Intracellular vs. Serum Vitamin Levels

The body is all about survival. Even on a cellular level.

The blood delivers nutrients to the cells. The cells are protective of the serum-- the blood. It's a complex balancing act.

At a time when I was in a pancreatic crisis or gall bladder attack, the veins in my legs began to fasciculate, or twitch. I supplemented some magnesium chloride to help with smooth muscle relaxation. However, I ended up with low potassium levels. How?

Magnesium and potassium are balanced in the body. As magnesium levels increase, it drags potassium levels up, as well. In fact, some people who are potassium deficient find it more successful to supplement magnesium than high amounts of potassium.

As I supplemented magnesium, my body began to pull extra potassium from my cells. There was not enough to complete the difference, hence low potassium blood levels.

But here's the kicker-- even though the next blood test showed that my blood potassium was normal, it did NOT mean that I had enough potassium in my body. The only thing is showed was the there was enough potassium in my blood serum, but had the potassium been replaced in the cells?

Sometimes these nutrients do not get replaced.

If calcium is pulled from bone cells to  maintain calcium levels in the blood and not replaced, osteoporosis will form.

The same type of situation can develop with any nutrient.

This is why it is important to determine the cellular levels of micronutrients as well as serum levels. The balance is complex-- and extremely important for health.

All this is considered "investigational". However, researchers are actively working to prove its value in clinical care. 



More Information:

Magnesium and Potassium supplementation
Magnesium
Blue Cross/Blue Shield-- Intracellular Micronutrient Analysis
Measurement of Intracellular Vitamin C levels