BioChemistry/Hair Analysis

Do you have something in you that shouldn't be there?

A hair analysis can be used to give a more complete picture of a person's health history. A hair tissue mineral analysis (HTMA) is an analytical screening test that measures the mineral content and mineral ratios of your hair. However, a hair tissue mineral analysis does more than simply test for the presence of minerals. A hair analysis can be a cost-effective screening method for discovering imbalances within the body.

Hair, like other  body tissues, contains minerals that are deposited as the hair grows. Hair is affected by blood, perspiration, environment, genetics, hormones and enzymes. Even though the hair itself is actually dead, the minerals remain in the hair as it continues to grow. A sample of hair, non-invasively obtained from hair cut close to the scalp, provides information about the mineral activity in the hair from the past three to six months (depending upon the rate of your hair growth).

By utilizing the services of a leading lab, the hair tissue mineral analysis can provide information about your nutritional status, metabolic rate, energy levels, sugar and carbohydrate tolerance, stage of stress, immune system and glandular activity. The screening tests a sample of hair for 20 minerals and toxic metals. Hair tissue mineral analyses are especially effective in indicating the presence of accumulated toxic metal levels when blood levels may be in the normal range. For example, a blood test for lead or mercury can fall within normal levels, indicating what is happening outside the cell and what waste material is being discarded; but a hair analysis can give a more accurate reading of what is being stored inside the cells and body over time. Often, the accumulation of toxic metals has been associated with symptoms of attention defecit disorder, fibromyalgia, anemia, chronic fatigue, anxiety, eczema, headaches, or cardia arrythmias.

What can cause a mineral imbalance?

Mineral imbalances can be caused by improper or inadequate diet, physical or emotional stress, prescription or over-the-counter medications, environmental pollutants, improper or incorrect use of nutritional supplements and genetic predisposition. In order to design an effective nutritional program, doctors must be able to evaluate the underlying causes of problems or potential problems. A hair tissue mineral analysis may allow us to detect that an imbalance exists before the imbalance begins to manifest itself with overt symptoms and to provide comprehensive information on which to base the most appropriate therapy.