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Magnesium: the daily reference intake
EFSA sets an adequate intake of 350 mg a day for men and 300 mg for women, and does not raise it for pregnancy. The upper level of 250 mg applies to supplements only, which means a supplement can exceed the ceiling while food never does.
These are published population reference values, not a diagnosis and not a prescription. A reference intake describes what covers a healthy group; it cannot tell you your own status, and no page can. Pregnancy, chronic illness, medicines and malabsorption all change the picture — take those questions to a doctor, midwife, pharmacist or dietitian.
Magnesium by age, sex and life stage
This page carries the adult values. EFSA also publishes adequate intakes for each child age band; they are not reproduced here.
| Group | Reference value | Type | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men 19-50 | 350 mg | AI | |
| Women 19-50 | 300 mg | AI | |
| Men 51 and over | 350 mg | AI | |
| Women 51 and over | 300 mg | AI | |
| Pregnancy | 300 mg | AI | no increase over the adult female value |
| Breastfeeding | 300 mg | AI | no increase over the adult female value |
An adequate intake, not a requirement
EFSA could not derive an Average Requirement for magnesium from the available balance studies, so the values here are Adequate Intakes: the observed intake of apparently healthy European populations, taken as sufficient. That is a weaker kind of number than a Population Reference Intake, and it is worth knowing when a supplement label claims you are short.
The strangest upper level in the table
Most tolerable upper intake levels apply to total intake from every source. Magnesium is the exception: EFSA 250 mg upper level covers only magnesium from supplements and fortified food, and explicitly excludes what is naturally present in food and water.
The reason is mechanical. The adverse effect that defines the limit is osmotic diarrhoea from a bolus of readily soluble magnesium salts, which is what a tablet delivers. Magnesium bound in nuts, wholegrain and green vegetables arrives slowly and does not produce it. So a 400 mg supplement is above the ceiling while a diet supplying 400 mg is not.
Where a Nordic and Baltic diet gets it
Wholegrain is the quiet workhorse: rye bread, oats and buckwheat all carry meaningful magnesium, and refining removes most of it, which is why white bread and white rice sit near the bottom of the table. Pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, cashews and dark chocolate are the concentrated sources, and legumes and green vegetables fill in the rest.
Hard drinking water contributes a small amount that no food table captures, and it varies by region.
What magnesium is not
Magnesium is marketed for sleep, cramps, stress and restless legs more aggressively than the evidence supports. Correcting a genuine deficiency does resolve the symptoms it causes; taking a supplement without one is a different claim. Persistent cramps, palpitations or fatigue are reasons to see a clinician rather than to buy a tablet, because several of the causes are not nutritional at all.
The upper level
EFSA upper level for magnesium is unusual: 250 mg a day, and it applies ONLY to magnesium added to supplements and fortified foods, not to the magnesium naturally present in food and water. The endpoint is diarrhoea, which is why the food is exempt and the tablet is not.
Ordinary food against the 350 mg adequate intake for men
Top of this list: Pumpkin seeds, 178 mg in a 30 g serving (2 tbsp) — 51% of the 350 mg adequate intake for men. It would take about 2 of those to cover a full day from that one food, which is why a real diet spreads it across several rows.
| Food | Ordinary portion | Per portion | Share of the day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pumpkin seeds | 2 tbsp, 30 g | 178 mg | 51% |
| Hulled hemp seed | 2 tbsp, 20 g | 140 mg | 40% |
| Soybeans | a portion, cooked, 150 g | 129 mg | 37% |
| Mackerel | a fillet, 120 g | 116 mg | 33% |
| Whole-wheat pasta | a portion, cooked, 200 g | 108 mg | 31% |
| Black beans | a portion, cooked, 150 g | 105 mg | 30% |
| Sunflower seeds | 2 tbsp, 30 g | 97.5 mg | 28% |
| Buckwheat | a portion, cooked, 180 g | 91.8 mg | 26% |
| Wheat bran | 2 tbsp, 15 g | 91.7 mg | 26% |
| Oats | 50 g dry, 50 g | 88.5 mg | 25% |
| Cashews | a small handful, 30 g | 87.6 mg | 25% |
| Almonds | a small handful, 30 g | 81 mg | 23% |
Portion sizes are ordinary household servings chosen for this table, not official reference portions, and the shortlist is an editorial one: everyday foods eaten in this region rather than the highest per-100 g entries in the database. A raw per-100 g ranking would be topped by dried herbs, drink powders and fortified breakfast cereals, which answers a different question. The composition data is American, so where US fortification practice differs from European practice the row carries a dagger and the reason. For the full per-100 g ranking of a nutrient, the food-data section of this site publishes one.
For the full ranking of every food in the database by magnesium per 100 g, see foods highest in magnesium.
Sources: EFSA Dietary Reference Values · Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex XIII · USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy (food composition) · EFSA scientific opinion on dietary reference values for magnesium (2015) · Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex XIII · checked 2026-09-06
Frequently asked questions
How much magnesium a day?
EFSA adequate intake is 350 mg a day for adult men and 300 mg for adult women. There is no increase for pregnancy or breastfeeding.
Why is the magnesium upper level lower than the recommended intake?
Because the 250 mg upper level applies only to magnesium added in supplements and fortified foods, where a soluble bolus can cause diarrhoea. Magnesium naturally present in food and water is excluded from that limit.
Which foods are highest in magnesium?
Pumpkin and sunflower seeds, almonds and cashews, wholegrain rye and oats, buckwheat, legumes, dark chocolate and green vegetables. Refining removes most of the magnesium from grain.
See your own numbers, not the population average
TempoLife logs what you eat and adds it up, so you can compare a real week against the reference intake on this page instead of guessing.