An often-repeated claim by the promoters of Himalayan salt is that it contains 0.16 g/kg magnesium. The dietary recommendation is not to exceed 3750 mg of salt per day. The daily recommended intake of magnesium is 400 mg for adults.
To get your dietary intake of magnesium from Himalayan salt, you'd need to consume 667 times the safe amount of sodium! This is not advised.
Instead, you could eat the following foods. All have a higher concentration of magnesium than Himalayan salt. Even better, you can eat enough of these foods to easily achieve the recommended daily value of magnesium.
| Food | Magnesium (g/kg) | Times more magnesium than Himalayan salt |
|---|---|---|
| Almonds | 2.821919258 | 17.63699536 |
| Spinach | 0.687842819 | 4.299017619 |
| Cashews | 2.610275313 | 16.31422071 |
| Peanuts | 1.111130708 | 6.944566924 |
| Soy milk | 0.268964179 | 1.68102612 |
| Black beans | 0.529109861 | 3.30693663 |
| Edamame | 0.440924884 | 2.755780525 |
| Peanut butter | 1.731448763 | 10.82155477 |
| Bread | 0.821428571 | 5.133928571 |
| Avocado | 0.194006949 | 1.212543431 |
| Potato | 0.433365953 | 2.708537208 |
| Rice | 0.370376903 | 2.314855641 |
| Yogurt | 0.185188451 | 1.157427821 |
| Oatmeal | 1.285714286 | 8.035714286 |
| Kidney beans | 0.308647419 | 1.929046368 |
| Banana | 0.271186441 | 1.694915254 |
| Salmon | 0.30570756 | 1.910672251 |
| Raisins | 0.202825447 | 1.267659042 |
| Chicken | 0.258675628 | 1.616722674 |
| Beef | 0.235159662 | 1.469747885 |