Two macrominerals high, two low
Six ways to split four minerals into two high and two low
The pattern workbook reads most two-high, two-low charts as slow oxidation with a secondary alarm reaction, and names one pairing that reads closer to a fast pattern.
The pattern workbook Eileen reads charts against defines this pattern as two macrominerals high and two low. It states that most variants indicate slow oxidation with a secondary alarm reaction, and that low calcium and sodium with high magnesium and potassium may be closer to a burned-out fast oxidizer pattern, or fast oxidation with a low sodium/potassium (Na/K) ratio.
The workbook defines a secondary alarm reaction in its Four Lows entry as an exhaustion stage of stress, or a slow oxidation rate, followed by an alarm reaction. The macromineral ideals are calcium 40 mg% (Analytical Research Labs, ARL) to 60 mg% (Trace Elements, TEI), magnesium 6, sodium 25 (ARL) to 24 (TEI), and potassium 10 mg%.
Four minerals split into two high and two low in six ways. When one mineral is above its ideal and another is below, the ratio between them is fixed above or below the ratio of their ideals. On ARL ideals, each pairing fixes these ratios:
| High | Low | Ca/K (ideal 4) | Na/Mg (ideal 4.17) | Other ratios fixed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calcium, magnesium | Sodium, potassium | Above 4 | Below 4.17 | - |
| Sodium, potassium | Calcium, magnesium | Below 4 | Above 4.17 | - |
| Calcium, sodium | Magnesium, potassium | Above 4 | Above 4.17 | Ca/Mg above 6.67; Na/K above 2.5 |
| Magnesium, potassium | Calcium, sodium | Below 4 | Below 4.17 | Ca/Mg below 6.67; Na/K below 2.5 |
| Calcium, potassium | Magnesium, sodium | Open | Open | Ca/Mg above 6.67; Na/K below 2.5 |
| Magnesium, sodium | Calcium, potassium | Open | Open | Ca/Mg below 6.67; Na/K above 2.5 |
"Open" means the levels alone do not set the ratio; the actual numbers decide it. TEI's ratio ideals are Ca/K 4.2, Na/Mg 4, Ca/Mg 7 and Na/K 2.4.
ARL's Stress Document (1988) places a chart by its two oxidation ratios. Ca/K below 4 with Na/Mg above 4.17 is the alarm stage, fast oxidation. Ca/K above 4 with Na/Mg below 4.17 is the exhaustion stage, slow oxidation. Both above, or both below, is the resistance stage, mixed oxidation. In the Stress Document's stage table, an Na/K below 2.5 alone also meets the exhaustion criterion; its text describes resistance as an Na/K below 2.5 and flags exhaustion below 2.0.
Trace Elements describes the first two shapes in its own terms. Its Slow Metabolic Type 1 has calcium and magnesium above the mean with phosphorus, sodium and potassium below it, "almost completely opposite to that of the fast metabolizer" (Sept-Oct 1989). Its Fast Metabolic Type 4 is the burnout stage, with both adrenal and thyroid activity reduced, and "can progress to a Parasympathetic or Slow Metabolic Type 1 pattern" (March-April 2020). Fast Metabolic Type 4 is the closest Trace Elements counterpart to the burned-out fast oxidizer the workbook compares with the magnesium and potassium pairing.
ARL calls Ca/Mg the blood sugar ratio and Na/K the vitality ratio. Its Fatigue Document flags Ca/Mg below 3.3 or above 10 as a carbohydrate-intolerance trend, and states that when Na/K is below 2.5, "fatigue is always present to some degree," a fatigue trend. ARL's Ca/Mg trend table reads 3.3 to 10 as good, 10 to 12 and 3 to 3.3 as hypoglycemic-range trends, and above 12 as a diabetic-range trend. Four of the six pairings fix Na/K on one side of 2.5, so the pairing alone tells which side of that line the ratio falls on.
ARL's Fatigue Document also lists which levels move the oxidation rate: increased tissue sodium and potassium raise it, and increased tissue calcium and magnesium lower it. A pairing with one of each, such as calcium and sodium both high, carries one raising and one lowering mineral. The Ca/Mg and Na/K articles cover each ratio.
| Pattern | Macrominerals above ideal | Macrominerals below ideal |
|---|---|---|
| Four Highs | 4 | 0 |
| Three Highs | 3 | 1 |
| Two high, two low | 2 | 2 |
| Three Lows | 1 | 3 |
| Four Lows | 0 | 4 |
The Three Highs and Three Lows articles cover the patterns with 3 macrominerals on one side of ideal. On a retest, a change from one row of this table to another shows which mineral crossed its ideal. Each reading averages 2 to 3 months of growth (ARL Glossary).
The four levels come first: calcium against 40 to 60 mg%, magnesium against 6, sodium against 24 to 25 and potassium against 10, to identify which two are high. Then Ca/K and Na/Mg against 4 to 4.2 and 4 to 4.17 for the oxidation rate.
Next: Na/K against 2.4 to 2.5 and Ca/Mg against 6.67 to 7, which four of the six pairings set by arithmetic. Magnesium and potassium high with calcium and sodium low is read beside the fast-oxidation criteria.
Two of calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium above ideal and two below. The workbook places most variants in a slow oxidizer under a secondary alarm reaction.
Six. Each pairing fixes some ratios above or below their ideals by arithmetic, and leaves others to the actual numbers.
Magnesium and potassium high with calcium and sodium low. The workbook compares it with a burned-out fast oxidizer or fast oxidation with a low Na/K ratio.
It meets the definition, and on ARL ideals it is also the slow oxidation shape: Ca/K above 4 with Na/Mg below 4.17.
A full hair tissue mineral analysis reports calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium with the four ratios between them, which is what places a two-high, two-low chart.
Published 2026-11-01 · Updated 2026-11-01
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.
