7 weekday habits that quietly leave you short on magnesium

Magnesium rarely makes headlines, but it’s one of the minerals many adults fall short on. The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements reports that dietary surveys in the United States consistently find intakes below recommended amounts. Adults need 310–420 mg a day, depending on age and sex.

Most of the shortfall isn’t dramatic. It comes from ordinary habits that either crowd magnesium-rich foods off the plate or make the body lose a little more. Here are seven, with one fix for each. They’re habits, not failings.

1. Beige lunches

White bread, pasta, crackers, pastries. Refining grains removes the bran and germ, and much of the magnesium goes with them. A week of refined-grain lunches leaves a real gap.

Fix: switch one grain a day to a whole grain: brown rice, oats, whole-wheat bread.

2. Coffee standing in for breakfast

The coffee isn’t the problem. The missing meal is. Oats, nuts, seeds and yogurt are some of the easiest morning sources of magnesium, and a coffee-only morning skips all of them.

Fix: add something small: a handful of almonds (about 80 mg per ounce) or a bowl of oatmeal.

3. Few beans, nuts, seeds or greens

These are the richest everyday sources, and they’re also the foods that need a little planning. Half a cup of cooked black beans has about 60 mg; half a cup of boiled spinach about 78 mg; an ounce of pumpkin seeds about 156 mg.

Fix: keep canned beans and a bag of nuts or seeds at home and at work. No cooking needed.

4. Skipped dinners that turn into late snacks

When dinner becomes chips at 10 p.m., you lose the meal most likely to include beans, greens or whole grains. Snack foods are rarely good magnesium sources.

Fix: if dinner is going to be late, make the snack count: nuts, a whole-grain sandwich, yogurt with seeds.

5. Alcohol-heavy weekends

Alcohol increases the amount of magnesium the kidneys pass into urine, and the Office of Dietary Supplements lists people who drink heavily among the groups most likely to run low. A big weekend also tends to replace meals.

Fix: alternate drinks with water, and eat a proper meal before you go out.

6. Long-term heartburn pills without a check-in

Proton pump inhibitors, a common type of heartburn medicine, can lower magnesium levels when taken for a long time. The FDA issued a safety communication about this in 2011. Some diuretics can also increase the magnesium you lose.

Fix: don’t stop any medicine on your own. If you’ve taken one daily for months, ask your doctor or pharmacist whether a magnesium check makes sense.

7. Assuming your multivitamin covers it

Magnesium is bulky, so most multivitamins carry only a small amount. Our own Daily Foundation has 50 mg, which is 12% of the Daily Value. That’s a base, not a full day.

Fix: read the magnesium line on your multivitamin’s label and see what’s left to cover. Here’s how to read the magnesium number on a label.

What about sweat?

Hard training does cost some minerals in sweat, mostly sodium. Magnesium is lost in sweat too, but in much smaller amounts than sodium. The bigger risk after a workout is skipping the meal that would have replaced everything. If you train often, plan the food after it.

Food first, then a supplement if you need one

Most of the fixes above are food. If your week makes them hard, a daily supplement can help close the gap. Magnesium Foundation is 3 capsules once a day for 275 mg of magnesium (65% of the Daily Value) from 2,500 mg of magnesium glycinate, with nothing else active and no melatonin. The label doesn’t set a time; we suggest the evening. The label says it “supports muscle function, eases tension & restores evening calm.*”

It isn’t a sleep formula. If sleep is the goal, read where magnesium fits on tense evenings, and where it doesn’t.

Check your total

The upper limit for magnesium from supplements and medicines is 350 mg a day for adults (food doesn’t count toward it). Daily Foundation (50 mg) and Rest Balance (13 mg) also contain magnesium, so if you take more than one product, ask your doctor about your total. Rest Balance in particular needs your doctor’s okay first: it contains 10 mg of melatonin, St. John’s wort and 5-HTP, matters if you take medication or are pregnant, and shouldn’t be combined with other melatonin. Too much supplemental magnesium usually shows up as loose stools. Ask your doctor first if you have a kidney condition, take medication, or are pregnant or nursing.

Keep reading

For why glycinate, see magnesium glycinate explained. For how to take it, see Magnesium Foundation in the evening and the FAQ. Not sure where to start? Find your formula, and keep two weeks on paper with the free 14-day planner.

References

1. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. “Magnesium: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals.”
2. U.S. FDA. “FDA Drug Safety Communication: Low magnesium levels can be associated with long-term use of Proton Pump Inhibitor drugs (PPIs)” (2011).
3. Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Vitamin D, and Fluoride. National Academies Press, 1997.
4. Magnesium Foundation and Daily Foundation Supplement Facts panels (the product labels).