Foods highest in Magnesium
Magnesium takes part in over 300 enzyme reactions covering energy, muscle, nerves and sleep.
Below are the whole foods with the most magnesium in a typical serving, straight from USDA FoodData Central, plus how much you need and how to keep track without doing any math.
What magnesium does
Magnesium takes part in over 300 enzyme reactions covering energy, muscle, nerves and sleep.
A large share of people don't reach the magnesium target from food alone.
How much you need
The Daily Value used on food labels is 420 mg a day for adults.
Your real target depends on your age, sex and body, Healthy Squirrel sets it for you from NIH / Institute of Medicine reference intakes, then shows every food against your number, not a generic one.
Foods highest in magnesium
| Food | Serving | Amount | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soybean, curd cheese | 1 cup soybean (225 g) | 513 mg | 122% |
| Mollusks, snail, raw | 4 oz raw (113 g) | 283 mg | 67% |
| Fish, caviar, black and red, granular | 3 oz (85 g) | 255 mg | 61% |
| Mollusks, conch, baked or broiled | 3 oz (85 g) | 202 mg | 48% |
| Seeds, hemp seed, hulled | 1 oz (28 g) | 196 mg | 47% |
| Muffins, oat bran | 1 medium muffin (113 g) | 177 mg | 42% |
| Mothbeans, mature seeds, raw | ¼ cup dry (45 g) | 171 mg | 41% |
| Spinach, canned, regular pack, drained solids | 1 cup spinach (214 g) | 163 mg | 39% |
| Spinach, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt | 1 cup spinach (180 g) | 157 mg | 37% |
| Seeds, pumpkin and squash seed kernels, roasted, with salt added | 1 oz (28 g) | 154 mg | 37% |
| Yardlong beans, mature seeds, raw | ¼ cup dry (45 g) | 152 mg | 36% |
| Chard, swiss, cooked, boiled, drained, with salt | 1 cup chopped chard (175 g) | 151 mg | 36% |
Per typical serving, using the reference amounts food labels are built on (3 oz of meat or fish, 1 tbsp of oil, 1 oz of nuts or cheese, 1 cup of milk), or the everyday size for whole fruit and vegetables. Whole foods from USDA FoodData Central, highest first. In the app, every amount scales to the serving you actually log.
Track magnesium free
Healthy Squirrel is a free food tracker that fills in Magnesium, and every other vitamin and mineral, automatically as you log meals, so you can see where your day actually lands. No account needed to start, no ads, nothing sold.
Open Healthy Squirrel and log a food to see your magnesium for the day.
If you train
Training doesn't change your magnesium target, but it can change how likely you are to fall short. The details and the evidence:
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