We’ve looked at thousands of hair mineral tests and reviewed many research articles that outline common deficiencies in different health conditions that impact fertility. Here are the patterns we’ve found:

PCOS Patterns

• Four Lows Pattern: this is when your calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium are all low. We often see this at the final stages of stress when the body is burnt out. Many of our PCOS clients fall into this category.
• High Iron: this is common with PCOS since many women with PCOS have low levels of hepcidin (a protein that controls iron absorption), which increases how much iron is absorbed. This can increase insulin resistance and further disrupt fertility.
• Low Selenium: can impair thyroid function, especially conversion of thyroid hormone.

Common Patterns Seen with Miscarriage

• Low or High Copper: both can contribute to miscarriage.
• Low Zinc: zinc is important for the development and maturation of the oocyte.
• High Iron: increases inflammation in the body and can negatively impact egg quality.
• Low Selenium: powerful antioxidant that can protect egg quality.
• Elevated Heavy Metals

Endometriosis Patterns

• Low or High Copper: can impact estrogen levels in the body as well as how iron is utilized.
• Low Magnesium
• Low or High Iron
• Low Selenium: negatively impacts thyroid hormone levels
• Low Sodium: can increase fatigue and digestive issues
• High Cobalt: shows liver stress and poor digestion (very common with endo)

Low Progesterone Patterns

• Low Calcium
• Low Magnesium
• Low Zinc
• Low Potassium

Low Iodine

These are the markers on an HTMA that you want to evaluate to see if you need iodine. When we have 4+, it’s a sign our bodies could use some iodine support. Food first is always best since you will get the other essential minerals for iodine (like selenium).

• Potassium <4
• Calcium >70
• Copper >2.5 or <1.5
• Thyroid Ratio (Ca/K) >10.1
• Selenium <.08
• Mercury >.02

Egg Quality Patterns

• Low Calcium: Essential for communication between the egg and sperm
• Low Copper
• Low Zinc
• Low Selenium
• High Heavy Metals

Sperm Quality Patterns

• Low Calcium
• Low Sodium
• Low Potassium
• Low or High Zinc: high levels can be a sign of the body using up more zinc, showing inflammation. Zinc is essential for adequate testosterone.
• High Iron: increases inflammation in the body and can negatively impact sperm quality.
• Low Selenium: very protective antioxidant.
• High Cobalt: sign of poor digestion, which will lead to poor gut health and inflammation.
• High Heavy Metals

This is why we use hair tissue mineral analysis in our Nurture Your Fertility program! Minerals are truly foundational for our health and fertility. We cannot skip this step on our fertility journey.

Learn more in this blog post about HTMA testing!