How to boost your Magnesium levels

Magnesium plays a huge role in making your body work right. It’s involved in over 300 chemical reactions in your body, and you need it for energy production, muscle contractions, maintaining a healthy nervous system and much more. But many of us don’t get enough, so read on to find out how.

How much magnesium do I need?

It’s recommended that women get at least 270mg of magnesium a day, and men 300mg a day.¹ Your body doesn’t make magnesium on it’s own, so it’s important to get enough through your diet. It’s difficult to have too much magnesium as your kidneys will get rid of any excess in urine.

Magnesium rich foods

Happily, lots of foods contain magnesium so it’s easy to get plenty as part of a healthy diet.

• Dark leafy greens like spinach or sea vegetables such as kale.
• Seeds and nuts such as cashews, almonds, pumpkin seeds & chickpeas.
• An avocado contains 14% of your RDA of magnesium
• One banana contains 9% of your RDA for magnesium
• Our personal favourite, dark chocolate.

Making sure you eat enough protein can also help magnesium be absorbed effectively.



Any other factors?

There are other factors worth considering that can affect your magnesium levels. Certain health conditions and medications can have a detrimental impact on how much magnesium your body absorbs. These most commonly include Crohn’s disease and other digestive issues, taking antibiotics or diuretic medicines, kidney disorders, and diabetes.

It’s also worth knowing that some foods, and more often drinks can also inhibit magnesium absorption. Coffee and tea are the big ones as they have a diuretic affect which increases the amount of magnesium in your urine. Fizzy drinks containing phosphoric acid is another culprit as it sticks to the magnesium and forms an insoluble mix. Excessive alcohol intake will also have a big impact on the amount of magnesium your body can absorb for both reasons above.

What to remember

Eating magnesium-rich foods as part of a nutritious, balanced diet is a great way to boost your health. But even those of us with the healthiest diets might still need an extra boost sometimes. If you do choose to supplement your diet, ensure you’re getting a high-quality supplement that your body can absorb and use effectively.