Selennium/Magnesium Testing - suggestions please

[Sunflower535]

Has anyone on here had there magnesium/selennium tested.

I am currently taking supplements for both but was thinking maybe I should have them tested too - to make sure I am not supplementing unneccessarily. Where would you advise getting them tested.

Your help is much appreciated.

[Regenallotment Ambassador]

hello,

greygoose explained to me early on that testing magnesium is pretty pointless and won’t necessarily tell you your actual levels. I’ve tagged her in the hope she can explain why.

My GP tested Selenium for me, I’d been supplementing 200mcg for a year and was over range with no symptoms. 3 months off it and it had come back into range. I don’t take it now, just eat a few Brazil bits here and there (in the hope that some might be grown on selenium rich soil).

Hubby took selenium too (he takes a roulette approach to pinching my supplements ) and got the most awful smelly breath. So got a telling off!

[Sunflower535 in reply to Regenallotment]

Thanks for your reply. I have only started both recently so hopefully I'm okay at the minute. Nothing is simple is it. I will research into where to get selenium tested then. My GP would never do it.

[Regenallotment Ambassador in reply to Sunflower535]

My tip for getting GP to do it was to say I’d been taking it for some time and I didn’t know if I was reaching toxicity, she was great and tested that and zinc and all the usual ones. Wouldn’t do it again mind you!

[Sunflower535 in reply to Regenallotment]

It's hard enough for me to get speaking to a GP these days and when I do it's over the phone and they talk over me so getting tested there won't happen. I'm trying to avoid them at all costs. Good to know that toxicity can happen so thanks for that.

[greygoose in reply to Sunflower535]

Toxicity can happen with selenium, and it shouldn't be taken continually, but you should stop from time to time and take a break. Also, you need to be taking the correct form of selenium. helvella explains about selenium here:

helvella - Selenium Document

A few notes about selenium.

helvella.blogspot.com/p/hel...

Magnesium is different. It's water soluble so if your kidneys are working correctly, any excess should be excreted. The body's aim with magnesium is to keep blood levels optimal, so if you're low on magnesium it will 'steal' it from other organs and bones to keep the blood levels up. So, even if your blood test says you're at the top of the range, you can still be deficient. And most people are deficient because, due to modern farming methods, soils are depleted and we don't get as much as we should from our diets. So, just take some and don't bother about testing.

[Sunflower535 in reply to greygoose]

Thank you. Much appreciated.