You can test your magnesium levels by purchasing a simple at-home finger prick test kit which is then analysed at an accredited lab. Forth offers a number of blood tests which include magnesium such as our Nutri-check test and Menopause Health blood test.
Magnesium deficiency is diagnosed via a blood test and sometimes a urine test. Your doctor may order the blood test if you have symptoms such as weakness, irritability, abnormal heart rhythm, nausea and/or diarrhoea, or if you have abnormal calcium or potassium levels.
A blood test is the most common way to find out your magnesium level. You may hear the term “total serum magnesium test.” The magnesium blood test is like other blood tests you may have had. A nurse or other health worker will clean your skin, insert a needle into a vein in your arm or hand, and take a sample of blood.
When should I get this test? Magnesium testing may be a follow-up to chronically low blood calcium and potassium levels. It also may be ordered when you have symptoms possibly due to a magnesium deficiency, such as muscle weakness, twitching, cramping, confusion, cardiac arrhythmias, and seizures.
Chronic magnesium deficiency is often associated with normal serum magnesium despite deficiency in cells and in bone; the response to oral supplementation is slow and may take up to 40 weeks to reach a steady state.
Refining or processing of food may deplete magnesium content by nearly 85%. Furthermore, cooking, especially boiling of magnesium-rich foods, will result in significant loss of magnesium. The processing and cooking of food may therefore explain the apparently high prevalence of low magnesium intake in many populations.
One of the biggest factors is the presence of calcium in the diet, as high calcium foods can reduce your magnesium absorption (and vice versa). Foods containing sugar and caffeine may have similar effects.
Mg is essential in the metabolism of vitamin D, and taking large doses of vitamin D can induce severe depletion of Mg. Adequate magnesium supplementation should be considered as an important aspect of vitamin D therapy.
Every organ in the body, especially the heart, muscles, and kidneys, needs the mineral magnesium. It also contributes to the makeup of teeth and bones.
Magnesium is involved in 80% of the body's metabolic reactions. One of its most important roles is in energy production in the body, so it's not surprising that low magnesium levels can result in fatigue or feeling tired.
The benefits of magnesium supplementation in healthy individuals aren't clear, but Dr. Nassar says that taking a magnesium supplement every day likely isn't unsafe for most people. Just be sure you're not taking too much magnesium. The maximum dietary allowance for most adults is around 400 mg or less.
Hypomagnesemia occurs with both loop diuretics (furosemide, bumetanide, torsemide, and ethacrynic acid) and thiazide diuretics (chlorothiazide, hydrochlorothiazide, indapamide, and metolazone).
Drinking Coffee – Drinking coffee lowers your calcium and magnesium levels. Many people can be dependent on drinking coffee, and that is understandable, seeing its wide range of benefits from keeping us awake, and raising our body's levels of antioxidants. However, caffeine also comes with a price.
Magnesium will not help you lose belly fat. You can't spot reduce fat. However, magnesium has a positive correlation with weight loss.
"The people at highest risk for low magnesium are those with diarrhea and other forms of malabsorption," like Crohn's disease and celiac disease, says Dr.
Generally speaking, you will find that magnesium supplements start to work after one week of using them. After one week of regular magnesium supplementation, individuals may experience benefits such as improved energy levels, reduced muscle cramps, better sleep quality, and reduced anxiety.
The research team took these facts into account from previous studies that suggest that low magnesium levels could contribute to chronic inflammation and joint degenerative disease. Low-grade systemic inflammation may play an important role in the development and progression of osteoarthritis.