Magnesium is an essential nutrient for normal body functions.
Common magnesium-rich fruits include bananas, cherries, peaches, apricots, and blackberries.
Magnesium deficiency can lead to health issues like fatigue, muscle cramps, and heart problems.
Other magnesium-rich food sources include nuts, seeds, green leafy vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and seafood.
Improve magnesium absorption by managing dietary factors and considering supplements under the guidance of a healthcare provider.
Introduction
Magnesium is important for our health. It takes part in many processes in our body. Our nerves, muscles, and digestion, all need magnesium to function correctly. But, people often eat less of foods rich in magnesium, and this can put their health at risk.
In this article, we’ll discuss why our bodies need magnesium. We will give you the details on all the tasty fruits rich in this key mineral. We will also discuss about other foods high in magnesium. You’ll also learn how to include these foods into your daily meals.
Why Is Magnesium Essential?
Magnesium is vital for our bodies. It helps keep bones and teeth healthy and supports nerves. Magnesium plays a key part in a lot of processes in the body.
Here are the main functions it does in your body:
It helps over 300 enzyme reactions for our metabolism
Supports nerve impulses and muscle contractions
Helps build bones and teeth
Controls levels of important minerals like calcium, potassium, and sodium
Helps turn food into energy and make proteins
Both men and women need good amounts of magnesium. The amount adults need each day varies. It depends on their age, sex, and life stage. Men usually need between 400 and 420 mg per day. Women usually need between 310 and 320 mg per day. Pregnant women may need slightly more, between 350 to 360 mg per day.
Many people in the United States have diets that provide less than the recommended amounts of magnesium. source: NIH
Low magnesium intake can lead to magnesium deficiency, which can cause symptoms such as loss of appetite, fatigue, and muscle cramps. source: NIH
Magnesium Deficiency
Some of us have a bigger risk of low magnesium levels. This could be due to a poor diet or health issues. Signs of low magnesium levels can range from mild to severe which are as follows.
Feeling tired and weak
Muscle cramps or spasms
Feeling worried or restless
Having trouble sleeping
Heart problems like an irregular heartbeat
Feeling numb or a prickly sensation in your hands and feet
Losing your appetite and weight loss in serious cases
The factors that increase your risk of low magnesium levels are as follows:
Not eating enough magnesium-rich foods
Health problems that hurt how well nutrients are absorbed
Misuse of alcohol or drugs
Kidney disease
Being stressed for a long time
Some medicines, like diuretics, proton pump inhibitors, and certain antibiotics
Low levels of magnesium can be quite bad for our health. They may cause or worsen chronic health problems like:
Heart disease
Osteoporosis or bone loss
Metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes
Migraines and headaches
Magnesium Rich Fruits
Fruits are a yummy and easy way to get more magnesium. Let’s look at some fruits rich in magnesium. These may help you increase your magnesium levels if they’re low.
Top Fruit Sources of Magnesium
Here are some tasty fruits packed with magnesium. They have unique flavours and add important vitamins and minerals to your diet, as well. The fruits rich in magnesium, and the amount present along with other nutrients found in them are described in the table below.
Magnesium-Rich Fruit
Amount of Magnesium
Additional Nutrient Benefits
Bananas
32 mg
Vitamin B6, vitamin C, potassium
Cherries
10 mg
Antioxidants, anthocyanins
Peach
15.7 mg
Calcium, fiber, iron, manganese, vitamins A, C, and E
Apricots
15.5 mg
Vitamin A, vitamin C, fiber, potassium
Blackberries
29.2 mg
Vitamin C, manganese, vitamin K, dietary fiber
Potential Health Benefits of Magnesium-Rich Fruits
Adding more magnesium-rich fruits to your diet may do wonders for your health in the following way.
Better muscle and nerve function: Magnesium helps send nerve signals and make muscles contract. This helps keep your muscles and nerves healthy.
Healthier heart: It helps control your heart rhythm, keep blood pressure normal, and lower the risk of heart disease.
Stronger bones and teeth: Magnesium helps your body absorb calcium. It plays a key role in keeping your bones dense and your teeth healthy.
Healthy digestion: Magnesium aids digestion. It may help with digestion issues like indigestion, constipation, and gut disorders.
Better defense against illness: Magnesium helps your immune system. It acts as a helper for many enzymes involved in immune cells.
How to Incorporate Magnesium-Rich Fruits in Your Diet?
Getting more magnesium-rich fruits into your daily meals is easy. Here are a few tips.
Add sliced bananas to your oatmeal, yogurt, or cereal in the morning. A banana can also make a quick and easy snack.
Top your yogurt, cottage cheese, or ice cream with fresh cherries. You could also blend them into a tasty smoothie.
Cut peaches and apricots into small pieces. Mix them into a fruit salad or toss them in a spinach, nut, and dressing salad for lunch.
Enjoy blackberries on their own, over Greek yogurt, or blended in a fresh smoothie for an antioxidant boost.
It’s important to know how well your body soaks up the magnesium you eat. Here are some points regarding this.
Factors affecting absorption
Here are some things that impact how well your body absorbs magnesium.
Diet: Eating a lot of fiber, phytates, and oxalates can lower your body’s ability to absorb magnesium. These nutrients bind to minerals and stop them from being absorbed.
Gut health: Gut health issues that affect the lining of your gut, such as Crohn’s disease or celiac disease, may reduce magnesium absorption. Get help from a healthcare provider to manage these conditions and increase nutrient absorption.
Age: Your body becomes less good at absorbing magnesium as you age. This can be due to less stomach acid, which helps digest and soak up nutrients.
Phytic acids and their impact
Phytic acids are found in many plant foods. They include grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds. Phytic acid can bind to minerals and stop them from being absorbed during digestion.
Eating normal amounts of these foods isn’t likely to be a big problem for most people. But, if you eat a lot of plant foods, you might want to use strategies to boost absorption like soaking, sprouting, or fermenting your grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds.
How to improve magnesium absorption?
Here are some ways to soak up more magnesium from your food:
Eating all your daily magnesium in one meal might not let your body absorb it all, space it out.
Soak or sprout nuts, seeds, and legumes to lower their phytic acid content. Phytic acid can hinder magnesium absorption.
If you’re thinking about a magnesium supplement, only take it under your doctor’s guidance. They can help you choose the right type and dose for you.
Risk of Excessive Magnesium Intake
Just like low levels of magnesium, high levels can also be harmful to your health. The kidneys usually remove extra magnesium from the body. But, too much magnesium through supplements can cause issues such as diarrhea, stomach cramps, and even life-threatening conditions like kidney failure, hypotension, or an irregular heartbeat.
Always get advice from a healthcare provider before starting any type of supplement. This is very important if you have any health problems or take medicines that might interact with magnesium.
Conclusion
Magnesium is vital for our health. It supports functions such as nerve and muscle function, energy production, and bone health. Not eating enough magnesium can increase your risk for several health issues.
To keep your magnesium levels right, eat a variety of magnesium-rich foods every day. Fruits rich in magnesium include bananas, apricots, cherries, blackberries, and peaches; try interesting ways to include them in your diet. Also, stay aware of factors that can affect how well your body absorbs magnesium and take steps to optimize your intake.
Remember to always ask for advice from a healthcare provider before you think about taking magnesium supplements. This is crucial if you have any health concerns or take medications that could interact with magnesium.
Bananas are among the highest magnesium-containing fruits. Each medium-sized banana offers around 32 mg of magnesium.
How can I raise my magnesium quickly?
Eat more magnesium-rich fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, whole grains, legumes, and other food sources. Always consult your healthcare provider before deciding to take magnesium supplements to increase your magnesium levels.
What food has the best magnesium?
Seeds, nuts, leafy green vegetables, whole grains, and legumes are some of the top sources of magnesium in food.
What drink is high in magnesium?
Soy milk is quite high in magnesium. One cup has about 61 mg of magnesium.
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