Pacing an elimination
The metabolic rate sets how fast stored metals move
Analytical Research Labs records that a rising metabolic rate releases stored copper into the blood, and it gives separate pacing rules for slow and fast oxidizers.
Analytical Research Labs (ARL) records that any increase in the metabolic rate, whatever its cause, frequently results in the release of excess copper into the blood. It lists acute stress, a new mineral program, premenstrual estrogen rise, pregnancy, antibiotics, and stimulants including caffeine, sugar, fasting and exercise as triggers. Elimination of stored metals requires biochemical energy, so the rate at which energy is produced sets the rate at which metals leave storage.
The oxidation rate is read from two ratios: fast oxidation is Ca/K below 4:1 with Na/Mg above 4.17:1, and slow oxidation is Ca/K above 4:1 with Na/Mg below 4.17:1. Trace Elements, Inc. places the ideals at Ca/K 4.2 and Na/Mg 4, so the balance points publish as Ca/K 4 to 4.2 and Na/Mg 4 to 4.17. The oxidation type page gives the full definitions.
ARL records that, across thousands of toxic metal elimination reactions, the body normally will not undertake an elimination faster than it is capable of handling.
ARL's rules for handling any elimination reaction are short. Enhancing elimination is appropriate in practically every case. Speed the reaction up when it drags on and the body cannot finish, which ARL records as most common in slow oxidizers. Slow the reaction down when symptoms are vigorous. Use a metal-specific antagonist only when there is a good idea which metal is involved.
The fourth rule depends on the hair test. ARL notes that a hair mineral analysis can help detect which toxic metals are being eliminated or will be eliminated, which helps predict the symptoms. A retest every 3 to 5 months shows which metal rose, and the direction to pace follows from that metal and the oxidation rate beside it.
The recorded aim is to lower the metabolic rate temporarily, because the rising rate is what releases stored copper. ARL's methods: reduce supplement frequency from three times a day to once a day, preferably at the evening meal, then to every other or every third day; increase dietary fat by 25 to 30 percent; and add calcium and phosphorus. Phosphorus, supplied in ARL's method as lecithin, slows toxic metal elimination, and the ARL toxic-metals text records that raising phosphorus returns lead to bone storage.
ARL attaches a limit to the dairy part of this method: dairy is a stop-gap, and continuous dairy lowers the metabolic rate enough to increase copper storage. It also records an exception that runs against slowing: supplements are not discontinued for a slow oxidizer when they are supplying that person's energy.
For a reaction that drags, most often in a slow oxidizer, ARL's method raises the oxidation rate and supports the organs that carry metals out: warm baths, saunas, steam baths, massage, deep breathing, skin brushing and dietary fiber. For copper specifically, it names the copper antagonists zinc, manganese and molybdenum, with vitamin B6 and vitamin C.
ARL pairs the vitamin C amount with the oxidation type. Slow oxidizers can take much more, while a high amount may not suit fast oxidizers, because it can create a copper deficiency. A single vitamin C figure applied to both types moves them in opposite directions.
ARL's stress-stage nutrition runs in opposite directions by type. The fast oxidizer, in the alarm stage, is given more fat and red meat, because a temporary rise in fat intake slows an excessive rate. The slow oxidizer, in the exhaustion stage, is given a low-fat, higher-protein intake, with extra B1, B3, B5 and B6. The fat increase ARL uses to slow an elimination is also the fast oxidizer's standing diet, while the slow oxidizer's standing diet is low in fat, which is why pacing is set by the oxidation rate and not by a general detox rule.
ARL also records a copper-specific reason for slowing. Discomfort occurs when copper is eliminated faster than the nutrient reservoirs of vitamin B6 and zinc can contain it, and both vitamin B6 and vitamin C are destroyed on contact with copper. The zinc/copper ratio, ideal at 8:1 on both labs, reports the zinc level beside the copper level on the same test.
In a slow oxidizer carrying cadmium, ARL records this sequence. The program raises the oxidation rate. Cadmium, which has an aldosterone-like effect that raises sodium, starts to leave. Sodium drops, the oxidation rate slows, and fatigue returns, often more than before. ARL's recorded response is to stay on the program and rest, with improvement in about a week, after which higher energy releases more cadmium and the cycle repeats until the cadmium is gone.
In this sequence the falling rate is part of the elimination. Pacing it means rest and continuity, not stopping. ARL gives cadmium's half-life as 17 to 30 years and records that, through nutritional therapy, it can often be eliminated in 6 to 12 months. The oxidation rate swings page covers rates that move between tests.
A hair tissue mineral analysis is a screening test for nutritional and toxic-element patterns. It does not diagnose, 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. Where the laboratory literature describes a trend, that trend belongs to the mineral pattern rather than to any person reading about it. Anything medical belongs with your own licensed provider.
I read the oxidation rate first, then the metal that moved, then the zinc/copper ratio. A slow chart with an elimination that has dragged for weeks points one way; a fast chart with a vigorous copper reaction and a Zn/Cu under 8 points the other.
The pacing decision is made on the report in front of me and the dated record of the reaction, and it is revisited at the next retest.
ARL speeds a reaction when it drags on and the body cannot finish it, which it records as most common in slow oxidizers.
When symptoms are vigorous. ARL's recorded aim is to lower the metabolic rate temporarily, because a rising rate is what releases stored copper into the blood.
The two types respond to opposite inputs. More fat slows a fast oxidizer, while slow oxidizers are given low-fat, higher-protein intake, and vitamin C is paired with the type.
Cadmium raises sodium. As it leaves, sodium drops and the oxidation rate slows. ARL records rest and staying on the program, with improvement in about a week.
A full hair tissue mineral analysis reports the oxidation rate, the toxic metals and the zinc/copper ratio together, which are the three readings a pacing decision rests on.
Published 2026-10-05 · Updated 2026-10-05
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; anything medical belongs with your own licensed provider. Wellness Shopping Online is operated by Nuco Enterprise Solutions LLC.
