Lab tests for potassium levels

[Guest guest]

> >>Anyway...my suggestion: how is your POTASSIUM level?<<

>

> That was always checked when I went to the doctor for this too, and it was

fine. I was on Potassium sparing diuretics so my guess is the imbalance

started there.

>

> *Artistic Grooming * Hurricane, WV

,

When labs run blood tests for magnesium levels, they're testing for

intercellular magnesium, which is the part in the serum. However, 99% of

the body's magnesium is stored intracellularly. So the standard lab test is

only reporting on the 1% of magnesium that is not in the cell, and thus it

really doesn't give an accurate reflection of the magnesium levels. It is

possible to do a test on the intracellular component, but it's very

expensive and requires a specialized lab.

I don't know about potassium, but maybe most of it is also intracellular,

and thus the standard test wouldn't be very accurate.

Winona, you seem to be knowledgeable about lab tests. I just read about

this. Could you confirm if I'm reporting this correctly?

Water retention is listed as a potassium deficiency symptom in my

Nutritional Balancing book.

Lynn

Lynn