Magnesium-Rich Foods: Top Sources and Daily Amounts

Pumpkin seeds are the richest everyday source: 1 ounce of roasted seeds gives 156 mg of magnesium, 37% of the 420 mg Daily Value¹. Chia seeds, almonds, boiled spinach, cashews and black beans follow, at 60 to 111 mg per serving¹.

Most adults need 310 to 420 mg a day¹. Our magnesium page covers benefits and dosing; this guide covers what to eat.

Seeds, nuts, legumes, whole grains and leafy greens top the list. These amounts are USDA values per normal serving, compiled by the National Institutes of Health¹.

Seeds and nuts

• Pumpkin seeds, roasted, 1 ounce: 156 mg (37% DV)
• Chia seeds, 1 ounce: 111 mg (26% DV)
• Almonds, dry roasted, 1 ounce: 80 mg (19% DV)
• Cashews, dry roasted, 1 ounce: 74 mg (18% DV)
• Peanuts, oil roasted, ¼ cup: 63 mg (15% DV)
• Peanut butter, smooth, 2 tablespoons: 49 mg (12% DV)

Beans, soy and whole grains

• Soymilk, plain, 1 cup: 61 mg (15% DV)
• Shredded wheat cereal, 2 large biscuits: 61 mg (15% DV)
• Black beans, cooked, ½ cup: 60 mg (14% DV)
• Edamame, shelled, cooked, ½ cup: 50 mg (12% DV)
• Brown rice, cooked, ½ cup: 42 mg (10% DV), against 10 mg for the same amount of white rice
• Kidney beans, canned, ½ cup: 35 mg (8% DV)

Other USDA entries, each per cooked cup, show quinoa at 118 mg, mung beans (monggo) at 97 mg, chickpeas at 79 mg, lentils at 71 mg and oatmeal at 63 mg². Raw regular tofu set with calcium sulfate gives 37 mg per ½ cup².

Leafy greens, vegetables and fruit

• Spinach, boiled, ½ cup: 78 mg (19% DV)
• Potato, baked with skin, 3.5 ounces: 43 mg (10% DV)
• Banana, 1 medium: 32 mg (8% DV)
• Avocado, cubed, ½ cup: 22 mg (5% DV)
• Broccoli, cooked, ½ cup: 12 mg (3% DV)

Fish, dairy, meat and dark chocolate

• Yogurt, plain, low fat, 8 ounces: 42 mg (10% DV)
• Salmon, Atlantic, farmed, cooked, 3 ounces: 26 mg (6% DV)
• Milk, 1 cup: 27 mg (6% DV)
• Chicken breast, roasted, 3 ounces: 22 mg (5% DV)

Dark chocolate with 70% to 85% cacao solids gives 65 mg per ounce².

Adult men need 400 to 420 mg a day and adult women 310 to 320 mg, according to the Recommended Dietary Allowances. These amounts count magnesium from food, drinks, supplements and medicines together¹. Needs by group:

• Children 1 to 3 years: 80 mg
• Children 4 to 8 years: 130 mg
• Ages 9 to 13: 240 mg
• Teen girls 14 to 18: 360 mg; teen boys: 410 mg
• Pregnancy: 400 mg at ages 14 to 18, 350 mg at 19 to 30 and 360 mg at 31 to 50
• Breastfeeding: 360 mg at ages 14 to 18, 310 mg at 19 to 30 and 320 mg at 31 to 50

Many people fall short. A national survey from 2013 to 2016 found that 48% of Americans took in less magnesium from food and drink than their estimated average requirement¹. Men aged 71 and older and teenagers were most likely to have low intakes¹.

Several foods supply a useful amount of both minerals. Per serving^{1, 3}:

• Soymilk, 1 cup: 61 mg magnesium and 287 mg potassium
• Banana, 1 medium: 32 mg magnesium and 422 mg potassium
• Salmon, farmed, cooked, 3 ounces: 26 mg magnesium and 326 mg potassium
• Milk, 1 cup: 27 mg magnesium; 1% milk gives 366 mg potassium

Beans, potatoes and spinach also appear on both lists, but the serving sizes in the two tables differ. Our guide to potassium-rich foods has the full potassium list, and our potassium page covers needs and safety.

More potassium is not safe for everyone. With chronic kidney disease, or while taking an ACE inhibitor, an angiotensin receptor blocker or a potassium-sparing diuretic, even ordinary food amounts can push blood potassium too high, so ask your doctor or a dietitian how much is right for you³.

Most drinks add little. Brewed coffee gives about 10 mg per cup, orange juice 27 mg, prune juice 36 mg and unsweetened almond milk 18 mg². Soymilk does better, at 61 mg per cup, and milk matches orange juice at 27 mg¹.

Water can be the exception. Magnesium in tap and bottled water ranges from 1 mg to more than 120 mg per liter¹. A survey of North American tap water found that, for half the sources, 2 liters a day supplied 6% to 31% of the adult requirement. One liter of moderately mineralized European bottled water supplied 16% to 41%⁴. The label or your water utility report lists the value.

Herbs contribute little in practice. Dried basil gives 5 mg per teaspoon and dried parsley 2 mg per teaspoon². A typical serving of herbs is a pinch, so they will not move your daily total. Cooked greens do far more: ½ cup of boiled spinach gives 78 mg¹.

Your gut absorbs only 30% to 40% of the magnesium in food¹. Several things lower that figure:

• Phytic acid: in two small crossover studies of 8 to 9 adults each, adding the amount of phytic acid found in whole-meal bread cut absorption from 32.5% to 13.0%. The amount found in brown bread cut it from 32.2% to 24.0%⁵.
• Oxalate, non-fermentable fiber and high doses of other minerals: a review lists these as inhibitors⁶.

That does not make whole grains a poor choice. Refining grains removes the germ and bran and substantially lowers their magnesium content¹, so whole grains still carry far more magnesium, even if you absorb a smaller share of it. Fermentable fibers such as inulin and resistant starch go the other way⁶: four human studies of fermentable oligosaccharides and polysaccharides generally found they improve absorption⁷.

The share absorbed also falls as the dose rises, although the total amount absorbed still goes up. In a trial of normal subjects, the fraction absorbed dropped from 65% at the lowest intake to 11% at the highest, and magnesium from almonds was as well absorbed as a soluble magnesium salt⁸. A larger share is absorbed when magnesium comes in several small doses through the day than in one large dose⁶.

Other things drain magnesium rather than block it. Chronic diarrhea, celiac disease and Crohn’s disease, type 2 diabetes, heavy alcohol use and older age raise the risk of low levels¹. Loop and thiazide diuretics increase urinary losses, and proton pump inhibitors taken for more than a year can cause low magnesium¹.

Swap refined foods for the whole version and add a seed, bean or green to meals you already eat. A sample day that reaches about 406 mg, above the 310 to 320 mg most adult women need and near the 400 to 420 mg men need¹:

• Breakfast: 2 shredded wheat biscuits (61 mg), 1 cup of milk (27 mg) and a banana (32 mg), for 120 mg
• Snack: 1 ounce of almonds, 80 mg
• Lunch: ½ cup of black beans (60 mg) with ½ cup of brown rice (42 mg), for 102 mg
• Dinner: 3 ounces of salmon (26 mg) with ½ cup of boiled spinach (78 mg), for 104 mg

Swap the almonds for 1 ounce of pumpkin seeds and the day passes 480 mg. Foods that contain dietary fiber generally provide magnesium, so the habits that raise fiber raise magnesium too¹.

Trials show a small effect from supplements, and studies of diet point the same way without proving cause. A meta-analysis of 22 trials in 1,173 adults found that supplements, at a mean 410 mg a day for 3 to 24 weeks, lowered systolic pressure by 3 to 4 mm Hg and diastolic by 2 to 3 mm Hg⁹. That average dose is above the 350 mg daily upper limit for supplements¹. A Cochrane review of 12 trials in 545 people with hypertension found only a 2.2 mm Hg fall in diastolic pressure¹.

Food studies follow people over years. A meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies found that people with the highest dietary magnesium intakes had an 8% lower risk of developing high blood pressure than those with the lowest¹⁰. Other cohort studies look at stroke, heart failure and diabetes.

A dose-response meta-analysis of 40 cohorts and over 1 million participants linked each extra 100 mg a day of dietary magnesium to a 7% lower stroke risk, 22% lower heart failure risk, 19% lower type 2 diabetes risk and 10% lower all-cause mortality. It found no link with total cardiovascular disease or coronary heart disease¹¹. An earlier meta-analysis found an 8% lower stroke risk per 100 mg a day, driven by ischemic stroke and not by bleeding stroke¹². A 2020 meta-analysis found that the highest intakes carried 22% lower type 2 diabetes risk and 11% lower stroke risk than the lowest¹³.

These are observational findings, and other nutrients in the same foods may explain part of the link¹. The FDA allows a qualified health claim for adequate magnesium and high blood pressure but calls the evidence inconsistent and inconclusive¹. A diet rich in fruit, vegetables and low-fat dairy lowered systolic and diastolic pressure by 5.5 and 3.0 mm Hg, but it also raised potassium and calcium intakes, so magnesium’s own share cannot be separated¹. See our pages on high blood pressure and heart health.

Food is the first choice. The NIH says supplements may be useful when needs cannot be met from food alone¹. A supplement is worth discussing if:

• you have a gut condition that causes diarrhea or malabsorption, type 2 diabetes, or heavy alcohol use¹;
• you take a loop or thiazide diuretic, or a proton pump inhibitor long term¹;
• a blood test has shown low magnesium.

The upper limit for magnesium from supplements and medicines is 350 mg a day from age 9, including during pregnancy and breastfeeding. For young children it is much lower: 65 mg a day at ages 1 to 3 and 110 mg at ages 4 to 8¹. Magnesium in antacids and laxatives counts toward the limit. Magnesium from food and drinks does not, because healthy kidneys remove the excess¹. That is why a young child’s limit sits below the daily need: the need counts food, the limit does not¹.

High doses from supplements or medicines often cause diarrhea, sometimes with nausea and cramping. Carbonate, chloride, gluconate and oxide are the forms most often reported to cause diarrhea¹. Our guides on glycinate versus citrate and when to take magnesium cover form and timing.

Symptoms from low intake alone are uncommon in otherwise healthy people, because the kidneys limit how much magnesium is lost in urine¹. Signs of deficiency, such as nausea, fatigue and muscle cramps, are covered on our magnesium deficiency page.

Take magnesium supplements and magnesium-rich medicines at least 2 hours before or after oral bisphosphonates for osteoporosis¹. Take tetracycline and quinolone antibiotics at least 2 hours before or 4 to 6 hours after a magnesium supplement¹.

Food and drink can matter too, so follow the instructions that come with your medicine. Alendronate, a bisphosphonate, must be taken with plain water at least 30 minutes before the first food, drink or other medicine of the day, and its label names mineral water among the drinks that reduce its absorption¹⁴. Ciprofloxacin, a quinolone, should not be taken with dairy products such as milk or yogurt, or with calcium-fortified juice, on their own, although it can be taken with a meal that contains them¹⁵.

Very large doses of magnesium-containing laxatives and antacids have been linked to magnesium toxicity, and the risk rises with impaired kidney function¹.

Supplements in this guide

• Magnesium
• Potassium
• Calcium

We searched PubMed and the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements for dietary magnesium, absorption, blood pressure and safety, and prioritised systematic reviews, randomised trials and absorption studies in adults. We read 10 journal records, 3 reference sources and 2 prescription drug labels, and cite all of them. Food values come from USDA data as compiled by NIH, so newer USDA FoodData Central entries may differ slightly. Cohort studies cannot show that magnesium itself lowers risk. Researched 14 October 2026.

1. National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. Magnesium: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium-HealthProfessional/
2. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 28: Magnesium content of foods, ordered by nutrient content (household measures). https://ods.od.nih.gov/pubs/usdandb/Magnesium-Content.pdf
3. National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. Potassium: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Potassium-HealthProfessional/
4. Azoulay A, et al. Comparison of the mineral content of tap water and bottled waters. J Gen Intern Med. 2001;16(3):168-75. doi:10.1111/j.1525-1497.2001.04189.x
5. Bohn T, et al. Phytic acid added to white-wheat bread inhibits fractional apparent magnesium absorption in humans. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004;79(3):418-23. doi:10.1093/ajcn/79.3.418
6. Schuchardt JP, et al. Intestinal Absorption and Factors Influencing Bioavailability of Magnesium-An Update. Curr Nutr Food Sci. 2017;13(4):260-278. doi:10.2174/1573401313666170427162740
7. Coudray C, et al. Effects of dietary fibers on magnesium absorption in animals and humans. J Nutr. 2003;133(1):1-4. doi:10.1093/jn/133.1.1
8. Fine KD, et al. Intestinal absorption of magnesium from food and supplements. J Clin Invest. 1991;88(2):396-402. doi:10.1172/JCI115317
9. Kass L, et al. Effect of magnesium supplementation on blood pressure: a meta-analysis. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2012;66(4):411-8. doi:10.1038/ejcn.2012.4 Our study summary.
10. Han H, et al. Dose-response relationship between dietary magnesium intake, serum magnesium concentration and risk of hypertension: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. Nutr J. 2017;16(1):26. doi:10.1186/s12937-017-0247-4
11. Fang X, et al. Dietary magnesium intake and the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and all-cause mortality: a dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. BMC Med. 2016;14(1):210. doi:10.1186/s12916-016-0742-z Our study summary.
12. Larsson SC, et al. Dietary magnesium intake and risk of stroke: a meta-analysis of prospective studies. Am J Clin Nutr. 2012;95(2):362-6. doi:10.3945/ajcn.111.022376
13. Zhao B, et al. Association of magnesium intake with type 2 diabetes and total stroke: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Open. 2020;10(3):e032240. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2019-032240
14. Organon LLC. FOSAMAX (alendronate sodium) tablets: full prescribing information, section 2.6 Important Administration Instructions. DailyMed, U.S. National Library of Medicine; label posted March 2026. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=14e931fd-2c5f-4d90-b7db-5980706f4a56
15. Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc. CIPRO (ciprofloxacin hydrochloride) tablets: full prescribing information, section 2.4 Important Administration Instructions. DailyMed, U.S. National Library of Medicine; label posted March 2026. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=888dc7f9-ad9c-4c00-8d50-8ddfd9bd27c0