Mineral Ratios for Calcium, Magnesium and other Elements,
and their Relationship to Spinal Manipulation and Alignment.
Most standard Calcium / Magnesium formulations are sold in a ratio of 2:1, while recommendations
by nutritional practitioners can vary from a 4:1 - 1:1 (Cal/Mag) 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, while other sources maintain that magnesium is needed for proper
calcium absorption. As a result, low magnesium intake can be responsible for low calcium levels.
Which is correct - And is there an "optimal" Calcium / Magnesium ratio?
Unless the intracellular status of calcium, magnesium or other essential trace elements is measured,
it is nearly impossible to predict what exactly will happen to calcium under specific circumstances.
Other than the effects of one-sided diets, one-sided supplementation, or organ damage from trauma,
infections, or drug use, there are also renal, intestinal and hormonal factors --- all having an impact on
someone's mineral status, so there cannot be a fixed mineral ratio that is best for everyone since there
are just too many variables.
As a result, 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. There may also be neurological implications - primarily
through spinal alignment problems - which are addressed further below.
Even in a healthy body - without any of the above ramifications - the effect of magnesium on calcium
(and vice versa) is not always easy to predict, since its ability to increase or lower calcium depends on
many factors, including the type used (citrate, gluconate, carbonate, etc), and their resulting effect on
stomach acid levels. If zinc is on the high side, and potassium is low, then taking extra magnesium will
usually lower calcium, because magnesium supports zinc, but lowers potassium. 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. Vitamin D increases calcium and magnesium, as well as phosphorus absorption.
If calcium is above-normal, but magnesium is even higher than calcium, there is a good chance that an
individual will eventually experience symptoms of calcium deficiency, as shown in the following graph:
High potassium synergistically supports an increase in intracellular calcium, as does high copper,
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 because of calcium becoming bio-unavailable, resulting in calcium loss from
bone.
When increasing manganese, phosphorus, zinc, fluoride, Vitamin C, 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 include protein as well, but it is phosphorus, the
resulting end product, that determines 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 acidbased, 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
specific health issues, however normalizing the ratios of as many other associated, essential mineral
pairs as possible is just as important in the nutritional prevention or treatment of medical conditions,
which include:
Calcium
-
Magnesium
Phosphorus -
Sodium
Iron
-
Manganese
Zinc
-
Potassium
Selenium
-
Sulfur
Tin
-
Iodine
Germanium -
Silicon
Bismuth
-
Lithium
Nickel
-
Cobalt
Chromium
-
Copper
Fluoride
-
Chloride
Vanadium
-
Molybdenum
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 / 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 insomnia, palpitations, tachycardia, anxieties, depression, fatigue, chest pain, and others.
Nutritional factors such as Rutin & Hesperidin interact in a similar fashion, whereby imbalances result
in vascular degenerative disorders, that are frequently one-sided (see also Acu-Cell "Bioflavonoids").
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Spinal Alignment (neurological factor) has a profound effect 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 visited a Chiropractor or an 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 the other way
around as well. By supplementing various amounts of minerals to manipulate their ratio, one can also
affect spinal alignment of the corresponding segment - 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 congenital or structural 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 herniated disk. (see also Acu-Cell Nutrition "Zinc & Potassium").
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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. (see also Acu-Cell Nutrition "Calcium & Magnesium").
In low sodium types, regular intake of higher doses of Vitamin B6 creates a somewhat different picture,
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 (with
right-sided symptoms in the upper back / shoulder area) and at L2, along with general osteoarthritic
changes in various joints.
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 cellular 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.
Blood 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 many 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. ¤
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Copyright © 2000-2009 Ronald Roth
Mineral Ratios
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