Magnesium Requirement of Young Women Receiving Controlled Intakes

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Abstract
Metabolism studies were conducted on 30 young women to determine their magnesium balances when they received a controlled standardized diet. The daily magnesium intakes ranged from a low of 173 mg, through intermediate amounts of 230 and 250 mg, to higher intakes of 280 and 320 mg. Each subject was studied at one, two or three levels of magnesium intake for at least 10 days following an adjustment period when the standardized diet was supplied. At daily magnesium intakes of 173 to 191 mg the mean balance was -33 mg, and at intakes of 233 to 252 mg, the balance was -12 mg. With intakes of 274 to 282 mg mean retention was 7 mg, but 6 of the 16 subjects were in slight negative balance. Subjects receiving a daily intake of 320 mg had a mean daily retention of 28 mg. The relationship between the intake and the retention of magnesium for these women was significant at the 1% level. This was also true for a 5-day period when subjects consumed their self-chosen diets and the magnesium content of the estimated food intake was calculated from tables of food composition rather than by analysis. The balances obtained during the periods of controlled intake suggest that a daily magnesium intake of more than 280 mg and perhaps as much as 320 mg would have been needed to insure equilibrium in all of the young women in the present study. On the basis of reports in the literature and the results of this study, a magnesium requirement of about 300 mg daily seems indicated for women.