Magnesium Rich Foods for Healthy Body Function

Every known illness is associated with a magnesium deficiency and it’s the missing cure to many diseases,” according to Dr. Norman Shealy. Magnesium is an essential mineral for cellular health and is essential for over 300 biochemical functions in the body. A study published in BMC Bioinformatics found that your body has 3,751 magnesium binding sites. This indicates that magnesium benefits are far greater than previously imagined. Because your body requires and uses magnesium for so many different functions, you can quickly become deficient.

Magnesium Deficiency 

Magnesium deficiency is dramatically under-diagnosed because it does not show up on a blood test!  Only 1% of the magnesium in your body is stored in your blood and the majority of it is stored in your bones.

It’s been estimated that 80% of American’s are deficient in magnesium, this means that millions are suffering daily and they don’t even know it.  Some of the main health challenges that have been linked to a magnesium deficiency include:

• Hormone imbalance and PMS
• Fibromyalgia
• Heart Attack
• Type 2 Diabetes
• Osteoporosis
• Constipation
• Tension or Migraine Headaches
• Anxiety and Depression
• Chronic Fatigue

The Most Common Causes of Magnesium Deficiency

Most common causes of magnesium deficiency include:

• Consuming less than 3 servings of vegetables per day
• Excess alcohol consumption
• A diet high in sugar and phytic acid
• Taking prescription medications like antibiotics and diuretics
• Poor digestive absorption due to leaky gut

How to Increase Your Magnesium Intake

If you think you might be deficient in magnesium, your best way to address this issue is tostart consuming foods that are high in magnesium.

Buying foods from your local farmers market and foods that are certified organic may have higher levels of magnesium. The soil from conventional farms is depleted of magnesium because they do not rotate their crops or let the land rest. Also, they typically only put nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium back in the soil, but leave out magnesium.

Typically, the foods you’ll find that are highest in magnesium are green leafy vegetableswhich are packed with chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is known as the “life blood” of a plant and has the ability to absorb the sun’s light and turn it into energy.

One major difference between human blood and chlorophyll is that human blood has iron at the center of the cell, but plants have magnesium at the center of the cell.

That being said, green leafy vegetables aren’t the only foods rich in magnesium and chlorophyll, here are the top 10 foods high in magnesium that you will want to add into your diet.

Top 10 Magnesium Rich Foods

(Men RDA 400mg and Women RDA 310mg a day)

• #1 Spinach 1 c: 157 mg (40% DV)
• #2 Chard 1 c: 154 mg (38% DV)
• #3 Pumpkin seeds 1/8 c: 92 mg (23% DV)
• #4 Yogurt or Kefir 1 c: 50 mg (13% DV)
• #5 Almonds 1 oz: 80 mg (20% DV)
• #6 Black Beans ½ c: 60 mg (15% DV)
• #7 Avocado 1 medium: 58 mg (15% DV)
• #8 Figs ½ c: 50 mg (13% DV)
• #9 Dark Chocolate 1 square: 95 mg (24% DV)
• #10 Banana 1 medium: 32 mg (8% DV)

Other foods that are also high in magnesium include: salmon, coriander, cashews, goat cheese and artichokes.