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Normal blood work doesn’t mean your minerals are actually working.

In this episode, I wrap up the 4 part mineral series by zeroing in on hair test ratios and why they often matter more than whether a single mineral looks high or low. These ratios reveal patterns in your metabolism, stress response, thyroid, adrenals, blood sugar and even mood, so you can see what your body is actually doing, not just what the first page of your hair test says. 

Maybe you’ve stared at a hair test and had no idea what the numbers actually mean. This episode connects those ratios with the tired, anxious, bloated, cold and “hypothyroid” feelings that can show up even when your blood work looks fine. You’ll finally be able to make sense of the patterns without obsessing over every single number. These patterns hint at fast or slow metabolic types, burnout or overdrive in your adrenals, and trouble using your thyroid hormones even if you can still make them.Once you see what your minerals are really doing together, it’s hard to unsee what they’re telling you about your body.

This is part 4 of 4 of my Mineral Series. Tune into episodes 12, 13 and 14 to deepen your knowledge.

You’ll Learn:

[00:00] Introduction
[01:07] What mineral ratios reveal that individual levels never show
[03:23] The thyroid ratio that explains symptoms even when labs look normal
[10:29] Why some women still feel hypothyroid despite “good” test results
[12:34] The mineral demands required to actually use thyroid hormone
[26:52] How copper imbalances hide and what the copper detox ratio uncovers
[27:55] Why molybdenum can help or overwhelm depending on timing
[29:42] When balancing macro minerals matters more than adding supplements

Resources Mentioned:

Hormone Healing episode on How to do mineral testing | Listen Now

Master your minerals. Harmonize your hormones. Start your mineral journey here.

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Hormone Healing RD | Instagram
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Check out the Functional Thyroid course here.

Transcript:

[00:00:00] Welcome to the Hormone Healing RD podcast. You’ll get clear, practical guidance for your healing journey. I’m Amanda Montalvo, women’s health, dietician and mineral expert. After helping thousands of women and navigating my own healing, I know how overwhelming the wellness world can be. This show cuts through the noise with simple research and clinical backed insights on hormones, minerals, and what your body truly needs to heal.

[00:00:23] So let’s get into our final episode of. 2025 and also of our mineral series. So we have talked about macro minerals. We’ve talked about minerals that are important for metabolism and the nervous system detoxification. And now we’re in the very fun part of an HTMA hair tissue mineral analysis. I think it’s like the most fun part, and that’s talking about mineral ratios.

[00:00:51] Um, if you have ever looked at a hair test and just. You’re, you’re trying to figure out what’s going on. Maybe your calcium’s high, your sodium is [00:01:00] low, but you’re like, what does that mean? I, this is, these are like the questions I get all the time, and I’m like, you’re not alone. It’s not just the individual mineral levels that we wanna look at.

[00:01:11] It’s. How they’re interacting with each other. ’cause that’s really tell, that’s what tells us what’s going on in the different systems of your body. I’m always talking about how I love HDMA and why I use it in my practice and why I think it’s so effective is because you get to see so much information.

[00:01:27] What is your nervous system doing? How are you digesting your food? How are your adrenals functioning? Do you have anything that could be throwing off your blood sugar? What about your thyroid? Can you use. Thyroid hormone, all these things that are incredibly important. A lot of that information, it’s not just from the individual mineral levels, it’s from looking at the ratios.

[00:01:46] So we’re gonna get into why ratios matter. More, usually more often than individual minerals. There’s always nuance. Nothing is ever absolute right? Um, and how they can reveal how our [00:02:00] thyroid’s working, adrenal stress, response, metabolism, inflammation, all the things. And then why you can’t just take random supplements, right?

[00:02:08] The, the, the ratios are really what’s gonna dictate that. So let’s start with why. We care about the ratios on a hair test. Why are they even there in the first place? So the reason that they have mineral ratios on a hair test is because minerals work together. A lot of times they’re synergistic. They can also be antagonistic.

[00:02:27] They don’t work in isolation. They’re together. They’re like a symphony. So calcium could be the cello. Magnesium can be the violin. Potassium can be the flute, and sodium can be the drums, right? But if you only increase the volume of one of those, maybe you only increase the violins, it’s gonna create chaos.

[00:02:46] It doesn’t make things better, right? We have to think about how can we support mineral our minerals across the board, not just isolating one level. And that’s both with supplementation and also how we are reading our tests. [00:03:00] So ratios are really how we’re understanding the balance of your mineral status.

[00:03:05] And HTMA shows us how your minerals are playing together. Really, are they working against each other or are they working well together? And then that’s how we’re assessing different systems in the body like. Thyroid adrenals, nervous system metabolism, blood sugar, inflammation, all the things, and they give us patterns.

[00:03:23] So you could have a normal calcium level on your hair test. And we went through that in the first episode for December where I talked about. Um, calcium, all the macrominerals and calcium specifically, it could be normal or even optimal. And when you look at the chart on the first page, but if you look at the second page where you’ve got that little significant ratios chart, if your calcium to potassium ratio is really high, that blocks how your body uses thyroid hormone.

[00:03:52] And so that’s. It’s, it’s WI normal calcium, but maybe you have really low potassium and that gives you a sky [00:04:00] high thyroid ratio, which means you can have all the symptoms of hypothyroidism, but maybe you have normal blood labs. I’ve also seen plenty of people that have not so great blood labs, but, um, I, that’s like a very common scenario.

[00:04:13] You could have low magnesium on your hair test, but if your sodium’s even lower, then your sodium magnesium ratio is gonna tell us that your drills are super burnt out. Um, so instead of asking like, okay, or focusing on minerals, being high or low individually, we want to take that information in. I don’t think that it’s not important, but you really wanna make sure that you go to that second page of your hair test and understand how are my minerals working together?

[00:04:42] And that’s what the ratios are gonna tell us. And this is what I think also, I mean, obviously. Hair testing is me is a different measurement than blood testing, but I think looking at the ratios and the different systems of the body is also what makes HTM a so different from your typical blood work. [00:05:00] So we’re gonna go through the major ratios and I’m gonna get into what they tell us and then what it can mean if they’re high or low.

[00:05:11] The the thing I want you to keep into context ’cause I know a lot of people have done a hair test. A lot of people that follow me have gotten them. Um. You just wanna always keep it in context to yourself. So just because I’m saying that this means something. Doesn’t mean like, that’s like one value, right?

[00:05:27] So you wanna keep your whole test in mind, keep your whole health history in mind. Um, and typically there’s always more nuance that I can get into in every episode. But just, just a little disclaimer. Um, so I don’t wanna make anyone stress out about their test results. It’s all information and. It’s what you do with the information that matters.

[00:05:46] So the first ratio we’re gonna talk about is the calcium phosphorus ratio. This is the first one on that second page with the significant ratios box. This is telling us how fast or slow your metabolism is running, and also how your body is handling [00:06:00] stress. This is what dictates your. Metabolic type. So it’s gonna tell us if you’re slow or fast for your metabolic type.

[00:06:09] Um, a high calcium phosphorus ratio, if it’s above 2.8. This is, this is when you’re typically considered a slow metabolic type and you can experience more fatigue, sluggish digestion, cold hands and feet. A lot of those like hypothyroid type symptoms, um, basically you need a lot more nutrition in order to get all the symptoms.

[00:06:34] Systems functioning well in the body. If you have a low calcium phosphorus ratio, if it’s below 2.4, this typically means that you’re a fast metabolic type and it can lead to more like hyperactivity anxiety. Maybe you don’t absorb nutrients as well, and. Again, so this is what’s dictating a lot of people are like, how do I know if I’m a fast or slow type?

[00:06:56] Because sometimes, um, if you’re do using, I use trace elements [00:07:00] for HTMA tests, but if you’re using a different lab, go to your calcium phosphorus ratio. If it’s high, that’s slow. If it’s low, that’s fast. And the other thing is telling us is about our stress response. So when we have a fast metabolic type, that means we are actively in the stress state.

[00:07:17] ’cause calcium is very calming. It’s a very sedative mineral. In the right amounts. Um, and so when it’s, when typically those levels are low or if it’s low in comparison to phosphorus, that means that we are in that actively stressed state. And that’s why you can have more anxiety. Maybe you aren’t breaking down your food as well.

[00:07:35] Things like that. When it is higher, especially if it’s too high in comparison with phosphorus, then that’s when things are much slower. Um, you can have sluggish digestion, um, and typically all the things that go along with like hypothyroid symptoms. When you are in that slower state, you typically, it means you’ve been compensating for a long time when it comes to stress.

[00:07:56] So stress that we think about is like a few different [00:08:00] phases. So we’ve got like the first stage of stress, that’s when we are actively stressed, we’re experiencing a stressor, we’re responding to that stressor. And then, um, once we’ve been compensating for a little bit, then our minerals start to move. So typically potassium starts to get higher than sodium.

[00:08:16] Um, and eventually if we stay in that comp. Compensation stay for too long, then we can actually burn out. So we, we go from like a fasten ball type, the low calcium phosphorus ratio to a high calcium phosphorus ratio because the body sodium tests usually go down and you start to mobilize. Um, calcium and calcium can accumulate amongst many other things, but basically you’re not one metabolic type forever.

[00:08:44] That’s like the number one question I get is like, oh my gosh, I’m a slow metabolic type. So is that ever gonna change? It can change, especially for women when you’re like, I like moved to a fast metabolic type when I got pregnant, um, for the first time. So. It’s like you can move in and out. And [00:09:00] again, a lot of it’s gonna be dictated by your mineral status, your stress levels, your nutrition, your environment, all the things.

[00:09:06] So calcium, phosphorus ratio, metabolic ratio tells us all about our metabolism. But it’s also telling us are you actively stressed or have you maybe been stressed for a while and you’re a bit burned out now. The other ratio, um, the next one is sodium potassium. This is like the stress ratio, but it’s also.

[00:09:25] I like to look at it as like the vitality ratio. So this is huge for adrenals, inflammation. This is really what I’m looking at to see if someone is super inflamed and just like how healthy their cells are. So if we have a high sodium potassium ratio, if it’s above 3.4, if. This is typically showing more of an acute stress, active inflammation, or even like a hidden infection.

[00:09:49] Um, I see this one high a lot when someone’s super inflamed. I also tend to see this high in children as well. And then for the low sodium potassium, if it’s below 2.2, this, it [00:10:00] means like burnout, exhaustion. Likely more poor immune system function. And it’s gonna tie in the gut health and that emotional regulation.

[00:10:08] So this ratio is gonna drop when you’ve been pushing too hard for too long, the body’s depleted and it can show up. Like maybe you are bloated, you don’t, or you have reflux. You feel like don’t digest your food well. If you’re quick to anger, you feel like you can’t regulate your emotions well. Um, typically it’s gonna be low.

[00:10:23] So that is your sodium potassium ratio, kinda like stress and vitality ratio. And then one of my favorite ratios on the hair test, the thyroid ratio. That’s your calcium potassium ratio. So this tells us how much calcium is blocking thyroid hormone, and it’s, it’s not just calcium, it’s also potassium because potassium helps us get that thyroid hormone inside the cell.

[00:10:49] So if we have normal calcium, but very low potassium, then. It’s not, the calcium’s not necessarily blocking it, but you don’t have adequate potassium [00:11:00] to really bring that thyroid hormone inside the cell. And in comparison to calcium, it’s just incredibly low. And so if we have a high calcium potassium ratio, if it’s above 4.4, then um, typically it, it doesn’t.

[00:11:14] Mean you’re hypothyroid. I just wanna make that super clear. I cannot tell you how many people have reached out to me and said, oh my gosh, I have hypothyroidism, but all my blood work is normal, but my HT a system hypothyroid. I’m like, that’s not what it’s, that’s not what it tells you. It tells you how you’re using thyroid hormone.

[00:11:31] Blood work. Tells us how you are able to make it and convert it minerals. Tell us how we can use it so you can have perfect. Thyroid levels in your blood, but if you have this really high calcium potassium ratio, it can be hard to use that thyroid hormone. Um, so it’s not that the thyroids aren’t working, it’s that the minerals are blocking it.

[00:11:52] And I see this a lot. Um, I’ve helped a lot of women get off or reduce, uh, their thyroid bands not against. I’m not against men’s, by the way. [00:12:00] I, I think they’re fine. Um, the, the big thing that bothers me with thyroid medication is that I’ve worked with so many women. They’re like, I’m taking it and I don’t feel better.

[00:12:09] And like that’s the issue. It’s not that they don’t wanna take a medication, it’s that they’re like, well, if it works, I don’t think I’d care. But the fact that it’s not working, I’m kind of. What’s the point in taking this? And it’s hard because then they’re still having symptoms and their doctor’s like, well, your blood labs look good and you’re taking your meds.

[00:12:24] So that, that’s not, there’s not really much more we can do. Um, so that’s, that’s the big thing with blood versus minerals and what you’re really learning from a hair test. And I have just seen so many women slowly come off thyroid medication or reduce their levels because they’re optimizing that calcium potassium ratio and just minerals in general.

[00:12:44] I, I think it’s like we need 12 minerals to make. Convert and take up, like taken into our cells, use thyroid hormone. So it’s a very, very, very mineral driven, uh, function in the [00:13:00] body from making it to using it. So it’s, that’s one where, I mean, that’s a huge part of my story. I had hypothyroidism, I took meds.

[00:13:07] Um, I did not feel better on the meds and. Like, until I addressed my super high copper, high calcium, I had a crazy, I, like, I had super, it was like over 200, my, my thyroid ratio on my first hair test. Um, and it made a huge difference. It took time, but it was minerals made the single largest difference for, um, my thyroid health and just being able to make it and not, and not only that, but use it.

[00:13:33] So that is, this is why like most people, if they. Have hypothyroid symptoms, but they have normal labs. They often have a very high calcium potassium ratio, and it could be high calcium. It could also just be really low potassium or a combination of both. Like I had a very low calcium potassium ratio can indicate that there’s just overactivation in the body.

[00:13:55] And specifically of using that thyroid hormone, it doesn’t mean you’re [00:14:00] hyperthyroid. And this is where a lot of confusion comes in. ’cause I’ll have a lot of clients that are like, I’m hypothyroid. I take thyroid meds, but my thyroid ratio on my hair test tells me I’m hyperthyroid, overactive thyroid. But it doesn’t mean that you’re hyper.

[00:14:16] It means that you are likely using that thyroid hormone very quickly and that your body’s in an actively stressed state. And then this is, it kind of keeps us in this. This like constant turned on high stress, which then eventually leads to worsening hypothyroidism because the more cortisol, the stress hormone that we’re pumping out, the more that that will eventually blunt our TSH.

[00:14:41] So I see a lot of women that are on thyroid meds, they’re very stressed, um, and they have a very, very, very low TSH. It’s not necessarily that they’re overmedicated because their free T four and free T three levels are not good. So their, but their doctor usually only goes by TSH usually they’re not looking at anything else.

[00:14:59] I’m the [00:15:00] one that’s like, let’s look at your other levels. Um, and so they’re like, oh, you need less medication. Uh, we have to reduce your dose, or they just don’t care and. They’re like, how can I be hyperthyroid if I still don’t feel good? Or how can I like, not, how can I have to continue raising my thyroid meds ’cause I feel hypothyroid.

[00:15:21] Um, but my TSH is so low, and typically it’s because there’s a stress pattern here. And if we have high cortisol, that will lower TSH levels and then lower T four and T three production. And so you can have a TSH that looks good or even. Really low, like your hyperthyroid, but all the symptoms of hypothyroidism.

[00:15:41] And it’s because you’re not making that T four, probably not converting it well. And then can it get inside your cells, which is what the haircut tells us. So there’s so much you can do for thyroid. Um, when it comes to minerals, I have a free. Thyroid May course. Um, it’s like a functional [00:16:00] thyroid course where I go through blood work and HTMA and I have like case studies and everything and I talk about what different labs mean.

[00:16:08] So if you’re, like, if your, if your concern is thyroid, go check out that course completely free. And I get very dirty and I’ll get into all the nitty-gritty details. I would have your labs handy, have ’em out so you can go through, ’cause I go through all the ranges. Um, but that, I think, I think that. Many things HMA helps with.

[00:16:29] I think everyone can benefit, but thyroid issues are like top right up there. So th that’s the thyroid ratio. High means you’re not using thyroid hormone. Well, low to delin. Your body’s actively very stressed. You have a low thyroid ratio. You probably have also have a very low calcium phosphorus ratio, so you’d be a facet of all type typically.

[00:16:50] Um, and then the next one is the zinc copper ratio. This is like the hormone and mood. Ratio is what I would call it. Um, [00:17:00] it’s really giving us information about estrogen, testosterone, dopamine, mental clarity. It’s, again, it’s not perfect. It doesn’t, it doesn’t always line up exactly, but um, when it comes to copper and zinc like copper.

[00:17:14] Increases as estrogen increases and zinc will often follow testosterone and progesterone. Again, not perfectly, but if you think about it, like how we use those barrels in the body, it makes sense. Like zinc for example. We need enough zinc as women so that we can have a very healthy, mature. And then that will give us a really strong ovulation and that will help us make plenty of progesterone, which balances out estrogen, um, and is great for our fertility, mood, health in general and for men.

[00:17:46] Zinc, this ratio is especially important for men too. Um, because zinc is incredibly important for making adequate testosterone, and I will often see levels very blunted or high. Their [00:18:00] bodies are using a lot of zinc if they have a lot of gut issues, inflammation, things like that, uh, which I feel like are so hard to pull out of men.

[00:18:08] We do a lot of fertility work with couples and with our nurturer fertility program, and we have like the spouses fill out their intake form. And I’m always like, okay, so this is what, this is what he said. I’m gonna go ask his wife now and see what his real symptoms are. Um, not always, but a lot of the times.

[00:18:28] So, because it’s easy to be like, oh, I don’t really have gut issues, but then like you ask a few more questions and. There’s something there and then all of a sudden their need for more sync makes sense. It makes sense that their testosterone is low, that their fertility and their semen are being impacted, all the things.

[00:18:45] So this help, this ratio. Very helpful for hormones, also important for mood, um, mostly because of copper. Zinc’s important for our mental health as well, but because it’s balancing out copper, copper can accumulate in the [00:19:00] brain, um, and in the liver, but it can have a huge effect on our neurotransmitters and our mental health emotions, things like that.

[00:19:07] I’ve talked about this a lot before when I’ve talked about how copper changes throughout pregnancy and postpartum, how it can contribute to a lot of P-M-S-P-M-D-D, things like that. Um, so looking at this ratio can be really helpful for that. If we have a high zinc copper ratio, this typically means that zinc is overpowering copper, which can lead to hormone imbalances.

[00:19:27] Maybe you don’t handle stress well, things like that. Now there’s a lot of new, there’s a lot of nuance of this ratio because you can have high zinc on your test because your body needs more zinc if you’re not supplementing with zinc. Then my first thought when I see high zinc is they’re inflamed.

[00:19:44] They’re inflamed. I then head over to their heavy metals and look at those. Um, ’cause you’re going to use up a lot of zinc in response to heavy metal detoxification, um, especially like aluminum. And if, and if their magnesium is low, the next mineral [00:20:00] that you can use up and place a magnesium is zinc. So usually it’s like chronic stress could, and that could be any type of stress.

[00:20:07] They, it could be a physical stressor like in the gut. Um, and that’s, that’s just like often what I’ll see in practice. So high zinc to copper can mean that your body’s just using a ton of that. Zinc doesn’t necessarily mean you have too much. And then I also look at if it’s really high, like if it’s over 12, then I get concerned about.

[00:20:28] They have bio unavailable copper that’s stuck in their tissues, most likely, meaning they can’t use it. And copper is so important. I know I’ve talked about S mineral a lot. Incredibly important for making energy for thyroid hormone, for hormone balance. We for iron regulation, the body, do you need copper?

[00:20:45] And so it’s, we wanna have the balance, but if someone has a high copper ratio, you’re not just gonna supplement copper. You’re gonna look at. All their imbalances. And of course, like I said in the first episode, focus on the ME minerals first, right? And then you can [00:21:00] get into the other ones. But it is an important one to look at.

[00:21:03] Um, and it’s one where I’m like, okay, does this make sense with their symptoms, with what I know about them already? And do I think that they possibly, if it’s over 12, I’m like, they probably have some hidden copper stuff going on. So we need to make sure we’re using all those copper curl factors so we can get that copper out of the tissue and use it.

[00:21:21] Um, and then if they have a lowing copper ratio, this typically points to X has copper, so. I most often see this when copper’s really high. Zinc can be normal or even high. I’ve seen it where copper and zinc are high, but copper’s just much higher in relation to zinc. And then that points to like excess copper that can affect mood estrogen levels.

[00:21:43] ’cause remember, estrogen goes up as copper goes up. This is why what post? Women, uh, struggle with postpartum depression when they get shifts in copper and estrogen. Um, and that one contribute to a lot of mood issues and stuff. And then of course, inflammation. It can be, it can be another time of inflammation.

[00:21:58] So it’s so hormone ratio, [00:22:00] but it’s not perfect. It’s not like, oh my gosh, I have high zinc copper ratio. I need more copper. Right? You, you always wanna keep the rest of your tests in context as well. Okay. And then the adrenal ratio. So it’s not this, so we already went over the stress ratio. That’s like, and vitality ratio.

[00:22:17] That’s sodium potassium. That’s important because we, sodium potassium are going to be impacted by stress. Those levels, we use them more. Um, but the adrenal ratio, sodium, magnesium, this is showing how are our adrenals responding to stress. So if we have a very low sodium magnesium ratio, then that’s adrenal fatigue burnout.

[00:22:38] Adrenals are exhausted. If we have a very high sodium magnesium ratio, then this means that the adrenals are. Typically, they’re like kind of stuck in this on mode. They’re in overdrive, and this is really, we’re using this ratio to try to know when do wanna support the adrenals or try to slow things down and like which the vitamins are gonna make the most [00:23:00] sense.

[00:23:00] Typically, you’re gonna have. You will have a low sodium magnesium ratio when you’re a slow metabolic type, if you’re like a slow one. And that’s when I really like to use vitamin B one, B three and B six. Those are also really helpful for rebalancing copper, which typically you need to do if you’re a slow type.

[00:23:18] Not always, but often. And then if we have a higher ratio than I’m probably, and sometimes I’ll use B five. I use it, I’ll use that for both. It, that depends on someone’s symptoms too. But if they have a higher ratio, then I may not be going right towards like B one and B six and things like that. Um, I’m probably gonna go more towards B five and other BS so that I can.

[00:23:44] Not stimulate their adrenals, but kind of calm things down a little bit more. Um, so that, that’s what the adrenal ratio is telling us. Again, burnout or you an overdrive or you right in the middle of your optimal, and then the calcium magnesium ratio, this is [00:24:00] the blood sugar ratio. This gives us a window into how was your body regulating its blood sugar, and is there anything going on or is there possibly like insulin sensitivity issues because calcium.

[00:24:13] Is also really important for releasing insulin. If we have too much, we can get too much of a release. Magnesium is really important for making ourselves sensitive to insulin, so we want those two minerals in balance. Um, so that. We’re gonna have balanced blood sugar. Um, and if we have deficiencies in one or the other, that can affect each mineral, um, the levels of that and the loss.

[00:24:40] So if we have a high Cal State magnesium ratio, this is often gonna be paired with insulin resistance. I see. Allot my PCUS clients and blood sugar crashes, um, like later on, cravings, things like that. Basically, you’re more likely to be on like a blood sugar rollercoaster all day. When there’s a low calcium magnesium ratio, typically this is like, you’re [00:25:00] not using calcium well.

[00:25:01] Um, and I see it a lot with more like low blood sugar drops. So even like after a meal, it could be soon after eating a meal, you get like low blood sugar. Um, so the, and that’s typically it. Calcium is very low. And we need to work on that. Um, so high blood sugar ratio, more like insulin distance, PCOS, cravings, that sort of thing.

[00:25:23] Rollercoaster low ratio is more like extreme low blood sugar crash even close to a meal. And then there there is the iron copper ratio, which is considered the infection ratio. It’s not my favorite. I’m gonna be honest. I don’t think, I would never use a hair test for. Trying to know if someone has an infection.

[00:25:44] I would use a stool test. Now do I and I with our clients, we do both. So I, there’s not really a scenario where I’d be like, oh, this is making me wanna do a stool test. But if I were just looking at a hair test and I [00:26:00] saw a very high iron, copper ratio, like even high iron levels on a hair test, it could. I mean, there’s an infection.

[00:26:07] I don’t, but I’ve seen plenty of infections and I’ve, and their iron on their hair is normal. I really use blood work more for that. Um, and then you have to keep in mind that oftentimes when someone is first exposed to some sort of pathogen, their iron goes up and then it goes down. Because their body hides it, ’cause it’s smart.

[00:26:28] And then they have low looking iron. So I just don’t think it’s the best measure for like, oh, like there’s a, some sort of like infection. Um. I do think that it’s, it’s helpful to look at iron, copper and see, uh, is there an imbalance there? But I’m really looking more at copper in general on the test and all the different, we’re gonna talk about, um, the next ratio.

[00:26:52] The last one is the copper detox ratio. It’s copper molybdenum. Uh, so I look at that and it’s like other. [00:27:00] There’s like a whole checklist that I use for looking at hidden copper or just very obvious copper imbalances on a hair test because again, copper is one of those complex minerals where it’s got all these co-factors.

[00:27:11] Um, and so I would be using that more. And then that helps me assess is there iron issue, a copper issue, because it’s not always, um, there’s usually some sort of copper roll, but it’s not always a hundred percent. Uh, so technically iron, copper is the infection ratio. I get a lot of questions about it. If it’s high, it could be a sign that you have like a hidden viral bacterial infection.

[00:27:31] But I’ve just, I’ve seen so many clients that have infections where it’s not high. Um, I, I am mostly looking at the other checklist for copper. I bounces. And then the last ratio is copper molybdenum. This one is not on a significant ratio box. It’s in the box, two boxes under it, I think. It’s in the green box on the second page.

[00:27:55] Copper molybdenum, additional ratios it’s called. Um, and I [00:28:00] like to look at this one because molybdenum is very important for copper detoxification and using copper and keeping it in balance. Kind of like zinc, right? So if we, if someone has a very high copper ratio, um, if it’s above eight 50, this is more telling me that copper is like stuck.

[00:28:21] Um, and that we wanna be very careful with adding too many B vitamins too soon, or even adding like molybdenum too soon because molybdenum is very detoxifying. I love it. It’s cool. Nutrient, we talked about it in previous episode, does a lot of the things, but we don’t wanna jump. It’s a trace mineral. We don’t wanna jump right to mold abum, right?

[00:28:41] We wanna think about the other, if we’re supporting your macro minerals, um, and copper’s out of balance, typically what you’re doing for macro minerals, it’s also gonna help your copper, especially if you’re a slow type. ’cause you need like vitamin A, um, boron can be helpful for copper, magnesium, vitamin C, uh, [00:29:00] and then you kind of get deeper with like B six.

[00:29:03] Like manganese is amazing for copper. It gently mobilizes it versus molybdenum, it’s very detoxifying pretty quick. So you wanna go slower at that Again, it’s a, it’s giving you information so you could have a really high ratio over eight 50. I’ve, I just did a hair test review. It was over 4,000. Her copper luum ratio, very high copper on her test.

[00:29:25] And so eventually we’re gonna use molybdenum, just not right away. ’cause she’s never done any mineral balancing before. And I don’t wanna like. Detox or copper too fast and lead to like copper dumping. So. It’s very helpful. If it’s a low, it can, it can, you have to keep it into context with like the rest of the test.

[00:29:42] But when it’s low, sometimes people will say that it means you need more copper, but you ha you, you have to be careful, um, because you don’t want to, again, just ’cause a ratio says one thing. You don’t wanna just add a supplement based on the one ratio you wanna work on your macro minerals. Then if you’re [00:30:00] like, you know, I’ve got this really high copper Malden ratio, I’ve got a really low.

[00:30:05] Zinc copper ratio, meaning your copper’s way high in garima zinc, then you are gonna want slowly start to rebalance that copper vitamin and a I love trine talks about that. I feel like in my copper deep dive episode, vitamin C, magnesium, sometimes boron if it’s low, um, magnesium’s important. Um, but usually people are already supporting it with, they’ve done their macro murals first, and then you could add things like B six.

[00:30:32] Manganese if you’re, if your sodium’s really low, use manganese. Um, and those can all be helpful for gently nudging copper and getting it out of the tissues. Um, but that’s, if you’ve got that really low copper molybdenum, you just wanna be mindful of, okay, it could just mean that, it can also mean that you are starting to mobilize copper.

[00:30:53] Um, is not, it doesn’t always mean that you need more. So, you know, just keep. Compare everything. Don’t [00:31:00] make one decision based off one ratio. And I, I feel like, uh, since I’ve started the 25 days of mineral series on Instagram, I’ve gotten a lot of questions about like, what do I gonna do if this is present or I didn’t, I, I did a hair test and I read it and this is a change I saw, what should I do?

[00:31:17] And I’m like, how do you feel? Because if, if you’re not paying attention to your symptoms and things like that, it’s hard to even understand what your hair test is telling you. Um, ’cause a lot of times on a retest you’re gonna see some improvements and you’ll probably see some things go backwards and that’s normal ’cause healing’s not linear.

[00:31:35] But that’s why it’s so important to always compare it to your symptoms and to monitor those as just as well as you’re monitoring your lab tests. So hopefully you guys enjoyed going through the significant old mineral ratio since the copper molds in is not a significant ratio, but I still think it’s important and I like to make sure people know about it.

[00:31:56] Um, and that is it [00:32:00] for our mineral series. Um, and this wraps up for the season. Uh, so if you are someone that is like I. I have been loving the series. I want more mineral stuff. I want more, you know, bonus episodes, HMA, case studies. Those are all inside my Patreon. I’ve done one a week every week for the month of December.

[00:32:23] Um, and I have one more planned for this month and then. The podcast is gonna be on a break. Um, so if you’re like, I still want to get bonus episodes and case studies and things like that, you can join Patreon. I’m still gonna be posting on there. I just need to, I have another big project I, um, am working on and I’m like, I can only do one big project at a time.

[00:32:45] And the podcast is so fun, but it is. A lot of time. Um, and I also have two little girls and a husband, so I’m like trying to find balance and that is something I have worked a lot on over the last, I would say, like [00:33:00] five years. Uh, and so normally my old self would keep going with everything and just add the new project on top.

[00:33:07] Um. But my more mature and mindful self is pausing the podcast. But I’m gonna keep up with the Patreon ’cause I, I’ve just been doing case studies and you guys love them and I love doing them. Um, and I pick case studies from the members, so. My, all my exclusive members are getting their hair test read and getting my recommendations.

[00:33:27] So if that interests you and you wanna keep learning from me, hearing from me, definitely go to patreon.com/from One Healing Rd and follow along with me there. Um, and then I. Do, I’m, I’m not a hundred percent sure when I’m gonna start up the podcast season again, but you can, you’ll know, uh, if you’re on my newsletter, you can join my Feminine Periodical.

[00:33:49] It goes out every Sunday at 6:00 PM Eastern Time, and the link for that is in the show notes. I’ve got all my free reviews on there. Again, do that by Red Course, mini course. It’s that free course. If you wanna do [00:34:00] that, nerd out on thyroid, understand your blood work better. HTM a, all that kind of stuff. Um, but that is it.[00:34:06] Thank you guys for an amazing season. I hope that you have enjoyed it, and I’ll see you in 2026.