Foods high in magnesium☆☆☆

Medical professionals, including dietitians, are just beginning to appreciate the role magnesium plays in acute and chronic illnesses and other disease states. Magnesium, a common electrolyte, is an important factor associated with cardiac arrhythmias, acute myocardial infarction, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, kidney stone formation, and the biochemical imbalances seen with the patient receiving dialysis. There may also be renal magnesium-wasting conditions related to immunosuppression medications for the transplant recipient.

Magnesium is proving to be a key ion in the regulation of vascular and smooth muscle tone. As a calcium antagonist, magnesium offsets and modulates the intracellular stimulatory effects of calcium on muscle and nerve tissue. More than half of the total body magnesium is found in bone, whereas the remainder is found intracellularly throughout the body.

Maintenance of normomagnesemia (healthy magnesium serum levels) is related to dietary intake plus effective intestinal and renal absorption and excretion factors. Patients with an altered magnesium status may have hypomagnesemia (low magnesium serum levels) or hypermagnesemia (high magnesium serum levels). Either condition may require diet modification and/or medication adjustments.

This handout was developed for patients with medical conditions that require either an increase or a decrease in their magnesium food sources. Because many of the listed food items contain significant amounts of phosphorus and potassium, patients following a modified magnesium diet need to work closely with their renal dietitian. The following patient education piece allows for customization of individual patient needs.