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More about Mineral Deficiency:
Definition Causes and symptoms Diagnosis Treatment Prognosis Prevention Resources |
The diagnosis of deficiencies in water, sodium, potassium, iron, calcium, and phosphate involve chemical testing of the blood plasma, urine, and red blood cells.
Iodine deficiency can be diagnosed by measuring the concentration of iodine in the urine. A urinary level greater than 0.05 mg iodine per gram creatinine means adequate iodine status. Levels under 0.025 mg iodine/g creatinine indicate a serious risk.
Normal blood serum magnesium levels are 1.2-2.0 mM. Magnesium deficiency results in hypomagnesemia, which is defined as serum magnesium levels below 0.8 mM. Magnesium levels below 0.5 mM provoke a decline in serum calcium levels. Hypomagnesemia can also result in low serum potassium. Some of the symptoms of hypomagnesemia, which include twitching and convulsions, actually result from the hypocalcemia. Other symptoms of hypomagnesemia, such as cardiac arrhythmias, result from the low potassium levels.
There is no reliable test for zinc deficiency. When humans eat diets containing normal levels of zinc (16 mg/day), the level of urinary zinc is about 0.45 mg/day, while humans consuming low-zinc diets (0.3 mg/day) may have urinary levels of about 0.150 mg/day. Plasma zinc levels tend to be maintained during a dietary deficiency in zinc. Plasma and urinary zinc levels can be influenced by a variety of factors, and for this reason cannot provide a clear picture of zinc status.
Selenium deficiency may be diagnosed by measuring the selenium in plasma (70 ng/mL) or red blood cells (90 ng/mL), where the normal values are indicated. There is also some interest in measuring the activity of an enzyme in blood platelets, in order to assess selenium status. This enzyme is glutathione peroxidase. Platelets are small cells of the bloodstream which are used mainly to allow the clotting of blood after an injury.
— Tom Brody, PhD
