Health – What’s in your hair?

This isn’t a plug for Pantene or other hair care products, but quite the reverse. Hair can be a very useful tool for measuring mineral status for humans as well as for testing toxic metal exposure. In 1980 it was accepted by the Environmental Protection Agency in the USA as an effective tool for monitoring toxic metals in humans.

Internationally it has been shown to be an accurate and permanent record of concentrations of elements in the hair that correlate to internal body organs. Hair tissue mineral analysis has been clinically used for over 30 years. In its early days the testing and analysis was rather crude and often inaccurate. However the science has been dramatically improved in recent years and the accuracy of the testing is very high when performed correctly.

Good laboratories will use state of the art ICP-Mass spectrometry, which is the same technology NASA used when they analysed samples on Mars! The results using this technology are incredibly accurate and 100 per cent reproducible.

Not only are the tools used to analyse the hair very important, but so is the method for obtaining a sample. How the tissue is gathered and what part of the head it is gathered from is paramount to getting the best results. Having a sample taken by someone untrained can be a waste of time and money.

Why do we care about mineral status in the body?

The role of minerals in the body are paramount to good health, but knowing what your body does and doesn’t need is essential. Too much of any mineral can be highly toxic (e.g. an excess in copper has been associated with learning difficulties such as dyslexia and Wilsons disease). Deficiencies in minerals can also lead to many health problems.

It is not just the individual mineral levels but also the various relationships between minerals that is critical. Magnesium and calcium are a good example. Too much calcium can contribute to a magnesium deficiency and vice versa.

Hair tissue mineral analysis can also detect when someone has had exposure to toxic metals. Toxic metals have no known biological functions.

In fact they are highly toxic and often more so in children. Some reports have shown (through tissue studies) that infants who died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, revealed higher lead concentrations than those who had died of other causes.

All heavy metals are toxic and it still amazes me that there is still opposition to that fact. Especially now with the huge amount of scientific evidence that supports these claims.

Taking supplements blindly can be a complete waste of money (not to mention harmful), having your hair tested can help avoid this common mistake. Just make sure you use someone that knows what they are doing!