Nearly half of US adults consume insufficient magnesium according to dietary surveys, yet their blood tests measuring less than 1% of the body’s magnesium stores may appear completely normal. This startling finding from recent research is prompting medical experts to reconsider how magnesium status should be assessed in clinical practice.
The discrepancy occurs because magnesium is primarily stored in bones (60%) and inside cells (38%), with only 1% circulating in blood serum. The body maintains tight control over blood magnesium levels by drawing from these internal reserves, masking true deficiency status. Current reference ranges, unchanged since 1974, were based on statistical distribution rather than clinical outcomes.
This hidden deficiency could have significant health implications, as magnesium plays crucial roles in over 300 enzymatic reactions, cardiovascular function, and metabolic processes. The research suggests clinicians may need to rely more heavily on clinical risk factors than laboratory values alone.
Read the full article on GMJ Newsroom.
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