Macrominerals lower on the retest
A retest where one or more of the first four minerals comes down
The pattern workbook calls a fall in calcium, magnesium, sodium or potassium, with the rest unchanged, a pattern of its own and reads it as a sign of progress.
The pattern workbook Eileen reads charts against defines this retest pattern as a decrease in one or more of the macrominerals, calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium, on a retest, with the other macrominerals staying the same. It reads the pattern as an excellent sign of progress that always indicates a person is calmer and more in touch with feelings, and lists fatigue, low mood, constipation and joint pain as trends that can accompany it.
The rule that the other minerals stay the same separates this pattern from mixed movement. A retest where calcium falls and sodium rises is a different pattern. The workbook's mirror pattern is one or more macrominerals rising while the others remain the same.
A ratio moves in the same direction as its top mineral and the opposite direction to its bottom mineral. With only one mineral falling and the other three, and phosphorus, unchanged, the direction of every ratio is fixed:
| Mineral that falls | Ratios that fall | Ratios that rise |
|---|---|---|
| Calcium | Ca/K, Ca/Mg, Ca/P | - |
| Magnesium | - | Ca/Mg, Na/Mg |
| Sodium | Na/K, Na/Mg | - |
| Potassium | - | Ca/K, Na/K |
The ideals: Ca/K 4 (Analytical Research Labs, ARL) to 4.2 (Trace Elements, TEI), Na/Mg 4 (TEI) to 4.17 (ARL), Ca/Mg 6.67 (ARL) to 7 (TEI), Na/K 2.4 (TEI) to 2.5 (ARL), and Ca/P 2.5 (ARL) to 2.6 (TEI).
ARL reads calcium as an indicator of stored copper. It records that calcium tends to rise temporarily while copper is being eliminated, and that "a drop in one's calcium level is indicative of a reduction in copper storage," which it calls a favorable sign of progress. The workbook also defines a fall of at least 50% in shell calcium from the previous test, where a shell is calcium above 200 mg%, or above 165 mg% in women and 155 mg% in men.
A calcium fall lowers Ca/K, the thyroid ratio. ARL's oxidation math places Ca/K above 4 with Na/Mg below 4.17 in slow oxidation, so a falling calcium moves a slow chart's Ca/K toward 4. The calcium shell article covers the high-calcium side.
A sodium fall lowers both Na/K and Na/Mg. ARL describes how this happens when cadmium leaves: cadmium has an aldosterone-like effect and raises sodium, so as cadmium is eliminated, sodium drops, the oxidation rate slows and fatigue follows. ARL calls this sequence common in slow oxidizers carrying excess cadmium, with energy recovering as the program continues.
A sodium fall moves Na/K toward or below the 2.5 inversion line. ARL's Fatigue Document states that below 2.5, "fatigue is always present to some degree," and the ARL Stress Document places an Na/K below 2.5 in an exhaustion stage. The sodium/potassium ratio article covers that line.
A magnesium fall raises Ca/Mg and Na/Mg. ARL's Fatigue Document flags Ca/Mg above 10 as carbohydrate intolerance, and the workbook uses Ca/Mg above 9.5 in its double high ratio criterion (with Na/K over 5) and as a sympathetic dominance reinforcer. ARL records that magnesium and sodium are rarely lost through the hair, so false readings from loss are uncommon for either.
A potassium fall raises Ca/K and Na/K. ARL's hidden-copper indicators include potassium below 3 to 4 mg%, and the ARL Fatigue Document lists increased tissue sodium and potassium among the factors that raise the oxidation rate, so a potassium fall removes one of the factors that raise the rate.
Each hair reading averages 2 to 3 months of growth (ARL Glossary), and Eileen retests every 3 to 5 months. ARL's retest document records that the test and the way a person feels do not have to move together: a reading can look worse while the person feels better, and the opposite. Its stated practice is a written list of symptoms at the start, read back item by item at each retest.
The workbook also records the case where a falling-macromineral retest carries a slow or fast chart all the way into Four Lows. The months between retests article covers what to record in the interval.
The direction of each macromineral comes first: calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium against the previous chart, with the others unchanged. Then which ratios that fall moves: Ca/K, Na/Mg, Ca/Mg and Na/K against their ideals.
Next: calcium for a 50% fall from a shell level and as an indicator of copper storage, sodium against the 2.5 Na/K line and beside cadmium, and potassium against 3 to 4 mg%.
A retest where one or more of calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium decreases and the others stay the same. The workbook reads it as a sign of progress.
ARL reads a drop in calcium as a reduction in copper storage, and the workbook defines a separate pattern for a fall of at least 50% in shell calcium.
ARL records that cadmium has an aldosterone-like effect that raises sodium. As cadmium is eliminated, sodium drops and the oxidation rate slows.
A retest where one or more macrominerals rise while the others remain the same.
A retest hair tissue mineral analysis reports calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium on the same scale as the first chart, with the ratios each fall moves.
Published 2026-11-02 · Updated 2026-11-02
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.
