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What Foods Contain Magnesium? UK Portions, Ranked
The foods highest in magnesium are seeds and nuts: a 30 g handful of pumpkin seeds gives about 160 mg, more than half the UK daily reference intake, and Brazil nuts, almonds, cashews, chia and flaxseed are not far behind. Dark chocolate, wholegrains, pulses, spinach and oily fish fill in the rest, and dairy, bananas and avocado contribute smaller amounts that add up across a day. The UK reference nutrient intake is 300 mg a day for men and 270 mg for women, and most people who fall short do so because the foods on this list, wholegrains, nuts, seeds, pulses and greens, are the ones a convenience diet drops first.1 The table gives UK portions in milligrams, then per 100 g for comparison, and the rest of the page turns it into a day's eating.
- Richest per portion: pumpkin seeds, Brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, flaxseed, chia, almonds, cashews
- Everyday carriers: wholemeal bread, oats, brown rice, quinoa, beans and lentils, spinach, jacket potato, dark chocolate
- Smaller but frequent: milk, yoghurt, bananas, avocado, oily fish, tap water in hard-water areas
- Target: 300 mg a day for men, 270 mg for women; labels use 375 mg
- Absorption: around a third of what you eat, less from very high-fibre meals
Foods highest in magnesium, per UK portion
Approximate figures from UK food composition data and typical products. Percentages are of the 375 mg label reference value.
| Food | Portion | Magnesium | % of 375 mg | Per 100 g |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pumpkin seeds | 30 g (a small handful) | 160 mg | 43% | 530 mg |
| Brazil nuts | 30 g (about 6 nuts) | 110 mg | 29% | 375 mg |
| Sunflower seeds | 30 g | 100 mg | 27% | 325 mg |
| Quinoa, cooked | 150 g | 95 mg | 25% | 64 mg |
| Chia seeds | 25 g (2 tablespoons) | 85 mg | 23% | 335 mg |
| Almonds | 30 g (about 20 nuts) | 80 mg | 21% | 270 mg |
| Flaxseed, ground | 20 g (2 tablespoons) | 80 mg | 21% | 390 mg |
| Cashews | 30 g | 75 mg | 20% | 250 mg |
| Black beans, cooked | 150 g | 70 mg | 19% | 47 mg |
| Dark chocolate, 70 to 85% | 30 g (3 squares) | 65 mg | 17% | 230 mg |
| Brown rice, cooked | 150 g | 65 mg | 17% | 43 mg |
| Edamame beans, cooked | 100 g | 60 mg | 16% | 60 mg |
| Wholemeal bread | 2 slices (80 g) | 55 mg | 15% | 70 mg |
| Jacket potato with skin | 180 g | 50 mg | 13% | 28 mg |
| Peanuts | 30 g | 50 mg | 13% | 180 mg |
| Porridge oats, dry | 40 g | 45 mg | 12% | 110 mg |
| Spinach, boiled | 90 g | 40 mg | 11% | 45 mg |
| Chickpeas, tinned | 120 g | 40 mg | 11% | 35 mg |
| Lentils, cooked | 120 g | 40 mg | 11% | 35 mg |
| Tofu | 100 g | 35 mg | 9% | 35 mg |
| Banana | 1 medium (120 g) | 30 mg | 8% | 27 mg |
| Mackerel or salmon | 100 g | 30 mg | 8% | 30 mg |
| Soya milk, fortified | 200 ml | 30 mg | 8% | 15 mg |
| Peanut butter | 1 tablespoon (15 g) | 27 mg | 7% | 180 mg |
| Yoghurt, plain | 150 g | 25 mg | 7% | 17 mg |
| Avocado | half (80 g) | 23 mg | 6% | 29 mg |
| Milk | 200 ml | 22 mg | 6% | 11 mg |
| Dried figs | 30 g (2 figs) | 20 mg | 5% | 70 mg |
| Broccoli, boiled | 80 g | 15 mg | 4% | 19 mg |
How to reach 300 mg a day from food
Porridge made with milk and a tablespoon of ground flaxseed at breakfast is about 110 mg. Two slices of wholemeal bread at lunch with a tablespoon of peanut butter or a side of lentil soup adds 80 to 100 mg. A dinner of brown rice or a jacket potato with a bean, lentil or tofu element and a portion of greens adds another 100 to 150 mg. A square or two of dark chocolate or a small handful of almonds as a snack covers the rest. Nothing on that list is unusual; the shift is from white to wholegrain, and from meat-only to pulses a few times a week. The spinach and avocado on this list also top the one food-by-food analysis of glutathione, set out on what foods are high in glutathione. Our guide to what magnesium is good for explains why the intake matters. Foods that help you sleep puts these portions into an evening meal.
Is one banana a day enough magnesium?
No. A banana carries about 30 mg, a tenth of the daily target, which makes it a useful contributor and a poor sole source. The banana's reputation comes from potassium. For magnesium per bite, seeds, nuts and dark chocolate are five to twenty times richer; for magnesium per meal, wholegrains and pulses do more because the portions are larger.
What drink is high in magnesium?
Fortified soya milk at about 30 mg a glass, cow's milk at about 22 mg, and cocoa made with milk, which adds the magnesium in cocoa powder, about 25 mg per heaped teaspoon. Some mineral waters carry 50 to 100 mg per litre; the label will say. Tap water in hard-water areas of England supplies 10 to 30 mg per litre, soft-water areas almost none. Tea and coffee contain small amounts and do not block absorption; the caffeine myth comes from a slight increase in urinary losses that a normal diet covers. Green smoothies with spinach, oats, nut butter and a banana are the richest "drink" most people can make at home.
Are eggs high in magnesium?
No. A medium egg has about 6 mg. Eggs are a good source of several nutrients, but magnesium is not one of them, and the "two eggs a day" questions that circulate about every nutrient get the same answer here.
Why you absorb only part of what you eat
Around 30 to 40% of dietary magnesium is absorbed, less when intake is high and more when the body is short, which is one way it regulates itself.1, 2 Phytates in wholegrains and pulses and oxalates in spinach bind some of it, which is why the spinach figure above overstates what you get, and why a diet that gets its magnesium from a wide range of foods does better than one that leans on a single source. Soaking and cooking pulses, and fermenting grains as in sourdough, reduce phytates. The practical message: variety matters more than any one superfood, and the absorption penalty is one reason the reference intake is set where it is.
Can you get too much magnesium from food?
No. The kidneys excrete what the body does not need, and no upper limit is set for magnesium from food. The UK guidance of 400 mg a day applies to supplements, above which loose stools are likely; is it OK to take magnesium every day covers dose and who should not.
Food or supplement?
Food first, because it carries the fibre, potassium and other minerals alongside; a supplement tops up what the diet misses. It makes sense when a diet cannot carry enough, for example on a very low-calorie plan, with a gut condition that limits absorption, on long-term acid-suppressing medicines or diuretics, or when symptoms of running short persist despite a good diet; the signs of low magnesium sets them out. Whatever the form, the label's elemental magnesium per serving is the figure to compare; magnesium contributes to normal muscle function, normal functioning of the nervous system, normal energy-yielding metabolism and a reduction of tiredness and fatigue.
What we don't know
- Exact figures for your food. Soil, variety and processing change magnesium content, so every figure above is approximate.
- How much the phytate penalty matters in a mixed UK diet. Probably modest; measured mainly in single-food studies.
- Whether plant-based diets leave people short. They tend to be higher in magnesium, not lower, if wholegrains and pulses are in them.
Frequently asked questions
What one food is highest in magnesium?
Pumpkin seeds, at about 530 mg per 100 g and 160 mg in a 30 g handful. Brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, flaxseed and chia follow.
Which fruit is full of magnesium?
None is rich. Bananas, dried figs, avocado and blackberries carry 20 to 30 mg a portion, useful but a fraction of what seeds, nuts and pulses supply.
Which tea is high in magnesium?
None meaningfully; a cup of black or green tea has a few milligrams. Cocoa made with milk is the hot drink that counts.
How can I raise my magnesium quickly?
Add a handful of seeds or nuts, switch to wholegrain bread and rice, eat pulses a few times a week and spinach or chard. Food builds status over weeks; a supplement within the 400 mg guidance is reasonable alongside, and if symptoms persist, see your GP.
Sources
- Rosanoff A, Weaver CM, Rude RK. Suboptimal magnesium status in the United States: are the health consequences underestimated? Nutrition Reviews, 2012. PubMed 22364157.
- Pajuelo D, et al. Comparative clinical study on magnesium absorption and side effects after oral intake of microencapsulated magnesium and other forms. Nutrients, 2024. PubMed 39770988.
- Public Health England. McCance and Widdowson's The Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset (CoFID). gov.uk.
This article is general information, not medical advice. Figures are approximate and vary by product; if you have symptoms of low magnesium or a condition affecting absorption, see your GP.
