Magnesium: The First Thing to Try

I've said it before, but maybe not strongly enough: Magnesium is amazing! If you're a label-checker, you might have the idea that it's not so important (since magnesium content is almost never listed), but I can tell you from personal experience that it can be the difference between feeling normal and having uncontrollable tension, anxiety, panic attacks, intermittent vision problems, and spasms that keep you (and maybe even your spouse) up at night.

About 75% of Americans don't get their minimum recommended daily allowance (RDA) of magnesium. In addition to anxiety-related problems, this can also cause depression, migraines, PMS, lethargy, and heart disease, and a lot more trouble. Some form of magnesium deficiency is responsible for roughly 150 thousand deaths a year in the US alone! So let me tell you, getting enough magnesium is important!

For someone with autism, it's even more important to get enough because they seem to need more magnesium than non-autistic individuals. In fact, a therapy combining magnesium with vitamin B6 has been shown to be effective for treating (but not curing) autism.

How much is enough? For an adult male, somewhere around 400 mg should be OK. Females need a little less, maybe around 350 mg. For children, the RDA is 80 mg from 1 to 3 years old, 130 mg from 4 to 8, and 240 mg from 9 to 13. But as I've said, children with autism may need more. Excess magnesium works as a laxative, so that's a good way to gauge how much a particular individual is able to absorb.

A good magnesium supplement (one using magnesium citrate) might be a good idea to have on hand, but you should also try to get enough magnesium in your diet. I've made up a little list of some foods I like that are pretty high in magnesium.

cup of peanut butter = 397 mg
cup of buckwheat flour = 301 mg
cup of peanuts = 257 mg
head of cabbage = 189 mg
cup of spinach = 156 mg
cup of black beans = 120 mg
cup of oats = 112 mg
cup of coconut milk = 104 mg
cup of pinto beans = 86 mg
cup of kidney beans = 80 mg
can of tuna = 53 mg
medium potato = 48 mg
cup of squash = 43 mg
can of sardines = 36 mg
tbsp of molasses = 35 mg
tbsp of cocoa = 27 mg

And remember that although wheat and dairy are good sources as well, people on the autism spectrum might want to avoid these foods for reasons I've talked about before. That's why I left them off of the list. Here's a somewhat flexible daily menu I made up for myself that adds up to around 400 mg of magnesium.

• 2/3 cup buckwheat flour or 1/2 cup peanut butter = 200 mg


• 1 cup black beans or 1 1/2 cups pinto beans = 120 mg


• 1/3 cup spinach or 1 cup squash or 1 medium potato or 1/4 head of cabbage = 50 mg


• 1 tbsp molasses or 1 tbsp cocoa = 30 mg

Of course, you'll want to design a diet to fit your own personal needs and preferences. The USDA National Nutrient Database is an awesome reference for this sort of thing. You can look up a nutrient to see which foods have the most or look up a food to see what nutrients it has. Very handy!

It really would be convenient if the problems associated with autism could be treated with a pill. But despite what some doctors would have you believe, they can't. Luckily a lot of problems can be fixed with good old-fashioned diet, exercise, and sunlight! I know it's not easy to keep track of all that stuff, but it's worth it. Good luck to you and yours! Hang in there!