The Top Keto Friendly Magnesium Rich Foods

Magnesium is one of the most important minerals in the body. It is important for everything from energy production to heart function, and without it you can end up with a whole host of problems and symptoms.

To make sure you are meeting the recommended daily intakes of magnesium, you’ll need to make sure magnesium-rich foods play a starring role in your diet.

In this article, I will cover:

• Why you need plenty of magnesium.

• How much magnesium you need in your diet each day.

• The best keto-friendly foods high in magnesium.

• The bottom line.
   

The importance of magnesium in your diet

I consider magnesium to be the 2nd most important mineral in the body.

Magnesium is a mineral that acts as a cofactor for many different enzymes. This means that it is a helper element that helps to activate those enzymes.

Magnesium is involved in over 300 different enzymes in the body that are needed for protein metabolism, energy production, heart function, and more. This mineral is important for your nerves, bones, and muscles and is also a natural beta blocker.

Making sure you have enough magnesium has a wide range of benefits.

The health benefits of magnesium include:

• Increasing muscle tone

• Supporting high blood pressure

• Helping you absorb vitamin D

• Balancing calcium

• Magnesium will Improve sleep

• Relieving constipation

• And more
   

If you don’t have enough magnesium, you just aren’t going to feel quite right. And you can get a range of different symptoms of magnesium deficiency.

Symptoms of low magnesium

Over half of the population is deficient in magnesium. When you don’t have enough of this important mineral, you can experience a wide range of symptoms that affect your whole body.

Magnesium deficiency symptoms include:

• Inability to relax

• Cramps, spasms, and muscle twitches

• Atrial fibrillation

• Constipation

• High blood pressure

• Insomnia

• Heart palpitations

• Chronic back pain

• Migraines
   

As you can see, it is really important to make sure you have enough magnesium in your diet. Without it, you can get everything from high blood pressure to migraines.

The main reasons for magnesium deficiency are eating too many refined foods and not eating enough good food sources of magnesium.

How much magnesium do you need?

We must consume magnesium in our diets in order to stay healthy and feel our best. But the average person doesn’t consume enough magnesium – only around 200-266 mg per day. We need much more than that.

Here are the recommended daily intakes of magnesium:

• For men: 420 mg of magnesium every day.

• For women: 320 mg of magnesium every day.
   

So how can you ensure you are getting that much magnesium into your daily diet? You’ll need to turn to healthy, magnesium-rich keto foods.

The best magnesium-rich foods

There are many natural sources of magnesium in the diet. But people don’t usually eat enough of them, and not all of these sources of magnesium are created equal.

There are many foods high in magnesium that are not keto friendly and aren’t very good for your body. So I won’t be recommending those. Dietary sources of magnesium to avoid include:

• Fruit

• Grains

• Potato

• Beans

• Legumes

• Tofu*
   

*Note: if you are vegan and doing keto, some tofu is probably okay (as long as it is organic). But in general, I don’t usually recommend eating tofu on the keto diet.

So what are the good food sources of magnesium when doing the Healthy KetoTM eating plan??

There are many great options when it comes to magnesium-rich keto foods.

These are the top foods high in magnesium that I suggest you add to your keto diet:

1. Pumpkin seeds – 150 mg per oz. (3 tablespoons)

2. Spinach – 157 mg per cup

3. Almonds – 80 mg per oz.

4. Salmon – 53 mg per ½ filet

5. Chocolate – 64 mg per oz. (sugar-free)

6. Avocado – 58 mg per medium avocado

7. Swiss chard – 29 mg per cup

8. Cashews – 28 mg per oz.
    

As you look at that list of keto-approved foods containing magnesium, you can see that it is pretty easy to get enough magnesium if you are eating things like spinach or other leafy greens. These contain a lot of magnesium per cup. If you are female, for example, you can get your entire daily value in just two cups of spinach.

Pumpkin seeds are another easy way to get all your daily magnesium. You only need to consume a few ounces to meet the requirement.

The bottom line

Magnesium is an important mineral in the body, and it is one that plays many key roles in keeping you healthy. Without enough of it, you can end up with the symptoms of a magnesium deficiency.

Fortunately, it isn’t hard to get enough magnesium if you are eating the right foods. But it is also easy to understand why so many people aren’t getting enough of this important mineral, especially if their diets are full of refined foods and lacking in nutrient-rich options like greens, fish, nuts, and seeds.

To make sure you meet your RDAs for magnesium (420 mg per day for men, 320 mg per day for women), make sure to include good food sources of magnesium in your diet like pumpkin seeds, spinach, almonds, salmon, dark chocolate, avocado, Swiss chard, and cashews. These are all on the keto diet food list and packed with nutrition.

Eating more magnesium-rich foods will help you feel a lot better. So get started today – your body will thank you!

Try adding these foods to your diet, and then let me know what you notice in your body. Go ahead and leave me a comment down below!

Up Next: -

• What is Transdermal Magnesium

• Calcium and Magnesium Absorption Basics

• 5 Subclinical Magnesium Deficiency Symptoms
   

Disclaimer: Our educational content is not meant or intended for medical advice or treatment.

Editor’s Note: This post has been updated for quality and relevancy.