Mineral Ratios for Calcium, Magnesium and other Elements,
and their Relationship to Spinal Manipulation and Alignment
Most Calcium / Magnesium (Cal/Mag) supplements are offered in a ratio of 2:1, while recommendations
by nutritional practitioners can vary from a 4:1 to a 1:1 calcium - magnesium ratio. Some sources claim that
calcium and magnesium oppose each other at the intracellular level, thus low magnesium intake causes high
calcium storage, or calcification. Other sources maintain that magnesium is needed for proper calcium
absorption, and that low magnesium intake can be responsible for low calcium levels.
Which is correct - And is there an "optimal" Calcium / Magnesium Ratio?
Unless the cellular status of calcium, magnesium or other essential trace elements is actually measured,
it is nearly impossible to predict what effect supplementation will have on a patient's mineral levels and
ratios. One-sided diets, one-sided supplementation, organ damage, infections, drug use, renal, intestinal,
and hormonal factors --- all have an impact on someone's calcium and magnesium ratio and mineral status,
so there cannot be a fixed mineral ratio that is best for everyone, since there are just too many variables.
Some people retain far too much calcium and are constantly struggling to meet magnesium requirements,
while others suffer from magnesium overload and have to supplement larger amounts of calcium to overcome
calcium deficiencies. Mineral ratios that are affected by neurological disturbances following spinal alignment
problems are addressed further below.
But even in a healthy body - without any of the above ramifications - the effect of magnesium on calcium
(and that of calcium on magnesium) is further affected by the type of minerals used (carbonate, gluconate,
citrate, etc.), and their resulting effect on stomach acid levels, which also impact absorption and ratios.
In addition, if zinc is on the high side, and potassium is low, then taking extra magnesium will usually lower
calcium, since magnesium supports zinc, but lowers potassium, which is a calcium synergist. On the other
hand, if potassium is higher, and zinc is on the low side, then taking magnesium will likely push calcium
higher as well. Taking Vitamin D increases calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus absorption.
If calcium is above-normal, but magnesium is even higher than calcium, then there is a good chance that
an individual will eventually experience symptoms of a calcium deficiency, as shown in the following graph:
Higher potassium and higher copper levels synergistically support an increase in intracellular calcium, with
Vitamin D affecting mostly serum calcium levels through hormonal action and increased intestinal absorption.
Boron affects calcium and magnesium uptake as well, however it generally doesn't come into play with the
average individual unless supplemented. Low levels of manganese, phosphorus, zinc, nickel and Vitamin C
encourage an increase in intracellular calcium ratio-wise and will eventually create a risk for calcification.
However, it is not unusual to actually experience symptoms of calcium deficiency in some cases also
because of calcium becoming bio-unavailable, resulting in calcium loss from bone.
When increasing manganese, phosphorus, zinc, Vitamin C, or stomach acid to normal levels, calcium uptake
is generally optimized to normal levels as well, and usually no calcification takes place. However, increasing
these same co-factors to above-normal levels will increase the risk for calcium loss, with all its undesirable
consequences. One could add protein as well, but it is phosphorus, the resulting end product, which will
determine at what point excessive protein will start to interfere with normal calcium metabolism.
Abnormal Mineral Ratios are largely responsible for resulting medical symptoms being side-specific.
Unless low stomach acid is involved, in which case sidedness is not a factor, many heel spurs occur only on
one side, and there are documented cases where large numbers of kidney stones developed in one kidney
only, but never in the other, unless one is surgically removed. The reason is quite simple, with the problem
side being frequently predictable:
In the above example - provided the patient is predisposed for kidney stones - they will be oxalic acid-based,
and invariably occur in the left kidney only as long as that patient has two otherwise functioning kidneys.
In the example below, of someone with a chemical make-up prone for heel spurs, they would develop in the
right heel only.
Many practitioners only try to correct a patient's calcium / magnesium ratio in an attempt to address, what
is assumed to be corresponding health issues, however normalizing the ratios of all other associated, essential
mineral pairs is as important in the nutritional prevention or treatment of medical conditions, which include:
For instance, sciatic pain is frequently relieved by correcting a patient's zinc / potassium ratio. Many upper
back / neck disorders, as well as insomnia and some anxieties can be alleviated by normalizing a patient's
calcium and magnesium ratio. Other types of anxiety, fatigue, depression... relate to abnormal nickel / cobalt
ratios, while correcting an individual's tin / iodine ratio helps with a number of conditions that include fatigue,
insomnia, palpitations, tachycardia, anxieties, depression, chest pain, and others.
Essential Flavonoids such as Rutin & Hesperidin interact in a similar ratio fashion, whereby imbalances often
result in vascular degenerative disorders, that are frequently one-sided. (see also Acu-Cell "Bioflavonoids").
* * *
Spinal Alignment (neurological factor) has a profound impact on mineral ratios - which is something that has
not been taught in Chiropractic Schools thus far. The relationship became apparent to me after many years
of measuring patients before and after they had visited a Chiropractor or Osteopath, where all of a sudden
certain mineral ratios - corresponding to specific spinal segments - unexpectedly changed.
However, not only can spinal manipulation affect the ratio of various minerals -- it works also the other way
around. By supplementing various amounts of minerals to manipulate their ratios, one can affect spinal align-
of the corresponding segment as well - both positively or negatively! This generally works provided there is
good spinal mobility, otherwise manual manipulation is required, particularly when calcification is involved, or
when long-term supplementation has failed to achieve normal ratios.
In such cases, a few spinal adjustments may be the answer, which will correct / normalize a particular
mineral ratio, and resolve related medical symptoms as well.
This is also one reason why chiropractic adjustments are at times able to correct specific medical problems
- other than simple skeletal or muscular disorders - and where orthodox medical reasoning cannot find or
explain the mechanism involved. We are all too familiar how patients keep visiting Chiropractors over and
over again, with the effects frequently only lasting a few days, or sometimes only a few hours. In some
cases, the solution to that can be quite simple: Once you normalize the ratio of as many associated mineral
pairs as possible - corresponding to the troublesome spinal segments - the adjustment will subsequently
"hold" and further manipulations are no longer necessary.
Only mineral pairs that are associated with one another such as calcium to magnesium are able to affect
specific spinal segments, which in case of calcium and magnesium would be T1, or in case of copper and
chromium would be L1. The ratio of other mineral pairs such as potassium / sodium, or iron / zinc has mostly
organic implications - or only indirectly effects spinal alignment, but they are not associated with specific
spinal segments.
Scoliosis (curvature of the spine) can develop when several related mineral ratios become abnormal and
subsequently affect their corresponding spinal segments. Practitioners who look at scoliosis from a structural
or congenital perspective alone neglect the possible chemical, neurological and/or organic implications with
this condition, and they subsequently try to treat scoliosis with exercise, braces, casts or corrective surgery
only. Chiropractic manipulation is another option and may be helpful in slowing or even reversing some forms
of scoliosis, provided patients receive regular and ongoing adjustments.
If the primary treatment of scoliosis consists of normalizing a patient's corresponding mineral ratios (which
may also include complementary exercise, chiropractic care, and/or a change in habit-forming one-sided
sitting or sleeping positions), then any related chemical, neurological, or organic medical conditions are also
taken care of at the same time. This also applies to the treatment of Sciatica when not related to a
* * *
While it is fairly simple to change a particular mineral ratio with some patients, it is much more difficult with
a good percentage of other patients, where mineral ratios are more fixed as a result of genetics, a very one-
sided diet, organ damage, old age, or arthritic changes in their corresponding spinal area.
Supplementing large amounts of single nutrients can also have a dramatic effect on mineral ratios, where for
instance taking higher doses of Vitamin B6 on a long-term basis will ultimately result in a high magnesium /
low calcium ratio. Injections of Vitamin B6 (usually combined with Vitamin B12) given at weight loss clinics
affect calcium / magnesium ratios even faster, and if not matched to the individual's nutritional requirements,
can lead to a severe calcium deficiency with the usual variety of low calcium-related medical symptoms.
In low sodium types, regular intake of higher doses of Vitamin B6 creates an even worse scenario, where
the raising effect on magnesium will also result in an increasingly higher magnesium / calcium ratio, however
in addition to lowering lithium and eventually calcium levels, an abnormally high retention of magnesium will
result in dramatically lower sodium and silicon, but increased phosphorus levels.
Common long-term effects include alignment problems and/or eventual spinal degeneration at T1 and L2 with
right-sided symptoms in the upper back / shoulder, and lower back area due to progressive disk dehydration,
along with general osteoarthritic changes in various joints due to cartilage dehydration and calcium depletion.
As a result, Vitamin B6 therapy should only be used for someone with an otherwise difficult-to-manage low
magnesium / high calcium ratio (where calcium is always high and magnesium is always low).
Outside of testing intracellular levels, there is no easy answer as to whether a patient should supplement
only calcium, only magnesium, or both, and if a "Cal-Mag" formulation is used, what the ratio should be.
Serum calcium (or magnesium) tests are of no benefit since serum calcium is pretty well fixed, with dietary
changes having little impact on its value.
To varying degrees, the same applies to most other minerals or trace elements, or there is a non-linear
response, where low values can only be raised up to a certain level through diet or supplementation. Cellular
levels and ratios on the other hand do not have those limitations and continue to increase / decrease linearly
in response to dietary or supplemental intake, or they change in response to various medical conditions. ¤
Mineral Ratios
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Copyright © 2000-2012 Acu-Cell - Mineral Ratios
Calcium
Iron
Selenium
Germanium
Nickel
Fluoride
Magnesium
Manganese
Sulfur
Silicon
Cobalt
Chloride
Phosphorus
Zinc
Tin
Bismuth
Chromium
Vanadium
Sodium
Potassium
Iodine
Lithium
Copper
Molybdenum
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Updated: 16. Jan. 2012