Foods High In Magnesium
We usually don't eat nuts by the cupful, but a cup of almonds will give you 156 mg, nearly half the daily requirement of magnesium, and cashews and Brazil nuts will provide 148 mgs and 128 mgs, respectively. There are plenty of foods which, not quite as rich in magnesium as those quoted above, still are good sources, and these include broccoli, oysters, scallops, pumpkin seeds, cooked whole grain cereals, and whole wheat bread. Two slices of whole wheat bread provides 50 mgs. For kids, anything with peanut butter, smoothies (especially if you throw in a banana), whole wheat anything, and potatoes will go far in giving them their daily requirement.
Since fish, whole grains, and vegetables all are magnesium rich foods, we get the added bonus of these foods generally being low in calories. So by stocking up on an adequate supply of magnesium, you aren't doing yourself damage in some other area. A little fat is helpful though, as fat makes absorption of magnesium in our body more efficient. That doesn't mean a triple banana split should be a regular part of your diet. The banana is great, but the rest is a little more fat than you need to get the maximum benefit from the banana.
Avoid Magnesium Antagonists If You Can - We've already noted that calcium is a magnesium antagonist, and that the intake of an excessive amount of calcium supplements to could lead to a magnesium deficiency. Alcohol and caffeine are two other magnesium antagonists. That fillet of halibut you had for lunch won't do you all that good if it was a two-martini lunch, and the headache you get the morning after a night on the town is more than likely due in part to a sudden magnesium deficiency in your body, caused from guess what. As we said at the beginning, if you're not getting (absorbing) enough magnesium, your body will tell you almost right away. Older people are sometimes more susceptible to magnesium deficiency, often through no fault of their own. Our ability to efficiently absorb magnesium sometimes decreases with age, plus older people often excrete magnesium at a higher rate. Compounding the problem is that many older people are taking medications of one kind or another, and some medications are known magnesium antagonists.
Too Little? Too Much? - One problem associated with a magnesium deficiency is that the symptoms are usually similar to symptoms experienced from a wide variety of other disorders. A headache may mean there is a magnesium deficiency, or it may not. Muscle soreness, feeling stressed, being susceptible to illness, can all be caused by a magnesium deficiency, but can be traced to a number of other disorders as well.
The same statement can be made for the condition where you have excessive magnesium in your system. Excessive magnesium can cause kidney disorders, even kidney failure in extreme cases. The heart and circulatory system can also be affected as can the gastrointestinal system. Issues like these are most likely to arise if one is overdosing on magnesium supplements. Eating a steady diet of magnesium rich foods is not going to cause these types of problems. If you think magnesium supplements would be helpful to you, it will be best to talk to your doctor first, especially if you're taking any medications. Another approach, and one that is quite safe, is to eat an energy bar as part of your daily diet for awhile. Many of these contain a helpful amount of magnesium. Don't rely on fortified foods. As helpful as that might seem, some fortified foods may contain useful amounts of magnesium, others may not, and still others may contain an excess of magnesium antagonists, such as calcium.
If you are suffering, or think you might be suffering from either an excess or deficiency of magnesium, you of course have to work that problem first, along with your physician. Otherwise a healthy well-balance diet coupled with a minimal intake of magnesium antagonists will keep you in good shape, and including one or more of the magnesium rich foods in your daily diet will do so for certain.