A variety of plant and animal foods are good sources of magnesium, including the following:
Dark leafy green vegetables: kale, spinach, collard greens, turnip greens, mustard greens
Nuts and seeds: cashews, almonds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, flaxseed
Beans and legumes: lentils, chickpeas, peas, soybeans, black beans, kidney beans, peanuts
Whole grains: rice, oats, whole-wheat bread, quinoa, buckwheat, barley
Fruits and vegetables: bananas, avocados, potatoes, raisins, apples, carrots, broccoli
Meat and fish: salmon, halibut, chicken, lean ground beef
Other dietary sources of magnesium include fortified bread and breakfast cereals, milk and yogurt products, and, serendipitously, dark chocolate.[1]
Of note, approximately 30%–40% of the dietary magnesium we eat is absorbed by the body when a mixed (i.e., omnivorous) diet is consumed.[2][3][4][5] The consumption of certain foods( i.e., low-oxalate leafy green vegetables) also appears to enhance magnesium bioavailability compared to magnesium obtained from eating whole grains or oxalate-rich vegetables, which contain compounds that interfere with magnesium absorption.[6][7][8]
References
- ^Office of Dietary Supplements - Magnesium
- ^Fine KD, Santa Ana CA, Porter JL, Fordtran JSIntestinal absorption of magnesium from food and supplements.J Clin Invest.(1991-Aug)
- ^Siener R, Hesse AInfluence of a mixed and a vegetarian diet on urinary magnesium excretion and concentration.Br J Nutr.(1995-May)
- ^Siener R, Jahnen A, Hesse AInfluence of a mineral water rich in calcium, magnesium and bicarbonate on urine composition and the risk of calcium oxalate crystallization.Eur J Clin Nutr.(2004-Feb)
- ^GRAHAM LA, CAESAR JJ, BURGEN ASGastrointestinal absorption and excretion of Mg 28 in man.Metabolism.(1960-Jul)
- ^Schwartz R, Spencer H, Welsh JJMagnesium absorption in human subjects from leafy vegetables, intrinsically labeled with stable 26Mg.Am J Clin Nutr.(1984-Apr)
- ^Bohn T, Davidsson L, Walczyk T, Hurrell RFFractional magnesium absorption is significantly lower in human subjects from a meal served with an oxalate-rich vegetable, spinach, as compared with a meal served with kale, a vegetable with a low oxalate content.Br J Nutr.(2004-Apr)
- ^Bohn T, Davidsson L, Walczyk T, Hurrell RFPhytic acid added to white-wheat bread inhibits fractional apparent magnesium absorption in humans.Am J Clin Nutr.(2004-Mar)