Open educational resource

The geometry of mineral balance, made practical

We look at five mineral ratios — Na/K Ca/Mg Fe/Mn Cu/Zn Cu/Se — to visualize systemic drift and translate research into visual tools and gentle, actionable nudges (not medical advice).

Read the launch feature: Iron Overload & Type 2 Diabetes (JAMA) Try the Pentagon Radar

Pentagon Radar (mock)

Vertex order: A Fe/Mn → B Ca/Mg → C Na/K → D Cu/Se → E Cu/Zn

* Static demo. The real tool will accept lab/diet estimates and output HBI & suggestions.

Why look at ratios not single intakes?

Physiology is full of antagonist/synergy pairs: Na/K for osmotic tone, Ca/Mg for excitability vs calm, Cu/Zn & Cu/Se for barrier/redox. Raw intake says little about system state; ratios do.

Geometric expression

Each ratio is mapped to a normalized deviation in [-1,+1] and plotted as a pentagon. Near‑circle = resilience. A bulged or collapsed edge = priority for intervention.

Evidence tiers

We tag citations A/B/C/H: A guideline/meta/large cohort; B single RCT/solid observational; C mechanistic/small; H working hypothesis.

ABCH

Selected Evidence

JAMA 2004: Ferritin and T2D Risk (prospective cohort, A‑tier)
Annual Review 2023: Iron & Pathophysiology of Diabetes (review, A‑tier)
Trace minerals & barrier function (mechanism, C‑tier)

Browse library

Quick Search

* Searches titles/abstracts/tags.

Pentagon Radar (Beta)

Enter five ratios or lab estimates to get an HBI score and “pull‑vector” suggestions.

Open tool

Lab Panel (education)

How to reason about Ferritin / TSAT / CRP / sTfR (educational; not diagnostic).

View panel

Food & Botanical Vectors

Common foods/spices/herbs labeled by their directional “pull” on edges for personalization.

Open table

Feature • Iron Overload, Red Meat & Type 2 Diabetes

Beyond sugar: a mechanistic view of oxidative stress plus population evidence (JAMA 2004; AR Physiology 2023), followed by practical, non‑extreme nutrition & lifestyle nudges.

Fe/Mn Cu/Zn Cu/Se

Open feature

About

MineralPentagon.org is a non‑profit educational project focused on the connection between mineral ratios and systems health. We use evidence grading and visual tools to lower the barrier to understanding. Chinese‑first; English mirror provided.

Contact: hi@mineralpentagon.org

Principles & Disclaimers

Open sources, transparent A/B/C/H grading
Educational use only — not medical advice
Welcomes critique and corrections; disclose conflicts of interest

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