Yet despite its well-documented benefits, researchers have found that nearly half of Americans consume less magnesium than the recommended amounts.<\/p>\n
For most people, there\u2019s an easy solution, and it doesn\u2019t require taking supplements.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes the average American need to take a magnesium supplement?\u201d said Doerfler. \u201cIn short, no. We need to increase the amount of produce and plants in our diet.\u201d<\/p>\n
How much magnesium do you need?<\/p>\n
Health authorities recommend slightly different amounts of magnesium depending on your age and sex.<\/p>\n
Women who are 19 to 30 years old should aim to consume 310 milligrams of magnesium daily (350mg if they\u2019re pregnant), and 320mg if they are 31 or older. For men, the recommendation is that they consume 400mg if they\u2019re 19 to 30 years old, and 420mg if they\u2019re 31 or older.<\/p>\n
In the United States, severe magnesium deficiencies are rare. They typically occur as a result of an underlying medical condition, like kidney disease, Crohn\u2019s disease or another metabolic or gastrointestinal disorder. These conditions can make it harder for the body to absorb and hold onto magnesium, said Doerfler.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re otherwise healthy but consuming less magnesium than the recommended amounts, your body can find ways to compensate. Your kidneys, for example, may limit how much magnesium they excrete from your body. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe body has a lot of really clever ways to try to recycle magnesium better, hold onto it better, and get other nutrients involved,\u201d said Doerfler. \u201cBut even if you don\u2019t have a deficiency, if you have a poor dietary intake of magnesium, you can still be at increased risk of cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance and high blood pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Doerfler said that when people ask her whether they should take magnesium supplements, she always tells them to look at what they\u2019re eating first. That\u2019s because you can get plenty of magnesium simply by eating a few daily servings of the right plant foods.<\/p>\n
Here are some top dietary sources of magnesium, according to the US National Institutes of Health and the Department of Agriculture. <\/p>\n
Best dietary sources of magnesium<\/p>\n
Pumpkin seeds, 1 ounce (28 grams)<\/p>\n
Amount of magnesium: 156 milligrams<\/p>\n
Daily value: 26%<\/p>\n
Chia seeds, 28g<\/p>\n
Amount of magnesium: 111mg<\/p>\n
Daily value: 26%<\/p>\n
Almonds (dry roasted), 28g<\/p>\n
Amount of magnesium: 80mg<\/p>\n
Daily value: 19%<\/p>\n
Spinach, boiled, \u00bd cup<\/p>\n
Amount of magnesium: 78mg<\/p>\n
Daily value: 19%<\/p>\n
Cashews (dry roasted), 28g<\/p>\n
Amount of magnesium: 74mg<\/p>\n
Daily value: 18%<\/p>\n
Peanuts (roasted), \u00bc cup<\/p>\n
Amount of magnesium: 63mg<\/p>\n
Daily value: 15%<\/p>\n
Shredded wheat cereal (2 biscuits)<\/p>\n
Amount of magnesium: 61mg<\/p>\n
Daily value: 15%<\/p>\n
Soymilk (plain or vanilla), 1 cup<\/p>\n
Amount of magnesium: 61mg<\/p>\n
Daily value: 15%<\/p>\n
Black beans, cooked, \u00bd cup<\/p>\n
Amount of magnesium: 60mg<\/p>\n
Daily value: 14%<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Yet despite its well-documented benefits, researchers have found that nearly half of Americans consume less magnesium than the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":624348,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[49,48,234132,4085,9917,92180,2998,3011,4833,84,30171,72313,20586,3650,44765,2170,395,3651,1623,19680,696,74229,102555,61277],"class_list":{"0":"post-624347","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-chances","11":"tag-eating","12":"tag-enough","13":"tag-essential","14":"tag-food","15":"tag-from","16":"tag-get","17":"tag-health","18":"tag-heres","19":"tag-important","20":"tag-its","21":"tag-magnesium","22":"tag-mineral","23":"tag-more","24":"tag-nutrition","25":"tag-supplement","26":"tag-taking","27":"tag-this","28":"tag-to","29":"tag-ways","30":"tag-without","31":"tag-youre"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/624347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=624347"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/624347\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/624348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=624347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=624347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=624347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}