You know what's so interesting about Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA)? It's that despite it being a test to verify mineral values and heavy metals, these values can also translate into our personality and how we live our life. In fact, we actually have a blog already on how trauma can manifest in the body and be representative through the Na:K ratio. This is because the Na:K ratio is representative of how our body is reacting internally- sort of like how we're digesting life, our inner thoughts. You can read the blog here.
Today though, we wanted to touch on another ratio, the Ca:Mg ratio, which is also recognized as the "Lifestyle ratio". Unlike the Na:K ratio, this is more associated to our outer world, like our diet, relationships, environment, job, and other lifestyle factors.
Calcium is a heavy mineral, but it is not a metal. It's considered a buffer element and if we were to think of this in an energetic context, can represent stagnation, slowness, maybe even heaviness or stubbornness. Magnesium on the other hand, yes can help calm things down, but is a metal, and thus carries more "spark". It energizes thousands of enzymes in the body and helps with the permeability of certain cellular processes, like glucose entering the cell, which ironically this ratio also represents blood sugar.
When we look at a Ca:Mg ratio, we're typically looking at how well the individual is processing insulin and glucose. Calcium is required to secrete insulin from the pancreas and magnesium helps regulate the amount of glucose that enters the cell. This is a process of recognizing we need energy to function, but also provide ourselves the permission to accept energy to keep moving forward.
So how does this translate into our lifestyle and personalities?
Ever feel like you are going "hard" at life, a self-proclaimed workaholic, not asking for help, not taking breaks, thinking you're an imitation to a bull seeing red? There is a lot of resistance leaking through, harshness, even a sense of frigidity and loneliness. We would typically see individuals with a higher Ca:Mg ratio with such an attitude because they are putting up a "shell" to protect themselves from being "penetrated" by life.
Does this sound familiar? To reiterate, calcium is like sedative, heavy, and can act like a "shell" if there is too much present, and magnesium is required to "stimulate" or even "penetrate" things. This is seen if the calcium level in itself is high on an HTMA, or if it's just too high in relation to magnesium.
A healthy level of Ca:Mg is typically between 3-11, but anything higher than that is when we have to start asking ourselves some questions about how we're proceeding with life. Some important aspects to look at are our attitude in life or with ourselves.
For example, are you struggling to release certain emotions such as anger, resentment, or guilt? Are you being stubborn over something that has happened in the past, or unwilling to be cooperative in a situation due to unresolved emotions?
That's the thing with this ratio, particularly when high. We try to validate our reasonings to stay "rigid" in our lifestyle through either being defensive or stubborn as a stress response of something unresolved emotionally. The pattern essentially describes one "holding on beyond of what is needed".
However, on the flip side, if the ratio is low, below a 3, it favors magnesium, which in this specific scenario means the individual is a lot more "permeable" in their life. This isn't always a good thing, for rather than being stubborn and protecting their space and energy, even if it comes at a cost, the total opposite could leave someone drowning in emotions.
Ways a low Ca:Mg ratio could shown up is if someone struggles to manage their lifestyle through overwork, taking on too many tasks, or drowning in the business of life. They end up feeling panicked, anxious, overwhelmed, or even confused about many things. Unlike calcium, which is considered a tougher mineral, magnesium is a little "tizzy" if in excess to calcium. This is because calcium acts as a buffer to things, and with a lack a shield, life can overtake someone and make them feel inundated or even have this ideation to give up. This is usually seen if the magnesium level by itself is too high, or if it's too high in relation to calcium.
Little note here is that if magnesium is individually high on an HTMA, it doesn't necessarily mean we have too much in our tissues, but rather we are losing magnesium and incapable of retaining it in our cells which can project symptoms as the ones listed.
If this sounds like you, here a few things to ask yourself in your life:
- Are you over worked?
- Do you need more time to yourself?
- Do you feel understood by your peers or loved ones?
- Are you stuck in the hustle culture?
- Do you give yourself time to reset during breaks?
- Are you trying to prove to people or yourself something through your lifestyle habits?
- Why do you have this need to take on so much?
Reflect and on these questions and you might find some answers.
In the short term however, we do have 2 great formulas to help support you if you're struggling with either end of the spectrum of this ratio.
First off, we have our Upgraded Calcium which is a mix of calcium, magnesium and boron to help fix an inverted Ca:Mg ratio. This will help raise a low calcium level and lower an excess magnesium level with the boron there to be utilized as a "cap" for magnesium being too high.
But, if you have a high Ca:Mg ratio, taking our Upgraded Magnesium will typically do the trick, and we would also recommend taking our Upgraded Boron too for boron also acts as a calcium modulator and helps retain it in the bones rather than the soft tissue.
Hope you found this article helpful!