Iron, copper, manganese, zinc all low
The second row of the chart: iron, copper, manganese and zinc
The pattern workbook groups the four trace minerals shown on the Analytical Research Labs chart and reads them as a deeper layer of metabolism than calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium.
The pattern workbook Eileen reads charts against calls iron, copper, manganese and zinc the second four minerals, and notes that they are shown on the Analytical Research Labs (ARL) hair chart. Patterns in these four trace minerals are grouped and represent a deeper layer of metabolism. When a chart carries a Four Lows pattern on calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium and also carries Four Lows on the second four, the workbook reads the Four Lows pattern as being at a deep level.
ARL's Glossary defines trace minerals as copper, zinc, manganese, chromium, selenium, iron, cobalt, molybdenum, lithium and silicon, and defines "layers of metabolism" this way: "On successive tests, different layers of metabolism are revealed." The Four Lows pattern on the first row uses ARL cutoffs of calcium 40, magnesium 6, sodium 25 and potassium 10 mg%.
| Mineral | Trace Elements ideal | ARL figure | Low reading to note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iron | 2.2 mg% (since 1999; 2.8 in 1985-1993) | 3.5 mg% (case material) | Around 1.0 mg% is common in slow oxidation (ARL) |
| Copper | 2.5 mg% | 2.5 mg% (normal female tissue) | Below 1.0 mg% reads as hidden copper (ARL) |
| Manganese | 0.15 mg% | 0.04 mg% (case material) | Below 0.03 mg% reads as deficiency (hair-test thyroid indicators) |
| Zinc | 20 mg% (normal 15 to 22) | 20 mg% | Below 12 mg% is absolute deficiency (Watts) |
TEI derives each ideal as the mean of its reference range, and states that the mean "may vary slightly from one laboratory to another." ARL builds its ranges on an ideal standard of health rather than an average one, and its iron and manganese figures here come from case material.
Copper is the one mineral in this group where a low hair reading carries an opposite reading. ARL states that a copper level below 1.1 mg% "in the majority of cases, indicates a decreased ability to release excessive copper from storage depots," and reads a level below 1.0 mg% as hidden copper toxicity. The copper is held in the liver, brain, kidney and bone and does not reach the hair.
ARL ties copper binding to the adrenals: ceruloplasmin, the protein that binds and transports most of the body's copper, is made in the liver under adrenal stimulation. Two of its hidden-copper indicators, potassium below 3 to 4 mg% and Na/K below 2, can sit on the same chart as a first-four Four Lows.
Iron. ARL records that low hair iron "does not necessarily indicate anemia," that levels around 1.0 mg% are common and most often seen with slow oxidation, and that taking iron tablets will not necessarily raise the hair level. TEI's sample protocol (1989) names rusty scissors as a source of iron contamination.
Manganese. Watts records that tissue manganese is directly related to dietary availability and that "manganese deficiency appears to be as prevalent as iron deficiency." Calcium, phosphorus, soy protein, phytate and tannin hinder its absorption, and the tannin in tea leaves its manganese "virtually unavailable."
Zinc. Watts calls hair zinc "one of the best methods for determining long-term nutritional zinc status," because blood zinc is held steady at the expense of tissue. Two ARL confounders push the zinc reading up: cadmium and a zinc loss into the hair. A low zinc is therefore read beside the cadmium level.
Each of the four activates enzymes, as Watts (Trace Elements) records:
ARL's Fatigue Document lists trace element deficiencies of zinc, manganese, copper, iron and chromium as one of its six hair indicators of a fatigue trend, beside the four-low electrolyte pattern and an Na/K below 2.5.
Watts records that TEI commonly finds low manganese with hypoglycemia, hypothyroidism, adrenal insufficiency and diabetes trends. ARL's diabetes-trend hair markers include low chromium, zinc and manganese, alongside an Na/K below 1.5.
Watts (Trace Elements) classifies iron and manganese as stimulatory minerals and zinc and copper 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. ARL gives three reasons to supplement iron: to raise a low sodium, to raise a low oxidation rate, and to lower an elevated manganese. It also records that "manganese is an essential nutrient for enhancing low sodium levels" and that a craving for table salt is often a manganese deficiency.
TEI's 1993 retention table shows the same link from the gland side. Thyroid and anabolic adrenal cortical activity increase retention of sodium, potassium, phosphorus, iron and manganese, and increase excretion of copper. Low sodium and potassium on the first row and low iron and manganese on the second row are on the same side of that table.
The first four come first: calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium each against its ideal, to confirm a first-row Four Lows. Then the second row: iron against 2.2 to 3.5 mg%, copper against 2.5, manganese against 0.04 to 0.15, zinc against 20.
A copper below 1.0 mg% is read as hidden copper before it is read as low. A zinc is read beside cadmium, and an iron beside the sample notes. Then the Zn/Cu ratio against 8 and the Fe/Cu ratio against Trace Elements' 0.9.
Iron, copper, manganese and zinc, the trace minerals shown on the Analytical Research Labs hair chart after calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium.
The workbook reads it as a Four Lows pattern at a deep level, because it reads the second four as a deeper layer of metabolism than the first four.
Not necessarily. ARL reads hair copper below 1.0 mg% as often indicating a hidden copper toxicity, meaning copper held in storage organs and not released to the hair.
ARL states that low hair iron does not necessarily indicate anemia, and that levels around 1.0 mg% are common with slow oxidation.
A full hair tissue mineral analysis reports iron, copper, manganese and zinc beside the four macrominerals, with the Zn/Cu and Fe/Cu ratios, so both Four Lows patterns can be read together.
Published 2026-10-26 · Updated 2026-10-26
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.
