John Myers
A lack of magnesium can lead to countless incorrect reactions and malfunctions. You can find out from us how you can not only prevent a magnesium deficiency but also correct it with the right diet – namely with nine very specific foods.
Eliminate magnesium deficiency with food
Symptoms of magnesium deficiency are not always immediately associated with chronic magnesium deficiency.
If you knew that many diseases are made worse by a magnesium deficiency, you could react very quickly – namely with magnesium-rich foods or possibly magnesium-containing food supplements, which can quickly remedy almost any magnesium deficiency and thus improve many symptoms.
Magnesium deficiency: symptoms and consequences
The most well-known magnesium deficiency symptom is muscle cramps in the legs. Other possible symptoms of magnesium deficiency include:
- Anxiety, depression, and migraines
- Hyperactivity, insomnia, numbness, or tingling in the limbs
- nervous twitching
Magnesium deficiency can also be a contributing factor to osteoporosis, diabetes, and cardiac arrhythmias, as well as contributing to tooth decay, premenstrual syndrome, infertility, impotence, and high blood pressure.
Since the symptoms of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) improve significantly after the optimization of the magnesium level, a deficiency should also be considered in these diseases.
Magnesium can block aluminum from going into the brain. In Parkinson’s disease and other neurological diseases, an increased aluminum level in the brain and at the same time an extreme magnesium deficiency is often found.
Excess calcium can promote calcification of blood vessels and joint stiffness in older people, while magnesium does just the opposite.
The older you get, the less magnesium you can absorb from food. With the help of magnesium-rich foods and a healthy digestive system, however, good magnesium absorption can also be achieved in old age.
Diagnosis: detect a magnesium deficiency
If you already suffer from one or more of the above conditions, you can almost certainly assume that you have a magnesium deficiency.
However, there can of course also be a latent magnesium deficiency, i.e. an unnoticed magnesium deficiency that has not yet triggered any symptoms of the disease, e.g. B. has not existed long enough.
If you would like medical proof of your magnesium deficiency, you could have your doctor test it with a blood test of whole blood (serum plus blood cells).
If the magnesium value is only measured in the serum, it can still be in the normal range, even though there has long been a magnesium deficiency, simply because up to 95 percent of the body’s magnesium is in our body cells and only a small part in the intercellular fluid.
However, the serum magnesium value only reflects the magnesium content of the interstitial fluid, not the situation in the cells.
Once you know your magnesium levels, you can assess your current magnesium needs and feed accordingly.
The magnesium requirement
Of course, not everyone has the same magnesium requirement.
Magnesium requirements vary depending on lifestyle and diet, state of health, current magnesium levels, etc.
The need for magnesium increases, for example, when taking certain medications (e.g. diuretics), with a high-protein diet, in physical or mentally stressful situations, when drinking a lot of black tea or soft drinks, when suffering from intestinal fungi or when you sweat a lot and thereby lose minerals.
You can also read about other factors that influence your personal magnesium requirement in our detailed article on magnesium deficiency.
An official requirement value of 350 to 400 mg magnesium per day serves as a rough guide for adults (without magnesium deficiency). However, many experts from the field of orthomolecular medicine consider this value to be far too low and, to be on the safe side, recommend 600 to 900 mg of magnesium per day.
Eliminate magnesium deficiency with the right diet
So how can you prevent magnesium deficiency? And how can you remedy an existing magnesium deficiency? And in a natural way – namely simply with the right diet? Which foods are the ones that provide the most magnesium?
Below we present those foods that contain a particularly large amount of magnesium and that can remedy a magnesium deficiency if you regularly include them in your diet.
Let’s start with one of the most magnesium-rich foods of all, the pumpkin seeds:
Pumpkin seeds contain a particularly large amount of magnesium
Pumpkin seeds provide almost as much magnesium as sunflower seeds, namely 400 mg per 100 grams. At the same time, pumpkin seeds provide an enormous amount of iron (over 12 mg) – a value that no other food can reach so quickly.
Trace elements such as copper and zinc and, of course, the B vitamins are also found in considerable amounts in pumpkin seeds.
Pumpkin seeds can easily be nibbled out of your hand or sprinkled over salads.
To do this, soak the seeds overnight, then mix them in a high-performance blender with a little water or fresh tomatoes, then add dried tomatoes, red peppers, onions, some garlic, and linseed. Mix everything again, season with herb salt, marjoram, or oregano, and spread the result on a baking tray lined with baking paper or on the foil of your dehydrator. Bake or dry the flat cakes until they are crispy.
You can also use 1/3 almonds, 1/3 sunflower seeds, and 1/3 pumpkin seeds for the dough.
Don’t forget how extremely positive pumpkin seeds are for prostate and bladder health.
In any case, pumpkin seeds should have a permanent place in your magnesium-optimized diet.
The high magnesium content in cocoa
Cocoa is also a very magnesium-rich food. Its magnesium content is similar to that of pumpkin seeds. Cocoa also provides many trace elements and is also a valuable source of antioxidants.
A magnesium deficiency often manifests itself in a craving for chocolate – not because the body wants chocolate, but because it needs magnesium. However, giving in to the cravings would not be the right way, since ordinary milk chocolate contains very little cocoa, but a lot of sugar and plenty of milk powder.
A cocoa-rich alternative would be dark chocolate. It is best to choose a chocolate with at least 70 percent cocoa content, which is ideally sweetened with xylitol. It is also a good idea to make your own chocolate from high-quality ingredients.
Of course, you can also process cocoa into fine drinks or conjure up delicious energy balls from it – e.g. B. together with nuts and almonds, which with 170 mg of magnesium are also among the very good magnesium suppliers.
Amaranth provides plenty of magnesium
With 300 mg of magnesium per 100 grams, amaranth – the tiny grain of a foxtail plant – is an excellent source of magnesium, which is also very easy to consume.
You will find many suggestions for the preparation, e.g. B. here: Amaranth – The Power Grain
Amaranth tastes particularly good in bread, e.g. B. in a spelled amaranth bread. Amaranth pops or amaranth flakes are also easy to use, e.g. B. in muesli or in pastries.
Just like amaranth, quinoa is one of the gluten-free pseudocereals and also provides a lot of valuable magnesium.
Quinoa against magnesium deficiency
With 280 mg of magnesium per 100 grams, quinoa is a very high-quality source of magnesium – especially since quinoa can easily be consumed in significantly larger quantities than e.g. B. Cocoa.
Quinoa is best rinsed thoroughly under running water in a sieve and then prepared like rice as a fine side dish.
Incidentally, rice provides less than half of the quinoa magnesium, and only if it is whole grain rice. White rice (polished rice), on the other hand, only contains around 30 mg of magnesium per 100 grams and is therefore nothing more than a stomach filler.
In addition, since potatoes only contain 20 mg of magnesium and whole grain pasta only around 50 mg of magnesium, it is definitely worth replacing the usual side dishes with quinoa from time to time.
Sesame for magnesium deficiency
Sesame seeds are particularly well-known as a source of calcium. However, its magnesium value is also very high at just under 350 mg at the top of the top magnesium suppliers.
Sesame can be sprinkled over salads or in muesli. To increase the bioavailability of the micronutrients, the sesame can easily be sprouted, i.e. soaked in water overnight or for a few hours.
If you choose whole grain oat flakes for your muesli – which you sprinkle the sesame on – then the oats will give you an additional 140 mg of magnesium per 100 grams.
Sesame also tastes delicious in bread recipes, on rolls, on crackers, and in sauces.
Sesame butter (tahini) is particularly easy to use. This is an excellent way to refine sauces, soups, shakes, and smoothies.
Delicious sesame milk can also be prepared from sesame by simply mixing 200 ml of water with 1 tablespoon of sesame and 1 to 3 pitted dates in a high-performance blender. The drink can then be flavored with cardamom, cinnamon, and/or vanilla and drunk. If you want, you can first strain out the solid components to get thin milk.
The sesame milk fits very well into a base excess diet and can be enjoyed for breakfast, as a dessert, or as a snack.
Poppy against magnesium deficiency
Mohn is also at the top of the magnesium premier league. 333 mg of magnesium can be found in 100 grams of poppy seeds.
Of course, you never eat 100 grams of poppy seeds, but 20 grams of poppy seeds provide you with 60 mg of magnesium and thus cover a large part of your daily magnesium requirement.
If you also choose organic steam poppy seeds, you can confidently nibble on the poppy seeds every day, as they contain less morphine and are therefore no longer addictive. In addition, steamed poppy seeds are already ground and can be used immediately for (basic) cakes, pastries, energy balls, shakes, muesli, desserts, and fruit salads.
Legumes remedy magnesium deficiency
Whether white beans, chickpeas, peas, edamame, broad beans, or lentils – they are all rich in magnesium and provide you with between 120 and 190 mg of magnesium per 100 grams.
Apart from the obligatory bean stew, legumes can be used to conjure up many extremely delicious dishes, such as B. spinach and lentil quiche or chickpea balls.
If you also pay attention to the correct preparation, then you will not or – depending on your disposition – only rarely get flatulence even after eating legumes.
In any case, soak the legumes at least overnight before preparing them and discard the soaking water. If necessary, change the soaking water once or twice during the soaking time.
Also use anti-flatulence spices such as B. savory, coriander, caraway, cumin, fenugreek, turmeric, dill, cayenne, or ginger.
Nettle works against magnesium deficiency
With 80 mg of magnesium per 100 g, stinging nettle is another excellent source of magnesium and one of the most magnesium-rich vegetables.
Swiss chard contains exactly as much magnesium as stinging nettle, but because of its high oxalic acid content, the magnesium from chard is not quite as easily absorbable as from stinging nettle, which is free of oxalic acid.
Almonds (170 mg) and cashew nuts (270 mg), for example, would also provide significantly more magnesium, but you do not only want to eat seeds and nuts, but also other food groups.
You can use the young nettle leaves to make green smoothies or any dish that would normally use spinach or chard.
Since the nettle, like spinach, collapses a lot when its leaves are steamed, it is not a problem to eat 200 grams of nettles in one meal.
With 200 grams of stinging nettles, however, you already absorb 160 mg of magnesium, which is almost half of your daily magnesium requirement.
If you rarely go out into the countryside or if stinging nettles don’t grow in your area, you can also use stinging nettle leaf powder, which you can stir into soups, dressings, smoothies, or juices.
Bananas perfect for magnesium deficiency
Bananas are often described as particularly rich in magnesium and are therefore recommended for combating a magnesium deficiency. In reality, however, fresh bananas contain only 30 mg, which is about as much (or less) magnesium as avocados, blackberries, and raspberries.
However, dried bananas are actually an excellent source of magnesium at 110 mg per 100 grams and should therefore be regularly enriched in your diet. Dried bananas also taste very fine and are very suitable as a snack or provisions for on the go.
Dried figs (70 mg magnesium), dried apricots (50 mg), and dried dates (50 mg) are also delicious sources of magnesium and will help to remedy your magnesium deficiency.
Couscous against magnesium deficiency
Even whole grain products such as E.g. couscous, ideally in the spelled wholemeal version, or wholemeal pasta and wholemeal bread can also help to cover the daily magnesium requirement. For example, one serving (150 g) of cooked wholemeal couscous or cooked wholemeal pasta provides a good 50 mg of magnesium.
Let’s summarize how the right diet can prevent a magnesium deficiency or correct an existing magnesium deficiency:
How your diet can fix a magnesium deficiency
The right diet to correct a magnesium deficiency could look like this, example:
- Have breakfast with oatmeal with sesame, sunflower seeds, cashew nuts, amaranth pops, and various dried fruits.
- As a snack, prepare sesame or almond milk sweetened with dried fruit.
- When buying bread, choose wholemeal bread with amaranth, e.g. B. a spelled amaranth bread, or bake it yourself.
- Eat more quinoa as a side dish and nettles as a vegetable.
- Spice up your shakes and smoothies with nettle leaf powder.
- If you bake cakes or pastries, incorporate poppy seeds into the recipe.
- Scatter pumpkin seeds over salads more often or nibble on them in between.
- Find delicious recipes with legumes and enjoy them for lunch or dinner.
- You can combine the legumes with a wholegrain couscous.
- Take as a snack – e.g. E.g. also after sport – eat dried bananas.
- With all of these tips, you will not only easily be able to meet the official minimum magnesium requirement of around 350 to 400 mg, but also the significantly higher requirement of around 600 mg or more, which many nutritional and health experts estimate.
Dietary supplement against magnesium deficiency
Should you not be able to take care of a magnesium-rich diet so much due to time constraints or other reasons, you could improve your magnesium supply with the help of dietary supplements.
There are many options available to you:
- The Sango Sea Coral
- An organic magnesium supplement such as B. magnesium chelate or magnesium rotate.
When taking magnesium supplements by mouth, remember that magnesium is better absorbed in several small doses than in a single large daily dose.
So it would not be optimal if you want to cover your entire daily magnesium requirement with a serving of 400 milligrams or more of magnesium. In this case, your body would only absorb about 50 percent of the magnesium.
However, if you take less than 200 milligrams of magnesium several times a day, then your body will be able to utilize 75 percent of it – of course only if it is high-quality magnesium.
It is therefore important to divide the total magnesium-dose into several portions and to take them throughout the day.
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