Hair is an excretory tissue for essential, nonessential and potentially toxic elements. In general, the amount of an element that is irreversibly incorporated into growing hair is proportional to the level of the element in the other body tissues. Therefore, hair mineral analysis provides an indirect screening test for physiological excess, deficiency or misdistribution of elements in the body.
Clinical research indicates that hair levels of specific elements, particularly potentially toxic elements such as cadmium, mercury, lead and arsenic, are highly correlated with pathological disorders. For such elements, levels in hair may be more indicative of the body stores than the levels in blood and urine.
What Hair Mineral Analysis Can Find:
A properly interpreted hair mineral analysis can find unique imbalances that can be the underlying root cause for many major health issues including:
Why Should You Test Your Mineral Levels?
Minerals are involved in almost every metabolic reaction within the body. Having proper mineral balance is essential to optimal metabolic reactions and proper energy production and hormonal secretions.
A graph of the hair analysis shows the levels of calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, zinc, copper, iron, manganese, selenium, chromium, lithium and much more. These minerals are key for a proper functioning of the tissues and organs of the body.
All the minerals have a complex relationship between each other and the proper ratios are essential for optimal functioning. Depending upon the unique mineral balance, some of the minerals will need to be reduced while others will need to be replenished.
As an example, both calcium and copper intake can deplete zinc levels and a high zinc intake can reduce copper levels. High sodium intake can reduce potassium levels and vice versa. There is an important equilibrium between these minerals that allows for optimal cellular function.
What Are the Implications of a Hair Mineral Analysis:
With respect to its contained elements, hair is essentially an excretory tissue rather than a functional tissue. Hair element analysis provides important information which, in conjunction with symptoms and other laboratory values, can assist the physician with an early diagnosis of physiological disorders associated with aberrations in essential and toxic element metabolism.
As protein is synthesized in the hair follicle, elements are incorporated permanently into the hair with no further exchange or equilibration with other tissues. Scalp hair is easy to sample, and because it grows an average of one to two cm per month, it contains a “temporal record” of element metabolism and exposure to toxic elements.
Nutrient elements including magnesium, chromium, zinc, copper and selenium are obligatory co-factors for hundreds of important enzymes and also are essential for the normal functions of vitamins. The levels of these elements in hair are correlated with levels in organs and other tissues.
Toxic elements may be 200 to 300 times more highly concentrated in hair than in blood or urine. Therefore, hair is the tissue of choice for detection of recent exposure to elements such as arsenic, aluminum, cadmium, lead, antimony and mercury. The CDC acknowledges the value of hair mercury levels as a maternal and infant marker for exposure to neurotoxic methylmercury from fish.
Why I Like This Test:
A hair mineral and metal test gives INCREDIBLY VALUABLE information about mineral balance, heavy metal elimination and key metabolic functions. This test is very low cost and relatively non-invasive. It is one of the easiest pre-post test analysis to monitor health outcomes over a period of time.
This test allows me to design a very specific mineral supplementation plan to help you create balance and harmony which is extremely important for optimal metabolic function and hormonal secretions. We use the Doctors Data Hair Mineral Analysis to get this data. Check out the sample copy of the lab below.
To perform this test, simply cut and discard the unwanted ends of the hair until all you have is the 1-1.5 inches (2.5-4 cm) or less that was closest to the scalp. Use a ruler to be sure you have the right length of hair!
You will have enough hair when the 1-1.5 inches (2.5-4 cm) hair sample fills a TABLESPOON (or tips the scale if you have requested a scale). If you are unsure if you have enough hair, send a little more to be safe. For repeat hair analyses, it’s best to keep the samples no longer than one inch (2.5 cm).
Total Cost: $ 160.00
If you live in New York or New Jersey, some lab testing may not be able to be completed. Please contact our team at (847) 222-9546 to verify that this request can be fulfilled.
View Sample Report
Fortunately, because of the many thousands of newsletter readers and social media followers, my team has been able to network with a great lab distributor and get the best possible pricing for everyone.
The retail value (using market value and insurance based rates) is highly inflated and driving up the cost of health care. This is the old, archaic method that many people are still using and paying way more for insurance and co-pays than they really should be.
Many intelligent people are saving insurance premium dollars and turning to pay by order labs such as DirectLabs and others. These skip the middle man (doctors’ visits) and cut down costs for the patient.
If the test requires blood work you can take your kit to any local lab and have the trained professional take your blood and fill out the kit and send it in the mail.
Urine and blood prick tests can all be done in the comfort of your home and sent into the lab with the mailing slip in your kit. All instructions will be sent to you with the kit. It is a very simple process that most anyone can figure out. The lab also has a customer service phone # if any help is needed.