Purslane ( Portulaca oleracea) and other foods containing magnesium . In a letter to the British medical journal Lancet some years ago, a British biochemist with MS said that supplemental magnesium by itself worked better for him than all other supplemental vitamins and minerals. He took 375 milligrams a day. (The Daily Value is 400 milligrams.) This is just one man’s story–an anecdote–even though it comes from a biochemist and was printed in a respected journal. Still, from my point of view, it means that purslane and other sources of magnesium are worth trying. I know I would try them if I had MS. If you’d like your magnesium from an herbal source, purslane is the herb richest in this mineral, at nearly 2 percent on a dry-weight basis, followed by poppy seeds, cowpeas and spinach. I steam purslane like spinach and eat it raw in salads. A heaping serving of steamed greens could provide as much magnesium as the biochemist took. So would eight ounces of fresh greens. If you’d like your magnesium from a herbal source, purslane is the herb richest in this mineral, at nearly 2 per cent on a dry-weight basis, followed by poppy seeds, cowpeas and spinach. I steam purslane like spinach and eat it raw in salads. A heaping serving of steamed greens could provide as much magnesium as the biochemist took. So would eight ounces of fresh greens.