The topic of supplements for kids is becoming increasingly popular, and various different nutrients are being linked to plenty of health outcomes. One nutrient I’ve been getting more questions about is magnesium and whether we should be giving our children a magnesium supplement. In this blog I wanted to share a little more about what magnesium is, why it’s important and whether your child needs a magnesium supplement.
For more about which nutritional supplements to offer your child, check out my blog.
What is magnesium?
Magnesium is a mineral which plays a role in many different processes and reactions within the body, which include:
- It helps to extract energy from our food
- Helps to maintain strong muscles
- Supports nervous system regulation
- Support our parathyroid glands, which produce hormones needed for bone health
Minerals are essential to have in our diets as our bodies do not produce them.
How much magnesium does my child need?
| Age | Recommended Intake (mg/day) |
| 0-3 months | 55 |
| 4-6 months | 60 |
| 7-9 months | 75 |
| 10-12 months | 80 |
| 1-3 years | 85 |
| 4-6 years | 120 |
| 7-10 years | 200 |
Source: BNF: https://www.nutrition.org.uk/media/1z2ekndj/nutrition-requirements-update.pdf
What happens if my child doesn’t have enough magnesium?
Magnesium deficiency is rare in healthy children. An insufficient intake of magnesium can cause symptoms such as nausea, weakness, twitching and cramping. If you have concerns over any deficiencies in your child’s diet, it’s important to speak to a doctor to be able to get appropriate, specialised support.
How can I ensure my child gets enough magnesium?
The best way to ensure your child is getting enough magnesium, is by offering a variety of foods from each of the food groups. Foods that are rich in magnesium include: wholegrains such as brown rice and seeded bread, some breakfast cereals and nuts and seeds – particularly pumpkin seeds and brazil nuts.
The table below shows how much magnesium is in certain foods:
| Food | Amount of magnesium (mg) | % of RDI (1-3years) |
| 2 brazil nuts | 41 | 48 |
| 1 heaped tsp almond butter | 40 | 47 |
| 2 x weetabix | 33.2 | 39 |
| 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds | 32.4 | 38 |
| 1 salmon fillet | 31 | 36 |
| 1 tbsp chia seeds | 30.8 | 36 |
| 250ml glass semi-skimmed milk | 27.5 | 32 |
| Quarter block of tofu | 26.7 | 31 |
| 2 tbsp cooked spinach | 24.5 | 29 |
| 5 cashew nuts | 24.3 | 29 |
| 1 average potato (boiled without skin) | 24.3 | 29 |
| 125g yoghurt pot | 23.8 | 28 |
| 2 tbsp porridge oats | 22.8 | 27 |
| 1 small banana | 21.6 | 25 |
| 1 small slice seeded bread | 19.2 | 23 |
| 40g cooked brown rice | 19.2 | 23 |
| 40g cooked wholewheat spaghetti | 18.4 | 22 |
| 1 tbsp baked beans | 12 | 14 |
| Quarter avocado | 9.5 | 11 |
| 1 boiled egg | 7 | 8 |
| 1 broccoli floret | 6.3 | 7 |
| 1 tbsp raisins | 5.8 | 7 |
Data from Nutritics
From the table, you can see that achieving your child’s daily magnesium intake through food is not too difficult. For a 1-3 year old, they could achieve the recommended intake for magnesium in just two meals:
- Breakfast: small banana with 1 x weetabix and semi-skimmed milk (53mg)
- Lunch: Small slice seeded bread with ¼ avocado (34mg)
Adding a sprinkling of mixed (ground for <5s) nuts and seeds, including pumpkin seeds and brazil nuts to yoghurt, porridge, cereal, smoothies and even to savoury pasta/curry sauces can add a great dose of magnesium, without changing the texture or flavour of the meal too!
Other meal ideas that provide a good source of magnesium:
- Yoghurt with almond butter and banana (~85mg)
- Spinach pesto made with brazil nuts and pumpkin seeds with wholewheat spaghetti (~82mg)
- Porridge cooked with semi skimmed milk, raisins and chia seeds (~73mg)
- Baked beans with potato and broccoli (~67mg)
- Weetabix topped with mixed nuts & seeds (~66mg)
- Brown rice with stir fried veg and salmon/tofu (~59mg)
- Eggy bread (seeded) with banana (~48mg)
Will a magnesium supplement help my child sleep better?
One of the reported benefits of magnesium is that it can improve sleep. As a parent with young children, who doesn’t want more sleep?! Magnesium plays a role in nervous system regulation and in mechanisms involved in relaxing the muscles, which is why there are reported improvements to sleep with a diet rich in magnesium.
However, there isn’t really a lot of evidence, particularly in children, to support the idea that taking magnesium supplements can make a meaningful difference to sleep. And as shown in the table above, it can be quite easy to get plenty of magnesium in your little one’s diet without the need for a supplement.
It’s worth noting that research around this area is ongoing and we might find evidence of its benefit in the future.
How much magnesium is too much?
Excess magnesium in the body from foods is excreted in the urine, so you don’t need to worry about ‘too much’ magnesium in your kids’ diet.
However, high intakes of magnesium from supplements can cause diarrhoea and abdominal cramps, so it is important to be aware of amounts, if you are choosing to buy supplements.
For adults, the NHS recommends not exceeding 400mg of magnesium from supplements per day. There are no recommendations for a safe upper intake for children.
Take home points
- Magnesium is an important nutrient that has a variety of different functions including helping to get energy from foods, supporting nervous system regulation and muscle health
- Foods that are rich in magnesium include wholegrains (brown rice/seeded bread), some breakfast cereals and nuts and seeds
- A magnesium supplement isn’t usually necessary and a varied and balanced diet is likely to provide the right amount of magnesium
- There is not currently any good evidence, particularly in children, that magnesium supplements are helpful or necessary
