Why blood tests may not accurately reflect your magnesium levels
Siddhartha Jana
Blood tests might not accurately represent magnesium levels in the body since the majority of magnesium is stored in bones and soft tissues, with only a small fraction detectable in the bloodstream.
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Magnesium is crucial for decreasing anxiety, improving sleep, relieving migraines, and maintaining heart health, with adults needing 300 to 420 mg per day.
Source: Canva
Even if blood tests show normal magnesium levels, a person may nevertheless be low in magnesium stored in tissues, leading to undiagnosed insufficiency symptoms.
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Although specialised procedures, such as magnesium retention tests or measuring magnesium in red blood cells, provide a more accurate picture of the body's magnesium levels, they are not widely employed.
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Magnesium is essential for over 300 biochemical functions, including neurone function, muscle contractions, and heart health, thus maintaining adequate amounts is key for overall health.
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Magnesium shortage typically develops slowly and without obvious symptoms, confounding diagnosis, although it can produce muscle cramps, exhaustion, and anxiety.
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A compensatory mechanism in the body may keep blood magnesium levels normal even while tissue magnesium levels are low, resulting in undetected magnesium insufficiency.
Source: Canva
Magnesium levels can be maintained by eating magnesium-rich foods such as spinach, almonds, quinoa, and dark chocolate, or by taking medically prescribed supplements.