As a Nutrition Consultant I see many clients with health
challenges that conventional medicine has failed to solve.
When confronted by such puzzles, one of many useful
investigative tools at my disposal is the Hair Mineral
Analysis, or HMA. It is something I will consider right
away if I suspect that health problems could be arising as
a result of toxic metal overload.
Hair contains all the minerals present in the body and, in
most cases, reflects the quantity of these elements in your
tissues. Analysis of this information provides a wealth of
information on how efficiently your body is working and its
nutritional status. A blood test will only give information
about your mineral levels at the time the test is taken.
For instance, if you've just eaten a banana a blood test
may indicate a high potassium level, even though you
actually need a potassium supplement. Hair analysis
reflects your body's storage of potassium over a period of
time, not what you ate that day, or even that week.
Likewise, urine tests measure what is being excreted from
your body, which is not necessarily what has been absorbed
as fuel.
Trace minerals are essential in countless metabolic
functions in all phases of the life process. According to
the late author and noted researcher, Dr Henry Schroeder,
trace elements (minerals) are "more important factors in
human nutrition than vitamins.
Mineral imbalances can arise from improper diet, stress,
medications, pollution and even from taking the incorrect
type or amount of a nutritional supplement.
How is the test carried out? Taking a hair sample is
simple, non-invasive and pain free. Any one can do it. All
that is needed is about a tablespoon of hair taken from
several areas of your scalp on the back portion of your
head. The hair must be about one to one and a half inches
from the root end - it's important to cut off and discard
any hair longer than that.
This is dispatched to a lab in the USA that specializes
only in hair analysis. On arrival it is prepared for
testing and then acids are added to break the hair down,
separating out the elements contained in the hair protein.
After "digestion" the remaining mineral salts are put into
solution and analyzed by sensitive and specialized
instruments.
The results are interpreted to produce nutritional mineral
levels, their interrelationships and metabolic
categorization. The report is then personalized for you,
complete with graphs and explanations which may give you
answers you have been seeking for years.
Why the USA? After evaluating various services I settled on
this lab because it offered excellent value for money. a
superb report and a fast service. My own report contained
18 pages of information (others may differ, depending on
findings) and was delivered within a fortnight at a cost of
£50. It included levels of 38 minerals and the
interactions between them, my metabolic type with a list of
recommended supplements and details of foods to increase
and decrease in order to improve my mineral balance. At the
other end of the spectrum was a UK service which I won't
name. Although it was a few pounds cheaper, I waited 8
weeks for its return then received just one sheet of paper
giving levels of 19 minerals. No explanations, no ratios,
no interactions, no graphs, no analysis. You get what you
pay for.
Are there any problems? You will be asked to specify which
hair preparations you used, as some hair treatments can
contaminate scalp hair. For instance dyes may contain lead
acetate, bleaching processes affect calcium and certain
medicated shampoos contain zinc or selenium. However, only
that individual element is affected. All the others tested
are valid. If scalp hair is in short supply, hair from
other parts of the body is completely acceptable!
Is it reliable? Hair is used as one of the tissues of
choice by the Environmental Protection Agency in
determining toxic metal exposure. A 1980 report from the
E.P.A. stated that human hair can be effectively used for
biological monitoring of the highest priority toxic metals.
This report confirmed the findings of other studies in the
USA and abroad, which concluded that human hair might be a
more appropriate tissue than blood or urine for studying
community exposure to certain trace elements.
Although some health-care professionals are skeptical, in
the past twenty years there have been over a thousand
references in peer-reviewed journals, supporting the
reliability of the HMA. But perhaps of more interest are
the following case histories.
Case history 1: J.C. presented with symptoms of fatigue,
lethargy, joint aches and excessive hair loss (at age 25).
His hair mercury was markedly high. Following treatment his
hair levels of mercury decreased to a much more acceptable
level and his symptoms improved significantly. The source
of the toxicity was never identified.
Case history 2: C.T. became mentally ill and was diagnosed
with paranoid schizophrenia. He was also alcoholic and
consuming large quantities of drugs. An HMA revealed four
times the acceptable levels of lead in his hair and also
elevated levels of cadmium, mercury and copper. Following
therapy and supplementation his condition improved
dramatically, he lost his cravings for alcohol and his
symptoms of mental illness reverted to normal, with no
further need for psychoactive drugs.
Case history 3: L.S., a housewife in her early 40s, had
been feeling tired for months. Her doctor had run all the
standard tests and could find no problems. Finally she had
an HMA which showed she had high levels of lead that were
causing her tiredness. The cure came easily, she was
feeling better in two weeks and the tired feeling vanished
within a month.
L.S. was breathing excess lead from a car exhaust. How much
lead are you breathing in from car exhausts - jogging or
queuing in heavy traffic? How much cadmium have you
accumulated from passive (or active!) smoking at the office
and the pub? Is the mercury in your fillings stable, or is
the vapor slowly poisoning you?
Why might you benefit from an HMA? If you have a disease or
illness that has not responded to conventional treatment,
you may wish to explore other possibilities and an HMA is
an excellent place to start. If you are suffering from
"unexplained" problems such as headaches, backaches,
weakness or tremors, an HMA could help you to get to the
bottom of it.
If you can answer 'yes' to five or more of these questions
an HMA may provide information which, if acted upon, could
benefit your health.
* Do you live in a city or by a heavy road?
* Do you spend more than 2 hours a week in traffic?
* Do you exercise or walk by busy roads?
* Do you smoke more than 5 cigarettes a day?
* Do you live or work in a smoky atmosphere?
* Do you buy foods exposed to exhaust fumes (i.e. on
display at a road-side stall)?
* Do you generally eat non-organic produce?
* Do you drink more than 1 unit of alcohol per day? (1
glass of wine, 1 pint of beer or 1 measure of spirits)?
* Do you spend a lot of time in front of a TV or VDU?
* Are you exposed to pollutants in your job (e.g. printing,
dentistry) or hobby (gardening)?
* Do you have two or more amalgam dental fillings?
* Do you usually drink unfiltered tap water? Or you may
just be feeling under par without knowing why.
Are just toxic minerals examined? No - the HMA will examine
the status of the essential minerals such as calcium,
magnesium, zinc, chromium and a whole host of others.
Modern food processing methods strip nutrients from food.
Did you know that a massive 98% of chromium is stripped
from flour in the refining process. Not heard of chromium?
It is an essential part of the 'Glucose Tolerance Factor'
which controls blood sugar, stimulates burning of food for
energy, controls blood cholesterol levels, reduces blood
fat levels and suppresses hunger symptoms.
Modern farming methods have also depleted the mineral
content of soil, and addition of some fertilizers can make
minerals unavailable to plants. But it's not just
deficiencies that can cause problems. You can have too much
of anything! If calcium (in dairy products), sodium (in
table salt) or phosphorous (in fizzy drinks) are present in
excess in your diet, these can upset the natural mineral
ratios. And interactions between minerals are important
too. Is fluoride in your water supply depressing your
calcium absorption? The graphs in an HMA will reveal all.
Why not find out?
Obviously an HMA is no substitute for diagnosis by a
qualified medical practitioner, but if conventional medical
investigations have failed to find a reason, or suggest a
treatment for your problem, HMA represents an invaluable
and cost effective next step.
----------------------------------------------------
Joy Healey qualified as a nutritionist in 2000, at the
prestigious Institute for Optimum Nutrition in London.
To learn more about Hair Analysis, view a sample report,
and see how to order online, visit
http://www.4-hair-mineral-analysis.com
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