Three numeric lines
Calcium in the shell range, potassium under half its ideal, and calcium/magnesium past 13.5
The pattern workbook sets three numbers for this pattern. Together they force a calcium/potassium ratio above 31 (men) to 33 (women), in ARL's 16 to 32 sluggish thyroid band and into its 32 and above row.
The pattern workbook Eileen reads charts against defines the Stall as potassium less than 5, calcium greater than 165 in a woman and 155 in a man, and a calcium/magnesium (Ca/Mg) ratio greater than 13.5. ARL's hyperactivity document lists a Ca/K above 30 among its hidden copper indicators, and these three lines force a Ca/K above 31.
The potassium ideal is 10 mg% at both Analytical Research Labs (ARL) and Trace Elements, so a potassium under 5 mg% is under half of ideal. The calcium ideal is 40 mg% (ARL) to 60 mg% (Trace Elements, since 2008). A calcium of 165 mg% is about 4.1 times the ARL ideal and 2.75 times the Trace Elements ideal, and Trace Elements' acceptable calcium range is 22 to 97 mg%.
The workbook uses the same two figures for the calcium shell: a calcium above 200 mg%, which can also be present at a lower level, above 165 in women and 155 in men. Every Stall chart therefore carries a calcium in the shell range.
The workbook's calcium shell mechanism is the one for biounavailable calcium: sodium and potassium keep calcium and magnesium in solution in the blood, and when they fall too low in the tissues, calcium and magnesium precipitate. The workbook defines biounavailable calcium as calcium above 100 mg% with magnesium above 9 mg%. ARL's Glossary of Terms defines bio-unavailability as a mineral present but not usable, causing deficiency and excess symptoms at the same time.
A calcium/potassium (Ca/K) ratio is calcium divided by potassium. With calcium above 165 and potassium below 5, the Ca/K is above 33; with calcium above 155 and potassium below 5, above 31. The Ca/K ideal is 4 (ARL) to 4.2 (Trace Elements), so the Stall's Ca/K is at least seven times ideal.
ARL's trend table in "Ratios and Their Meaning" reads a Ca/K of 16 to 32 as a sluggish thyroid trend with a 50 to 75 percent energy loss, and 32 and above as a severe low thyroid trend with a 75 percent or greater energy loss. ARL reads Ca/K as the cellular effect of thyroid hormone rather than the hormone level, and records that potassium sensitizes the tissues to thyroid hormone.
ARL's 1987 blood sugar document lists slow oxidation, especially with potassium below 5.0 mg% or a Ca/K higher than 100, as a hypoglycemia trend. The Stall's potassium line is the same 5.0. ARL's "Understanding a High Sodium/Potassium Ratio" adds that hidden copper toxicity must be considered if potassium is less than 4 mg% or calcium is over about 80 mg%, and every Stall chart is far over 80 mg% calcium.
Trace Elements records that copper increases the tissue retention of calcium, and ARL's Copper Elimination document reads the calcium level as an indicator of the amount of copper being stored.
The Ca/Mg ideal is 6.67 (ARL) to 7 (Trace Elements, 2010), so 13.5 is about twice the ideal. ARL's trend table reads a Ca/Mg of 12 and above as a diabetes trend. Trace Elements raised its insulin threshold from a Ca/Mg above 12 (1988 to 1989) to above 14 (1993 and 2004), with above 13 marking increased parathyroid activity; its 2004 newsletter calls a Ca/Mg above 14 a strong indication of hyperinsulinism and above 30 a marked increase in insulin production. Trace Elements' 1993 endocrine table also reads increased parathyroid activity from a Ca/P above 3.0, a Ca/Mg above 13 and a Ca/K above 4.2.
The ratio line also caps magnesium. With calcium at 165 mg%, a Ca/Mg over 13.5 needs magnesium below 12.2 mg%; with calcium at 155 mg%, below 11.5 mg%. The magnesium ideal is 6 mg% at both labs.
Trace Elements' Slow Metabolic Type 1 profile describes calcium and magnesium above the mean with phosphorus, sodium and potassium below it, and records that parathyroid hormone increases calcium and magnesium absorption while decreasing renal reabsorption of phosphorus, sodium and potassium. The same profile lists elevated Ca/K above 4.2 and elevated Ca/Mg above 7 among its reduced-thyroid ratios.
| Line | Stall value | Ideal | Literature reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Potassium | Under 5 mg% | 10 mg% | Hypoglycemia trend with slow oxidation (ARL, 1987) |
| Calcium | Over 165 (women), 155 (men) mg% | 40 (ARL) to 60 (Trace Elements) mg% | Calcium shell range (pattern workbook) |
| Ca/K | Over 31 to 33 (forced) | 4 to 4.2 | Sluggish to severe low thyroid trend (ARL) |
| Ca/Mg | Over 13.5 | 6.67 to 7 | Diabetes trend above 12 (ARL); parathyroid above 13, insulin above 14 (Trace Elements) |
A hair tissue mineral analysis is a screening test for nutritional and toxic-element patterns. It reports tissue mineral levels and ratios; it is not a diagnosis, it does not establish a cause, and it does not measure what is circulating in blood today. Each mineral reading reflects roughly 2 to 3 months of hair growth, and a retest 3 to 5 months later shows the direction of change. Where the laboratory literature describes a trend, that trend belongs to the mineral pattern rather than to any person reading about it.
Calcium comes first, against the 165 (women) and 155 (men) lines, then potassium against 5 mg%, then the Ca/Mg against 13.5. All three lines have to be met on one chart.
Next: the Ca/K, which those lines put above 31, the magnesium against 9 mg% for biounavailability, the copper level and the Zn/Cu ratio against 8, and the oxidation rate from Ca/K and Na/Mg.
Potassium less than 5, calcium greater than 165 in a woman or 155 in a man, and a calcium/magnesium ratio greater than 13.5, all on the same test.
The workbook uses the same 165 and 155 figures for the lower calcium shell line in women and men. Above 200 mg% the calcium shell applies to both.
Above 31 to 33, at least seven times the 4 to 4.2 ideal. ARL reads a Ca/K of 32 and above as a severe low thyroid trend.
ARL reads 12 and above as a diabetes trend. Trace Elements reads a Ca/Mg above 13 as increased parathyroid activity and above 14 as a strong indication of hyperinsulinism.
A full hair tissue mineral analysis reports calcium, magnesium and potassium beside the Ca/K and Ca/Mg ratios, which are the four readings that confirm the Stall.
Published 2026-11-11 · Updated 2026-11-11
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.
