Manganese: Food sources & Supplements

Food sources

Estimated average dietary manganese intakes in the U.S. range from 2.1-2.3 mg/day for men and 1.6-1.8 mg/day for women. People eating vegetarian diets and western diets emphasizing whole grains may have manganese intakes as high as 10.9 mg/day . Rich sources of manganese include whole grains, nuts, leafy vegetables, and teas. Foods high in phytic acid, such as beans, seeds, nuts, whole grains, and soy products, or foods high in oxalic acid, such as cabbage, spinach, and sweet potatoes, may slightly inhibit manganese absorption. Although teas are rich sources of manganese, the tannins present in tea may moderately reduce the absorption of manganese. The manganese content of some manganese-rich foods is listed in milligrams (mg) in the table below. For more information on the nutrient content of foods you eat frequently, search the USDA food composition database.

Food	Serving	Manganese (mg)
Pineapple, raw	1/2 cup, diced	1.28
Pineapple juice	1/2 cup (4 ounces)	1.24
Pecans	1 ounce	1.12
Almonds	1 ounce	0.74
Peanuts	1 ounce	0.59
Instant oatmeal (prepared with water)	1 packet	1.20
Raisin bran cereal	1 cup	1.88
Brown rice, cooked	1/2 cup	0.88
Whole wheat bread	1 slice	0.65
Pinto beans, cooked	1/2 cup	0.48
Lima beans, cooked	1/2 cup	0.48
Navy beans, cooked	1/2 cup	0.51
Spinach, cooked	1/2 cup	0.84
Sweet potato, cooked	1/2 cup, mashed	0.55
Tea (green)	1 cup (8 ounces)	0.41-1.58
Tea (black)	1 cup (8 ounces)	0.18-0.77

Supplements

Several forms of manganese are found in supplements, including manganese gluconate, manganese sulfate, manganese ascorbate, and amino acid chelates of manganese. Manganese is available as a stand-alone supplement or in combination products. Relatively high levels of manganese ascorbate may be found in a bone/joint health product containing chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine hydrochloride.

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