in it at all time. To find out the best way to get magnesium on board please read on to our magnesium rich foods section!

Why do we need foods with magnesium in them?

If you do not eat a regular and sufficient amount of foods with magnesium in or take any sort of regular magnesium supplement then the chances are that you are going to suffer from a magnesium deficiency. In order to avoid the health problems that a magnesium deficiency can bring we strongly suggest you take a look at our list of high magnesium foods because you will see just how easy it is to get what you need from them. In this section we are going to explain what the health implications are of not eating enough foods with magnesium in them. Just as the above section explains what the good things that come from the consumption of foods high in magnesium are, here we show the bad things that come from avoiding them!

Due to the fact that we only need a small amount of magnesium each day and many of the foods high in magnesium are common for people to be eating it is unusual for people to suffer from a magnesium deficiency, however here is what can happen:

• A magnesium deficiency can lead to a loss of appetite
• A lack of magnesium can lead to irregular heartbeats
• A magnesium deficiency can cause cramping of the legs
• Not getting enough magnesium can disrupt your metabolism (want to know more about metabolism? Click here for our page on what metabolism is)
• Seizures can come from insufficient amounts of magnesium
• Nausea and sickness can be a result of not having enough magnesium
• Feeling constantly and unusually tied and weak can come from a lack of magnesium
• A magnesium deficiency can lead to muscle tremors
• In addition to muscle tremors a lack of magnesium can lead to twitches
• Your personality can be affected by an insufficient amount of magnesium, such as volatile behaviour and mood swings
• Confusion can be a result of a lack of magnesium

As you can see there are several reasons in the above list as to why you should be making a real effort to get the right amount of magnesium through foods high in magnesium. Our next section provides a full magnesium rich foods list to point out exactly what the best foods sources of magnesium are. Of course many of the above can be related to a number of other medical conditions which is why it is imperative to consult your physician should you experience any of them or suspect that you may have a magnesium deficiency.

Magnesium rich foods list

We have now come to the main section of our page and that is our magnesium rich foods list. Our aim here is to provide you with as many of the foods with magnesium in them as possible so that you can ensure that these are included in your everyday diet so that there is no chance of you developing a magnesium deficiency. We have broken down these magnesium foods by type for you:

One thing that should be noted is that there will be a higher magnesium content in raw foods than those that are cooked.

The above list of magnesium rich foods shows just how many options you have when it comes to including them in your everyday diet, it also strongly caters for anybody who may be watching their weight and the amount of calories that they consume. If you want to know more about calories in foods please click here.

In order to find out how much magnesium certain foods contain all you need to do is look at the label as this has nutritional information on it as required by governmental health requirements.

Magnesium rich foods - The highest magnesium content

In the above magnesium rich foods list we have displayed a wide variety of foods that contain magnesium by type, but here are are going to provide a short list of those foods that have the highest magnesium content.

• Squash and pumpkin seeds - There are 535 milligrams of magnesium in 100 grams of squash and pumpkin seeds
• Bran/wheat - There are 520 milligrams of magnesium in 8 grams of wheat
• Cocoa powder - There are 520 milligrams of magnesium in 5 grams of cocoa powder
• Brazil nuts - There are 410 milligrams of magnesium in 20 grams of Brazil nuts
• Flax seeds - There are 392 milligrams of magnesium in 100 grams of flax seeds
• Sesame seeds - There are 350 milligrams of magnesium in 100 grams of sesame seeds
• Table salt - There are 290 grams of magnesium in 100 grams of table salt
• Almonds - There are 260 milligrams of magnesium in 15 grams of almonds
• Peanut butter - There are 180 milligrams of magnesium in 20 grams of peanut butter
• Dry roasted peanuts - There are 180 milligrams of magnesium in 25 grams of dry roasted peanuts
• Dried skimmed milk - There are 120 milligrams of magnesium in 12 grams of dried skimmed milk

The above amounts are approximations.

Foods high in magnesium for babies/infants

We have previously covered the amount of magnesium in foods that are required on a daily basis and having read that section you will have learned that babies require up to 40 milligrams of magnesium a day. Here are some simple ideas of foods high in magnesium that are suitable for babies:

• Coconut milk
• Baked beans
• Mashed banana
• Blended fruits
• Peanut butter (always best to find out if baby has a nut allergy first)

More to this site than magnesium rich foods

We hope that you have found our page on foods high in magnesium useful and that our magnesium rich foods list has given you some ideas for your diet. Please remember that there is much more to our site than just information on magnesium as we have pages on all of the essential vitamins and minerals and the foods that they can be found in. Taking care of your body and health is of vital importance and we have strived here to provide you with information that you can use to your advantage in this respect.