Are You Getting Enough Magnesium To Protect Your Brain Health?

Take my 2-minute quiz + my favorite magnesium-rich foods

Chia seeds aren’t just for pudding! Roasted Beet Salad with Walnut Parm excerpted from The Brain Health Kitchen Book by Annie Fenn, MD @Artisan Books 2023. Photograph by Alexandra Grablewski.

Hello everyone. I am writing to you from my standing desk (aka the kitchen counter) as my dog Orzo lays across my feet. He’s the kind of dog that always has to be touching his people. I am thankful for the extra layer of warmth—we had snow in the mountains this morning and there is a definite fall chill in the air.

Today we are talking about magnesium. You may have read that a high magnesium intake is associated with better brain health and that magnesium deficiency is more common than previously thought, especially in women. As I’ll go into below, this is all true! Not only that, the amount of magnesium the body needs to protect the brain from cognitive decline may be greater than the recommended daily allowance.

But is it possible to get enough magnesium through food? Or, is it best to cover your bases by taking a magnesium supplement, too? Since magnesium is such a key brain health nutrient, it’s worth sifting through the confusion to make sure you are getting enough. 

This post kicks off a new mini-series on brain health supplements. Besides magnesium, in upcoming posts I’ll cover new data about omega-3 fatty acids and curcumin (the active ingredient in turmeric). To refresh your knowledge on what we’ve already covered, revisit these articles:

• Should You Be Taking A Brain Health Supplement? 3 factors to help you decide

• Are Supplements That Promise Better Memory For Real?

Takeaways: Magnesium and the Brain

Love Nuts & Seeds? They are brain health superstars + key sources of magnesium. Excerpted from The Brain Health Kitchen Book, @Artisan Books 2023. Photograph by Alexandra Grablewski.