Both Ratios Off
Ca/K times Na/Mg: one figure from the two ratios that set the oxidation rate
The pattern workbook multiplies the thyroid ratio by the adrenal ratio. At the ideals the product is 16.68 on ARL figures and 16.8 on Trace Elements figures, and each ratio carries its own energy-loss band.
The pattern workbook Eileen reads charts against names a combined figure: the calcium/potassium (Ca/K) ratio multiplied by the sodium/magnesium (Na/Mg) ratio. Ca/K is called the thyroid ratio and Na/Mg the adrenal ratio. Analytical Research Labs (ARL) places the ideals at Ca/K 4 and Na/Mg 4.17; Trace Elements, Inc. places them at 4.2 and 4 (2010 set). The ratios publish as ranges, Ca/K 4 to 4.2 and Na/Mg 4 to 4.17, and the product at the ideals is 4 x 4.17 = 16.68 (ARL) or 4.2 x 4 = 16.8 (Trace Elements).
Both ARL ratios come from ARL's level ideals: calcium 40 mg% divided by potassium 10 gives 4, and sodium 25 divided by magnesium 6 gives 4.17. The product therefore equals calcium times sodium divided by potassium times magnesium. ARL records that calcium and sodium are extracellular minerals and magnesium and potassium intracellular, so the product sets the two extracellular minerals against the two intracellular ones.
ARL records Paul Eck's finding that Ca/K and Na/Mg are better indicators of glandular activity than mineral levels alone. On the thyroid side, thyroid hormone lowers calcium, and potassium sensitizes the tissues to thyroid hormone. A Ca/K below 4 indicates increased thyroid activity and a Ca/K above 4 reduced thyroid activity. ARL frames Ca/K as cellular thyroid effect, the end result of the hormone's activity on the cells, rather than a hormone level.
On the adrenal side, sodium is directly associated with adrenal function through aldosterone, which regulates sodium retention; in general, the higher the sodium, the higher the aldosterone. ARL also reads Na/Mg as a measure of energy output, because the adrenals and the thyroid regulate the metabolic rate together. ARL states that when the thyroid and adrenal ratios are not normal, the efficiency of energy production in the body decreases.
| Band | Ca/K (thyroid) | Na/Mg (adrenal) | ARL estimated energy loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ideal | 4 | 4.17 | None (100% energy) |
| Mild | 4 to 8 (slow) or 2 to 4 (fast) | 4.17 to 8 (fast) or 2 to 4.17 (slow) | 10 to 25% |
| Moderate | 8 to 16 or 1 to 2 | 8 to 16 or 1 to 2 | 25 to 50% |
| Severe | 16 to 32, or below 1 | 16 or more, or below 1 | 50% or more |
| Most severe | 32 or more | Not listed | 75% or more |
On ARL's Na/Mg table, a ratio below 1 is labeled adrenal insufficiency. On its Ca/K table, a ratio of 32 or more is severe low thyroid activity and a ratio below 1 is excessive thyroid activity.
ARL defines the oxidation rate from the same two ratios. Fast oxidation is a Ca/K below 4 with an Na/Mg above 4.17. Slow oxidation is a Ca/K above 4 with an Na/Mg below 4.17. Mixed oxidation is both ratios above their ideals or both below.
Fast and slow oxidation move the two ratios in opposite directions, so their deviations partly cancel in the product. A Ca/K of 6 with an Na/Mg of 3 gives 18, close to the ideal product, while each ratio sits in ARL's 10 to 25% energy-loss band. Mixed oxidation moves both ratios the same way, so the product moves furthest: Ca/K 6 and Na/Mg 6 give 36, and Ca/K 2 and Na/Mg 2 give 4. The product is therefore read beside the two ratios, never in place of them.
ARL defines mixed oxidation as a transition or unstable state in which one gland is overactive and the other underactive, and records that energy in mixed oxidation is not constant and tends to fluctuate up and down. ARL's Stress Document places mixed oxidation in the resistance stage of Hans Selye's stress model.
ARL's acceptable ranges, as printed in the pattern report Eileen issues, are Ca/K 3 to 6 and Na/Mg 3.17 to 6.17. Trace Elements' 2010 ranges are Ca/K 2.2 to 6.2 and Na/Mg 2 to 6. ARL's range is narrower, so ARL flags smaller deviations in either ratio.
Trace Elements' 1993 endocrine table maps the same two ratios to glands: increased thyroid activity when Ca/K reads under 4 and Na/Mg over 4, lowered thyroid activity when Ca/K reads over 4 and Na/Mg under 4, and decreased adrenal activity at an Na/Mg under 4 with a Ca/K under 4.2. Its 2020 metabolic-type paper adds that a low Ca/K can come from the adrenal response rather than from thyroid expression.
ARL records that the thyroid ratio does not always correlate with blood thyroid tests, because a hair analysis is a tissue test: often blood tests are normal while the hair test indicates impaired thyroid function. For the adrenal ratio, ARL records that blood tests are usually normal while the tissue test shows abnormal adrenal function. ARL's Hypothyroidism document uses a higher cutoff than its ratio table, reading sluggish cellular thyroid activity at a Ca/K greater than 16.
ARL records that cadmium, mercury, copper, iron and nickel raise the sodium reading temporarily while adrenal function may be low. A raised sodium raises the Na/Mg and therefore the product. ARL's Hypothyroidism document adds that copper reduces potassium and decreases thyroid activity, and a lower potassium raises the Ca/K. A product raised by these metals overstates the adrenal and thyroid readings, so the toxic-metal lines are read before the product.
A hair tissue mineral analysis is a screening test for nutritional and toxic-element patterns. It reports mineral levels in milligrams percent (mg%) and the ratios between them, and it measures soft tissue rather than blood. Each reading averages roughly 2 to 3 months of hair growth, and samples are analyzed unwashed, because washing removes over 90% of the sodium and potassium in hair (Trace Elements). Where the laboratory literature describes a trend, that trend belongs to the mineral pattern rather than to any person reading about it.
Ca/K comes first, against 4 to 4.2, then Na/Mg against 4 to 4.17, and the oxidation rate from the pair. The product of the two follows, against 16.68 to 16.8, with each ratio's ARL energy-loss band beside it.
Next: cadmium, mercury, copper, iron and nickel, which raise sodium, and the copper level, which lowers potassium. Both ratios are compared on the next test 3 to 5 months later.
The Ca/K ratio multiplied by the Na/Mg ratio. At the ideals it is 16.68 on ARL figures and 16.8 on Trace Elements figures.
Yes. In fast and slow oxidation the two ratios move in opposite directions, so Ca/K 6 against Na/Mg 3 still multiplies to 18. The two ratios are always read alongside the product.
ARL estimates 10 to 25% energy loss in the mild band of each ratio, 25 to 50% in the moderate band, and 50% or more at the extremes.
Not always. ARL records that blood tests are often normal while the hair tissue test indicates impaired thyroid function.
A full hair tissue mineral analysis reports calcium, potassium, sodium and magnesium with the Ca/K and Na/Mg ratios, the two figures behind the combined product and the oxidation rate.
Published 2026-10-16 · Updated 2026-10-16
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.
