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.
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.
- Thirty to 40 days following an acute exposure, elevated serum levels of lead may be undetectable. This is due to the body removing the lead from the serum as a protective measure and depositing the metal into such tissues as the liver, bones, teeth and hair.
- Nutrient loss from the body can become so advanced that severe health conditions can develop without any appreciable changes noted in those same nutrient levels in a blood test.
- Symptoms of elemental deficiency can be present long before low levels can be detected in the serum.
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 EPA 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 U.S. and abroad, which concluded that human hair may be a more appropriate tissue than blood or urine for studying community exposure to some trace elements.
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 abnormal heart conditions, anxiety and nervousness.
- Potassium is critical for normal nutrient transport into the cell. A deficiency can result in muscular weakness, mild 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."
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 upon 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), antiperspirants (aluminum), dental amalgams (mercury and cadmium), copper and aluminum cookware and lead-based cosmetics. These are just a few of the hundreds of sources which 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.
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 at Trace Elements involves the recognition of many synergistic and antagonistic interrelationships between minerals and vitamins.
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 fifteen 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.
Did You Know?
Excessive mineral intake can negate the beneficial effects of vitamins, for example:
Excessive vitamin intake can negate the beneficial effects of minerals, for example:
- Zinc can reduce the beneficial effect of vitamin D.
- Calcium can reduce the beneficial effect of vitamin A.
- Vitamin C can reduce the beneficial effect of copper.
- Vitamin D can cause a deficiency of magnesium.
Taking too much iron can contribute to such symptoms as arthritis, high blood pressure and tension headaches with dizziness.
Frontal headaches (behind the eyes) are associated with too much copper.
Taking too much calcium alone can contribute to osteoporosis, weight gain and fatigue.
Toxic metals can contribute to learning disabilities in children.
Designing a Nutritional Program
It is essential in order to design an effective nutritional program that your doctor is able to distinguish the basic underlying cause for symptoms that you may be experiencing. It is for this reason that upon evaluation, your doctor may request a HTMA to be used in conjunction with other diagnostic tests. A HTMA can assist in providing your doctor with a more comprehensive picture on which to base the most appropriate therapy.
HTMA Computer Designed Reports
Each test report will provide you with the most complete and comprehensive computer evaluation of significant mineral levels and ratios as tested in the hair. Included is a listing of foods to eat or to avoid in accordance with food allergy indicators and individualized requirements. In addition, each analysis contains a highly specific listing of nutrients that may assist in balancing body chemistry.
“Through proper interpretation, there exists a unique ability to recognize abnormal metabolic processes from trace mineral patterns found in the hair and other tissues. With specific dietary modifications, restoration of a more normal biochemical balance can be achieved, thereby eliminating many nutritionally related endocrine, neurological and even emotional disturbances.”
David L. Watts, PhD.
Trace substances in environmental health VIII.
Edited by D. Hemphill. Proceedings of the University of Missouri’s annual conference on Trace Substances in Environmental Health.
Jenkins, D. W., Biological Monitoring of Toxic Trace Metals. 1980 E.P. A. (Pub. No. 600/3-8-089) Washington, D.C.
Hammer, D.I., Trace Metals in Hair Are Easier To Study. 1971, JAMA 216, (3): 384-5
Maugh, T.H., Hair: A Diagnostic Tool To Compliment Blood Serum And Urine. 1978 Science 202 (22): 1271-3
Cheraskin, E., Ringsdorf, M., Prevalence of Possible Lead Toxicity As Determined By Hair Analysis. Journal of Orthomolecular Psychiatry, Vol. 8 No. 2
Stevens, D. J., Determination of Aluminum, Copper And Zinc IN Human Hair. 1983 Atomic Spectroscopy, Vol. 4 No. 5
Schroeder, H., Trace Elements and Man. 1873 Deven Adair Co. Conn.
Katz, S., The Use Of Hair As A Biopsy Material For Trace Elements In The Body. Feb 1979 American Laboratory
Kleval, L. M., Hair As A Biopsy Material…Progress And Prospects, July 1978 Arch, Intern, Med. Vol. 138