IS THERE A GREATER INCIDENCE OF MAGNESIUIM DEFICIENCY IN HUMANS TODAY BECAUSE MODERN DRINKING WATER TREATMENT PROCESSES TEND TO REMOVE THIS ELEMENT FROM WATER?

This is a debatable issue among scientists. Some believe there is a link between magnesium deficiency and certain human health problems including cardiovascular diseases. Magnesium is the fourth most abundant mineral in the body and is essential to good health. Approximately 50% of total body magnesium is found in bone. The other half is found predominantly inside cells of body tissues and organs. Only 1% of magnesium is found in blood, but the body works very hard to keep blood levels of magnesium constant.

Magnesium is needed for more than 300 biochemical reactions in the body. It helps maintain normal muscle and nerve function, keeps heart rhythm steady, supports a healthy immune system, and keeps bones strong. Magnesium also helps regulate blood sugar levels, promotes normal blood pressure, and is known to be involved in energy metabolism and protein synthesis. There is an increased interest in the role of magnesium in preventing and managing disorders such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. Dietary magnesium is absorbed in the small intestines. Magnesium is excreted through the kidneys.

Just what is water treatment in a basic form? Water purification is the process of removing contaminants from a raw water source. The goal is to produce water for a specific purpose with a treatment profile designed to limit the inclusion of specific materials; most water is purified for human consumption (drinking water). Water purification may also be designed for a variety of other purposes, including to meet the requirements of medical, pharmacology, chemical and industrial applications. Methods include, but are not limited to: ultraviolet light, filtration, water softening, reverse osmosis, ultra-filtration, deionization and powdered activated carbon treatment.

One belief is that large-scale commercial treatment of drinking water is increasing human magnesium deficiency. In nature, magnesium is commonly found in association with calcium-based minerals within rock and soil formations. Water that comes in contact with these minerals will dissolve both magnesium and calcium salts. High levels of these salts cause hardness in water and the water is often treated to reduce this hardness. Dissolved magnesium in drinking water may be an important source of magnesium where human diets are deficient in magnesium.

Modern water treatment processes that reduce hardness will remove most of the dissolved magnesium. Many food sources are highly variable in magnesium so magnesium deficiency is possible with some diets. However, scientific research results as to whether drinking water or other drinks that are magnesium-enriched are beneficial to general human health are not available at this time.