Fe/Cu under 0.7, Mn/Zn under 0.0015
Two trace mineral ratios below their cutoffs on the same chart
The pattern workbook pairs a low Fe/Cu with a low Mn/Zn. Both ratios put a stimulatory mineral over a sedative one.
The pattern workbook Eileen reads charts against defines a double low ratio on the second four minerals as an iron/copper (Fe/Cu) ratio less than 0.7 together with a manganese/zinc (Mn/Zn) ratio less than 0.0015. The workbook reads the pattern as an indicator of past trauma that often appears with the other trauma indicators, a calcium shell or a Four Lows pattern, and ranks it as deeper than a double low ratio on the first four minerals.
On the first four, the workbook's double low ratio is a low calcium/magnesium (Ca/Mg) ratio with a low sodium/potassium (Na/K) ratio (Na/K under 2.5 with Ca/Mg under about 4 in the workbook's double inversion), the combination ARL also calls a double inversion. The second-four version applies the same two-ratio test to iron, copper, manganese and zinc.
Trace Elements (TEI) sets the ideal Fe/Cu at 0.9 with an acceptable range of 0.2 to 1.6 (Nov-Dec 2010); its 1993 figure was 1.12. Analytical Research Labs does not use Fe/Cu among its interpretive ratios, so this ratio is read on TEI's figures alone. The workbook's 0.7 sits below TEI's 0.9 ideal and inside its acceptable range.
TEI's 2010 description: a low Fe/Cu points to iron deficiency and thyroid disturbance, and an elevated Fe/Cu to increased free-radical production. Its endocrine rule tables use the same ratio: Fe/Cu below 1.1 among the lowered-thyroid criteria (1993), Fe/Cu below 0.9 in the reduced-thyroid set (2000), and Fe/Cu above 2 among the increased-thyroid criteria. The iron/copper ratio article covers the high side.
Copper and iron interact in both directions. Copper is needed for ceruloplasmin to mobilize iron, and copper deficiency decreases iron elimination. In excess, copper competes with iron for absorption.
Neither laboratory publishes an Mn/Zn ratio in its ratio table, so the published element levels are the reference. Calculated from them:
| Basis | Manganese | Zinc | Mn/Zn |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trace Elements ideals | 0.15 mg% | 20 mg% | 0.0075 |
| ARL case-material figures | 0.04 mg% | 20 mg% | 0.002 |
| Manganese deficiency line, zinc at ideal | 0.03 mg% | 20 mg% | 0.0015 |
The workbook cutoff equals manganese at the 0.03 mg% deficiency line used in the hair-test thyroid indicators divided by zinc at its 20 mg% ideal. With zinc at 20 mg%, an Mn/Zn below 0.0015 means manganese below 0.03 mg%. A zinc reading above 20 mg% lowers the ratio further for the same manganese.
Watts records that "manganese deficiency appears to be as prevalent as iron deficiency," and that TEI commonly finds low manganese with hypoglycemia, hypothyroidism, adrenal insufficiency and diabetes trends. Zinc is one of manganese's antagonists: prolonged excess zinc produces deficiencies of chromium, copper, iron and manganese.
In both ratios the numerator is a stimulatory mineral and the denominator a sedative one. Watts (Trace Elements) classifies iron and manganese as stimulatory (sympathetic) minerals and copper and zinc as sedative minerals. ARL's Fatigue Document lists manganese among the minerals that raise the oxidation rate and copper and zinc among those that lower it.
TEI's 1993 retention table points the same way. Thyroid and anabolic adrenal cortical activity increase retention of iron and manganese and increase excretion of copper. Estrogen increases retention of copper and excretion of zinc, iron and manganese.
| Reading | Cutoff or ideal | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Fe/Cu | Below 0.7 (pattern); ideal 0.9, range 0.2 to 1.6 | Workbook; TEI 2010 |
| Mn/Zn | Below 0.0015 (pattern) | Workbook |
| Manganese | 0.15 mg% ideal; below 0.03 mg% deficiency | TEI; ARL |
| Zinc | 20 mg% ideal; below 12 mg% absolute deficiency | TEI and ARL; Watts |
| Copper | 2.5 mg% ideal; below 1.0 mg% hidden copper | TEI and ARL; ARL |
| Iron | 2.2 mg% (TEI since 1999); 3.5 mg% (ARL case material) | TEI; ARL |
The calcium shell the workbook pairs with this pattern is calcium above 200 mg%, or above 165 mg% in women and 155 mg% in men.
The four levels come first: iron, copper, manganese and zinc against their ideals, with copper checked against 1.0 mg% and zinc checked beside cadmium. Then Fe/Cu against 0.7 and Trace Elements' 0.9, and Mn/Zn against 0.0015.
Next: the first four. A first-four double low ratio (low Ca/Mg with low Na/K), a calcium shell above 200 mg%, or a Four Lows pattern on the same chart is read together with the second-four ratios.
An iron/copper ratio below 0.7 together with a manganese/zinc ratio below 0.0015, as the pattern workbook defines it.
Trace Elements uses 0.9 with an acceptable range of 0.2 to 1.6 (2010); its 1993 figure was 1.12. Analytical Research Labs does not use the ratio.
It equals manganese at the 0.03 mg% deficiency line divided by zinc at its 20 mg% ideal. At the Trace Elements ideals the ratio is 0.0075.
Yes. ARL reads copper below 1.0 mg% as copper held in storage. A low copper reading raises Fe/Cu, so stored copper does not show in the ratio.
A full hair tissue mineral analysis reports the four trace minerals and the Fe/Cu and Zn/Cu ratios, so a double low on the second four can be checked against the levels underneath it.
Published 2026-10-27 · Updated 2026-10-27
By Eileen Durfee — Practitioner, NBS (Nutritional Balancing Science), NASM-CPT; wellness educator, inventor and author.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Hair tissue mineral analysis is a screening test and is not diagnostic. This article is for educational purposes only. Wellness Shopping Online is operated by Nuco Enterprise Solutions LLC.
