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Hair
Mineral Analysis
Q.
What is hair mineral analysis?
Hair tissue mineral analysis (HTMA), is an analytical
test which measures the mineral content of the hair.
The sampled hair, obtained by cutting the first inch
and one-half of growth closest to the scalp at the
nape of the neck, is prepared in a licensed clinical
laboratory through a series of chemical and high temperature
digestive procedures. Testing is then performed using
highly sophisticated detection equipment and methods
to achieve the most accurate and precise results.
Q. Why use the hair? Why not use the blood?
Hair is ideal tissue for sampling and testing. First,
it can be cut easily and painlessly and can be sent
to the lab without special handling requirements.
Second, clinical results have shown that a properly
obtained sample can give an indication of mineral
status and toxic metal accumulation following long-term
or even acute exposure.
A HTMA reveals a unique metabolic world: intracellular
activity, which cannot be seen through most other
tests. This provides a blueprint of the biochemistry
occurring during the period of hair growth and development.
Q. Why test for minerals?
Trace minerals are essential in countless metabolic
functions in all phases of the life process.
• Zinc is involved in the production, storage
and secretion of insulin and is necessary for growth
hormones.
• Magnesium is required for normal muscular
function, especially the heart. A deficiency has been
associated with an increased incidence of heart attacks,
anxiety and nervousness.
• Potassium is critical for normal nutrient
transport into the cell. A deficiency can result in
muscular weakness, depression and lethargy.
• Excess sodium is associated with hypertension,
but adequate amounts are required for normal health.
In the words of the late author and noted researcher,
Dr. Henry Schroeder, trace elements (minerals) are
"...more important factors in human nutrition
than vitamins. The body can manufacture many vitamins,
but it cannot produce necessary trace minerals or
get rid of many possible excesses."
Q. What can cause a mineral imbalance?
There are many factors to take into consideration,
such as:
• Diet - Improper diet through
high intake of refined and processed foods, alcohol
and fad diets can all lead to a chemical imbalance.
Even the nutrient content of a "healthy"
diet can be inadequate, depending on the soil in which
the food was grown or the method in which it was prepared.
• Stress - Physical or emotional
stress can deplete the body of many nutrients while
also reducing the capability to absorb and utilize
many nutrients.
• Medications - Both prescription
and over-the-counter medications can deplete the body
stores of nutrient minerals and/or increase the levels
of toxic metals. These medications include diuretics,
antacids, aspirin and oral contraceptives.
• Pollution - From adolescence
through adulthood, the average person is continually
exposed to a variety of toxic metal sources such as
cigarette smoke (cadmium), hair dyes (lead), hydrogenated
oils (nickel), anti-perspirants (aluminum), dental
amalgams (mercury and cadmium), copper and aluminum
cookware and lead-based cosmetics. These are just
a few of the hundreds of sources that can contribute
to nutrient imbalances and adverse metabolic effects.
• Nutritional Supplements -
Taking incorrect supplements or improper amounts of
supplements can produce many vitamin and mineral excesses
and/or deficiencies, contributing to an overall biochemical
imbalance.
• Inherited Patterns - A predisposition
toward certain mineral imbalances, deficiencies and
excesses can be inherited from parents.
Q.
Can vitamin requirements be determined from a mineral
test?
Minerals interact not only with each other but also
with vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Minerals
influence each of these factors, and they, in turn,
influence mineral status. Minerals act as enzyme activators,
and vitamins are synergistic to minerals as coenzymes.
It is extremely rare that a mineral disturbance develops
without a corresponding disturbance in the synergistic
vitamin(s). It is also rare for a disturbance in the
utilization or activity of a vitamin to occur without
affecting a synergistic mineral(s). For example, vitamin
C affects iron absorption and reduces copper retention.
Boron and iron influence the status of vitamin B2.
Vitamin B2 affects the relationship between calcium
and magnesium. Vitamin B1 enhances sodium retention,
B12 enhances iron and cobalt absorption, and vitamin
A enhances the utilization of zinc, while antagonizing
vitamins D and E. Protein intake will affect zinc
status, etc. Therefore, evaluating mineral status
provides good clues of vitamin status and requirements.
Continuing research involves the recognition of many
synergistic and antagonistic interrelationships between
minerals and vitamins.
Q. What do you receive after a complete hair
analysis profile?
Trace Elements, Inc., a leading worldwide laboratory,
has created a unique system of interpreting hair mineral
analysis results. Each test report will provide your
clinician with the most complete and comprehensive
evaluation and discussion of significant mineral levels,
ratios and toxic metals as tested in the hair. Included
is a listing of individual foods and food groups that
the doctor can recommend to eat or avoid in accordance
with food allergy indicators and individualized metabolic
requirements. In addition, each analysis contains
a highly specific listing of nutrients that the doctor
may recommend to assist in balancing body chemistry.
Q. Is Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis supported
by research?
Hair tissue mineral analysis is supported by an impressive
body of literature in a variety of respected national
and international scientific publications. Over the
past 15 years, hair mineral testing has been extensive.
Each year in the United States alone, federally licensed
clinical laboratories perform over 150,000 hair mineral
assays for health care professionals interested in
an additional screening aid for a comprehensive patient
evaluation. This does not take into consideration
the thousands of subjects used in numerous continuing
research studies conducted by private and government
research agencies.
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