Foods high in magnesium and how to eat more of them

Magnesium is an essential mineral that your body requires to function properly.  It's involved in over 300 enzyme systems throughout the body, among them regulating blood glucose; helping turn food into usable energy, supporting nerves and muscles, helping to keep your bones healthy and your heart beating at a normal rhythm.

Our bodies don't make magnesium so we have to ingest it.  Most conversations about magnesium, centre around supplementation, but some of the best places to find this essential mineral are already in your kitchen.

As a nutritionist, I always like to work on improving your health through food first and increasing magnesium intake through the diet, it's easier than you think.

How much magnesium do you need?

The Australian recommended dietary intakes for adults are:

Age	Women	Men
19–30 years	310 mg daily	400 mg daily
31 years and over	320 mg daily	420 mg daily

During pregnancy, the recommendation increases to 350 mg daily for women aged 19–30 and 360 mg for those aged 31–50. These figures refer to total daily intake, rather than the amount to take as a supplement.

Which foods contain the most magnesium?

 

Simple ways to eat more magnesium 

Keep pumpkin seeds close by

Try scattering them onto your salads and yoghurt.  For a savoury snack, lightly toast them in a dry pan with some tamari, or for something sweeter a touch of maple syrup.

Have a trail mix for your afternoon snack.

Keep a container with some almonds and cashews, cranberries and sultanas and snack on it in the afternoon.

Start your day with chia

Chia puddings are a simple breakfast that you prep at the start of the week and the chia seeds are a great source of magnesium. You can also make a chia coconut water, which is a refreshing summer drink Mix 300ml of coconut water with 1 tbs chia seeds, let it sit for at least 20 mins and drink

Add leafy greens to your meals

Add greens to your eggs, pasta and salads, Blend baby spinach and kale into your smoothies.  

Eat beans a few times a week

Add them to your salads, baked potatoes ( sweet potatoes roasted, with black beans, avocado, lime, red onion, cheese, sour cream and coriander is delicious) Blend them into your soups, wraps, make brownies with them, even delicious bliss balls.

Add edamame to your weekly repertoire

Use them frequently, add to salads, rice, noodles and even sushi

Opt for more whole grains 

A large majority of the magnesium in grains is found in the bran and germ layers, which are removed when refining.  So opt for more wholegrain options.  Try a rye fruit bun (my latest obsession) instead of a white wheat one, choose wholemeal sourdough, quinoa and brown rice 

Chocolate and cacao

Unsweetened raw cacao powder is a great source of magnesium, on average 50mg per 10g.  

Try stirring raw cacao powder into porridge, your smoothies, youghurt and even hot chocolate 

Don't overcomplicate it 

You don't need to redesign your whole diet, just start by adding one thing a day, choose one meal of the day when you can add more spinach for example or swap out your afternoon tea .

If you are finding it difficult to get enough through your food alone, our Wholefood Magnesium + Vitamin D, can help bridge the gap.  The magnesium is derived from the Ocean   and Vitamin D is from Australian grown Shiitake mushrooms- with over 70 trace minerals.  Each 2 capsule serve provides Vitamin D2 16µg (640IU) - above the Adequate Intake for adults. Magnesium - 335mg elemental magnesium supplying 100%+ of the AI/RDI for women and ~80% for men. Its a simple addition to your daily routine