One of the first things I think of when I think of evaluating our nervous system is of course, hair tissue mineral analysis (HTMA). On an HTMA, there is a significant ratio called the nervous system ratio, which consists of calcium and phosphorus. Calcium is controlled by the parasympathetic branch of our autonomic nervous system. When our parasympathetic nervous system is dominant, there is an accumulation of calcium in comparison to phosphorus, meaning the ratio will be higher. One common scenario that I think of when I think of being stuck in the parasympathetic nervous system state and having a high Ca/P ratio is being stuck in the freeze state.

Calcium accumulation can also be related to other things:

• Magnesium deficiency
• Lack of calcium rich foods in the diet (this leads to our bodies taking calcium from the bones and teeth)
• Excess vitamin D supplementation–too much vitamin D can cause excess calcium from supplementation. Having low vitamin D levels can also cause calcification.
  • 5,000IU and above often causes calcification.
• Antacids (used to treat acid reflux) contain calcium.
• Certain medications can raise blood calcium levels:
  • Lithium
  • Thiazide diuretics
  • Teriparatide
  • Estrogens (birth control or bio-identical hormones)
  • Tamoxifen
• Calcium supplementation
• Stress: reduces magnesium and raises soft tissue calcium levels
  • Mental, emotional, and physical stressors all contribute
• Excess unbound copper (often a result of hormonal birth control or copper IUD)
• Excess estrogen (reduces calcium excretion and leads to high calcium)
• Traumatic events

In general, the parasympathetic nervous system is sedative and reduces our metabolism. This is why we want balance between calcium and phosphorus on an HTMA, which is what the nervous system ratio is looking at. The sympathetic nervous system greatly impacts phosphorus. When our sympathetic nervous system is dominant, there is typically an increase in accumulation of phosphorus in the hair in comparison to calcium. Phosphorus can be very stimulating for our sympathetic nervous system.

Other reasons for high phosphorus outside of our nervous system:

• Not eating enough protein
• Under eating in general
• Over exercising
• Excessive amount of processed foods that contain phosphorus additives like soda, carbonated beverages, breakfast cereal, sweetened iced tea, non dairy creamers, bottles coffee beverages.
• Kidney dysfunction (this would more likely show up on blood work than an HTMA)
• Hypoparathyroidism or hyperparathyroidism can disrupt the balance of calcium and phosphorus.
• Conditions like rhabdomyolysis (muscle breakdown)
• Vitamin D toxicity
• Calcium supplementation
• Magnesium deficiency

A high Ca/P ratio means calcium is higher than phosphorus and the metabolism is slower and the parasympathetic state is dominant. A lower Ca/P ratio means phosphorus is higher than calcium and the metabolism is faster and a sympathetic state is dominant.

An important thing to note when it comes to significant ratios is that while it gives you insight into how your nervous system could be impacting your minerals and vice versa, you still want to look at your individual mineral levels. For example, someone can have low calcium but still have a high nervous system ratio if phosphorus is very depleted. In this instance, you wouldn’t want to lower calcium further. Ratios are important but always keep the bigger picture in mind as well. If you aren’t sure how to interpret your HTMA, check out my Master Your Minerals course that breaks down every part of your test and has a road map you can follow for what to do based on your results.
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Make sure you listen to the podcast episode Minerals & The Nervous System on the Are You Menstrual? Podcast to dig even deeper into this topic!

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