Magnesium is a mineral with great health implications in our body. It has been shown that it intervenes in at least 300 different reactions of the human body and that it is crucial for the correct performance of numerous processes of vital importance.
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Properties of magnesium for our health
| Age or status | Recommended daily allowance |
|---|---|
| Infants up to 6 months of age | 30 mg |
| Infants 7 to 12 months old | 75 mg |
| Children from 1 to 3 years of age | 80 mg |
| Children from 4 to 8 years of age | 130 mg |
| Children from 9 to 13 years of age | 240 mg |
| Adolescents (boys) from 14 to 18 years of age | 410 mg |
| Adolescents (girls) from 14 to 18 years of age | 360 mg |
| Men | 400–420 mg |
| Women | 310–320 mg |
| Pregnant teens | 400 mg |
| Pregnant women | 350–360 mg |
| Breastfeeding adolescents | 360 mg |
| Breastfeeding women | 310–320 mg |
There are foods rich in magnesium that provide the doses of magnesium that our body needs every day.
Foods with magnesium allow us to ingest the magnesium necessary for the body to function perfectly thanks to properties such as the regulatory function of the nervous system, muscle strengthening and maintenance, blood pressure control or the maintenance of blood sugar levels within the acceptable.
In addition, magnesium helps reduce fatigue and tiredness, strengthens bones and teeth, contributes to the normal functioning of psychological function and benefits the process of cell division that occurs in our body permanently.
Problems due to lack of magnesium
If the body has a slight magnesium deficit, sometimes the effects are barely noticeable. The body can withstand a short period of time without us providing magnesium, since when it detects that there is little supply it starts to reduce the elimination of magnesium in the urine.
If the deficit becomes moderate and prolonged over time, it is not surprising that certain symptoms are already beginning to be detected, such as a general weakening of the body, habitual fatigue, loss of appetite and vomiting and more or less frequent nausea.
But the real problem comes when there is a severe magnesium deficiency, since the body can enter a process in which tingling is a constant, the muscles experience cramps continuously and the body can suffer seizures.
If you have been diagnosed with this problem, they have probably recommended foods with magnesium and supplements of this type:
How to tell if I’m magnesium deficient
- Muscle pain
- Fatigue and weakness
- High blood pressure
- Headache
- Leg cramps
- Mood changes and anxiety
- Constipation
- Sleep problems
Problems with excess magnesium
An excess of magnesium over time can intoxicate our body causing alterations in the heart rhythm, deterioration of the function of the kidneys, states of habitual lethargy and confusion, extreme drowsiness and blood pressure in very low measures. It also affects muscle weakness and even hinders normal breathing.
In cases of severe poisoning magnesium can even cause cardiac arrest.
However, it is very difficult to suffer from magnesium poisoning, because when the levels are above what is adequate for the body, it is excreted in the feces (up to 75%) and in the urine (about 5%).
Only with kidney deficiency would the body be able to assimilate excess magnesium and cause intoxication.
Top foods with magnesium
| Food | Magnesium (mg) | Food | Magnesium (mg) |
| Cocoa | 420 | Brown rice | 150 |
| Wheat germ | 325 | Hazelnuts | 150 |
| Almonds | 254 | Chestnuts | 138 |
| Soybean | 242 | Pure chocolate | 100 |
| Brewer’s yeast | 230 | Prawns | 96 |
| Parsley | 200 | Dried figs | 83 |
| Sunflower pipes | 190 | Dates | 60 |
| Nuts | 185 | Milk chocolate | 55 |
| Dried beans | 185 | Fresh peas | 50 |
Almonds
Almonds have a magnesium concentration of up to 254 mg per 100 grams of consumption, so it would be enough with a couple of handfuls of almonds a day to ingest all the magnesium that our body needs.
In addition, they can also be included in all kinds of meat recipes and even in cookies and offer many healthy properties.
Sunflower seeds
Continuing with nuts, sunflower seeds also have a really abundant concentration of magnesium. It contains up to 190 mg of magnesium per 100 grams of pipes, so with a handful a day we would have covered the need for magnesium in our body.
A food that can be eaten without cooking and can even be added to salads.
Chickpeas
Legumes are one of the categories of foods that include high concentrations of magnesium, with special presence in chickpeas. Chickpeas are foods rich in minerals and fiber and include up to 140 mg of magnesium per 100 grams of product.
Luckily they are part of our Mediterranean diet and we consume them in many different ways, both in stews and salads.
Read more: 5 properties of chickpea that you did not know.
Dark chocolate
Chocolate can be a forbidden food for many people because of its sugar content or the amount of calories it brings to the body, but we must not fail to recognize that it also has interesting properties for the body.
One of them is its magnesium concentration, which can reach up to 100 mg of magnesium per 100 grams of dark chocolate if it has a purity greater than 70 percent.
Pistachio
Returning to nuts, since they are the category of foods with the highest concentration of magnesium, we find that pistachios also provide us with a very considerable amount of magnesium if we include it in our diet on a regular basis.
For every 100 grams of pistachios we are ingesting 120 mg magnesium. So, in addition to being delicious, pistachios are an interesting nutritional contribution to our body.
Dried figs
Although not everyone finds it pleasant to eat dried figs, the truth is that for its nutritional properties it is well worth its intake.
For every 100 grams of dried figs we are introducing into our body up to 84 mg of magnesium.
Of course, they have to be dried figs, since without drying the concentration of magnesium is much lower.
Wholemeal bread
Whole wheat bread is highly beneficial for the body in multiple facets and therefore is gaining more and more ground to traditional white bread.
One of the most interesting nutritional contributions of whole wheat bread is magnesium, as it provides up to 90 mg of this mineral per 100 grams of whole wheat bread.
If sunflower seeds or other nuts are also added, the magnesium content multiplies. Another type of bread with high concentrations of magnesium is oatmeal.
Plantain
Within the large number of fruits that we can consume, it is the banana that has a higher concentration of magnesium.
For each 100 grams of banana that we introduce into our diet we are ingesting a total of 27 mg magnesium. So with two small bananas or one large one we can be covering our daily needs.
And not only magnesium, but another mineral as important for the health and proper functioning of the body as potassium.
Here are some of the commonly used foods with higher concentrations of magnesium. Introducing these foods into the diet is tremendously simple and can be present in many different recipes. Consuming these foods in a situation of magnesium deficiency helps to ward off the annoying symptoms that this situation may cause.
Read more: 7 scientific evidences of the properties of bananas.
Supplements magnesium
For people who suffer from osteoporosis due to lack of magnesium, they exist on the market magnesium-rich supplements as a complement to the diet, although the most natural is the consumption of the foods that we have commented.
However, due to the low absorption of some, even if they are high in this mineral, our doctor may prescribe these supplements for a while to quickly recover the desirable levels in blood tests.
Types of mineral magnesium
Magnesium citrate
Magnesium citrate is a type of magnesium that is bound to citric acid. This acid can be found naturally in citrus fruits. Artificially it is also used as withservante and flavor enhancer.
Magnesium oxide
Magnesium oxide is a salt that combines magnesium and oxygen. It is usually marketed in powder or capsule form. It is the main active ingredient in the milk of magnesia, a compound used to reduce the symptoms of constipation.
Magnesium chloride
Magnesium chloride is a type of magnesium that includes chlorine among its comopnents, a natural element. for the formation of salts, such as potassium chloride or sodium chloride.
Magnesium lactate
Magnesium lactate is the salt that is formed when magnesium binds with lactic acid. This compound occurs naturally in our body through muscles and cells. In addition, it is also artificially manufactured as a preservative additive.
Magnesium orotate
Magnesium orotate is linked to orotic acid, a natural substance that intervenes in the construction of genetic material of our organism, including DNA.
Magnesium malate
Magnesium malate is bound to malic acid, and can be found in foods such as fruit and wine. It is usually used as a food additive to improve the taste or add a point of acidity.
Magnesium taurate
This type of magnesium contiene the amino acid taurine. Adequate consumption of taurine and magnesium has been studied to play a role in regulating blood sugar.
Magnesium L-threonate
Magnesium L-threonate is the salt formed by mixing magnesium and threonic acid, a water-soluble compound that derives from the metabolic breakdown of vitamin C, and that is easily absorbed by the body.
Magnesium sulphate
Magnesium sulfate is formed by binding magnesium with sulfur and oxygen. It is commonly known as Epsom salt.
Magnesium glycinate
Magnesium glycinate is obtained by binding the mineral magnesium and the amino acid glycine. Our body uses glycine to create proteins. We can also get it in foods such as fish, meat, dairy and legumes.
