Analysis of Magnesium Contents in Commonly Consumed Foods and Evaluation of its Daily Intake in Korean Independent-Living Subjects

Abstract

Magnesium, an element involved in a variety of biochemical and physiological processes in the human body, is closely linked to maintaining health and preventing disease. Even so, studies on the status of magnesium intake have never been conducted sufficiently since only recently a dietary reference intake value was proposed, and data on magnesium contents in food items have always been insufficient. Therefore, in this study, we selected 366 food items commonly consumed by Korean people and then analyzed their magnesium content with inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. With these results, we evaluated daily magnesium intake in 239 healthy adult males and females. Using these 366 values based on magnesium content measurements, we evaluated the status of magnesium intake by our participants and found that the average daily magnesium intake was 279.2 mg, 90.4% of the recommended intake (RI). The results also showed that the magnesium intake by 54.8% of the subjects was lower than the estimated average requirement. In addition to this, the magnesium intake by 45.2% of the cohort was less than 75% of the RI. As such, a high percentage of the subjects showed inappropriate magnesium intake.

Evaluation of Magnesium Intake and Its Relation with Bone Quality in Healthy Young Korean Women

“…Dietary Mg intake evaluation studies have reported that the daily Mg intake was 259.1 mg for 139 adult females aged 30-94 years [6]. In our previous study, we also reported that the daily Mg intake was 232.1 mg for females aged 19-29 years, 246.5 mg for 30-49 years, and 245.7 mg for 50-64 years.…”

“…A study assessing the Mg intake status in Spain showed that the daily intake was 256.1 mg for 1,674 females aged 25 to 60 years [19]. In South Korea, daily Mg intake was 259.1 mg for 139 females aged 30 to 94 years [6] and, in the female age group of 19-29 years, daily average Mg intake was 232.1 mg [9]. As such, Mg intake is insufficient in many countries.…”

“…Results of the dietary intake survey were analyzed in terms of nutrient intakes using Can-Pro 3.0 (Korean Nutrition Society). Mg intakes were calculated using Mg contents databases produced by previous studies [6] and the food composition table of the National Rural Living Science Institute, Korea [10].…”

“…Mg in nuts, legumes, and cereals are sufficiently high, while it is relatively low in meats, fish, milk, and fat [6,7]. Mainly centered on plant foods, the Korean traditional diet appears to have sufficient Mg content.…”

Mineral and Trace Elements Content in 30 Accessions of Tomato Fruits (Solanum lycopersicum L.,) and Wild Relatives (Solanum pimpinellifolium L., Solanum cheesmaniae L. Riley, and Solanum habrochaites S. Knapp & D.M. Spooner)

“…The results obtained clearly separated S. lycopersicum cultivars from S. pimpinellifolium, S. cheesmaniae, and S. habrochaites accessions. It is necessary to emphasize a great variability of mineral and trace element content between these different tomato species, specially in Na, K, Fe, Cu, and Zn levels, although these values were in the range of other tomatoes (varieties belonging to S. lycopersicum) previously cited in literature [23][24][25][26][27].…”