Hair Mineral Analysis Q and A (Hair Analysis Helped Our Family Reduce ADHD Symptoms!)


Photo by Martin Péchy

Is hair mineral analysis accurate?

Hair mineral analysis is widely used by medical professionals as an additional screening aid to achieve a comprehensive evaluation of the patient’s mineral and heavy metal content. The hair mineral analysis is accurate and often presents information where other screening methods fail.

Do mineral hair tests work?

Mineral tests are able to offer an insight into your body’s chemistry; it is not a method to diagnose disease but rather a screening test. That being said, hair analysis can be used to give you an insight into the status of mineral deficiencies and imbalances or assess toxic metals toxicity.

Yes, hair analysis tests work. I know first hand. After my first pregnancy and nursing period were up I took a test and found my vitamin B levels were highly deficient. I took the vitamins that were recommended to me for three months, and I felt a noticeable change in my moods. I was less edgy, irritated, blue, and felt increasingly positive.

How much does a hair mineral analysis cost?

How much does it cost? Normally, nutrient testing through blood work can cost up to $300, but with hair analysis, it can be as low as $150. I paid $170 for my last hair analysis. This included a one-hour consultation on the phone to talk through the results.

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Hair Mineral Analysis Interpretation

Trace mineral analysis is a test that measures the mineral content of your hair. The mineral content of the hair reflects the mineral content of the body’s tissues. If a mineral deficiency or excess exists in the hair, it usually indicates a mineral deficiency or excess within the body or bio-unavailability.

The charts you get back from the lab can be hard to interpret. The last test we got back a month ago was hard to completely understand even when I read all the papers and studied the charts.

What I found hard to understand was how certain minerals and substances work together. On the other hand, what they recommended I do about the deficiencies was quite clear.

I wouldn’t select a company to help send in my lab work that didn’t offer a consultation to explain the lab results as part of the hair analysis package. If you chose a company that can explain all the charts from the lab you won’t have any lingering questions about interpretation.

Hair Mineral Analysis versus a blood test

While urine and blood tests show the recent and current body status, hair represents a longer time frame, which can incorporate many years. Since the elements are present in the hair at higher levels, more sensitive and accurate analysis results can be expected.

Who needs hair analysis?

Anyone who is found ill when no explanation can be found, or when the cause seems to be found but the therapy is not wholly effective can benefit from a hair mineral analysis.

Hair analysis opens up a whole new vista for the solving of your own particular problem by recognizing your biochemical individuality.  Even if you are not experiencing a severe problem, abnormal changes in body chemistry and nutritional deficiencies may result in early, subtle changes in the body which lead to illness.

If we take my vitamin B deficiency for example. I could’ve become so deficient that I needed vitamin B shots! That’s bad for my health and expensive.

An untreated vitamin B12 deficiency can lead to neurological problems or anemia, which occurs when your body doesn’t have enough B12 to produce the number of red blood cells it needs. Vitamin B12 shots are the most common way to prevent or treat a deficiency.

Common Causes of a Mineral Imbalance

Improper diet: such as excessive intake of refined carbohydrates and sugars, strict vegetarian or vegan diets, or other exclusive diets may be the leading cause of mineral imbalances, but there are other factors to consider.

Taking vitamins and minerals which are not compatible with your current body chemistry can throw your whole body off balance as well as medications, Birth Control Pills, stress, accumulation of toxic metals from the environment, job, or hobby, and inheritance of mineral patterns from parents.

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How is hair analysis performed?

You snip a little piece of your hair. You can do it yourself or pay to have it done as part of a hair mineral analysis package.

Once the hair collection is complete, I suggest sending it to the Analytical Research Labs, Inc. The only laboratory that does not wash the hair out before testing, therefore, provides the most accurate results. Once tests have been run, you will receive your full analysis and full nutritional report. 

If you buy a hair mineral analysis package including a consultation you will sit down with or talk on the phone with a professional and interpret the lab results for 30 min to an hour. They should also make recommendations for adding and eliminating the proper supplements to achieve optimal health.

What can a hair mineral analysis reveal?

Various mineral imbalances can be revealed which frequently lead to metabolic dysfunctions before any symptoms become manifest.

These conditions may be the result or can be aggravated by a mineral imbalance, Depression, Hypoglycemia, Hypertension, Headaches, Hyperactivity, Hair loss, anemia, Thyroid Disturbance, Prostate Disorders, Diabetes, Digestive Disorders, Musculo-Skeletal Disorders, Cardiovascular Disease, Skin Rashes, Emotional, Problems, Allergies.

Sources

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3582931/#B1

Annie Eklöv

Originally from the USA, I moved to Sweden in 2004 when I married a Swede. My husband and I have three kids two of which have ADHD and Dyslexia diagnoses.

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