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The Role of Hair Mineral Analysis in Designing a Supplement Program

By Joy Healey

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 20May2009 Word count: 515 Viewed: 79 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

Minerals, comprising about 4% of our bodily weight, play a vital role in our health. Their functions include: - Structural support for bones and teeth - Nerve conduction - Water balance - Muscle contraction - Enzyme functions Some are required for hundreds of functions, others for just a few. Most people will be familiar with some of the roles of nutrient minerals such as calcium, zinc, iron and magnesium. Less familiar, but just as important are manganese, chromium and selenium.

By contrast, there are minerals with no known biological function and which are considered toxic. Again, some will be familiar to readers - for instance: lead, mercury, arsenic and cadmium.

And thirdly, there are minerals such as copper that are essential for certain functions, yet toxic in excess - which of course applies to almost every substance to which we may be exposed. Even the humble calcium, known for preventing osteoporosis can contribute to brittle bones in some people. So what is necessary and what is excess?

To further complicate matters, for optimum performance, minerals must be present in the correct balance to work synergistically (cooperatively). For example although iron and copper in the correct proportion work together producing red blood cells, too much of either one can prevent absorption of the other. That's just one example of many I could have quoted.

And it's not just mineral balance that needs considering, but also vitamins. Most people know that vitamin D can increase calcium absorption, but excess can cause a potassium deficiency. Again, just one example of many.

Given the complications of this balancing act, it's not surprising that one particular multi-mineral/vitamin supplement may produce a different reaction in two different people. One size does not fit all.

These complicated interactions, together with ever increasing knowledge from scientific research, must all be taken into consideration when choosing a supplement program otherwise you run the risk of nutritionally induced deficiencies caused by high dose single vitamins or minerals. For instance, taking large doses of vitamin C may help prevent colds, but as vitamin C has a copper-lowering effect you may leave yourself more at risk of bacterial infections.

So before designing a program, a client's existing mineral status needs evaluating, and a reliable approach to this is tissue mineral analysis of human hair, using atomic spectroscopy. Hair, which can be obtained easily and painlessly, will contain the minerals incorporated during its growth. The closer to the scalp, the more recent, and current, the information contained.

Based on scientific research, the United States Environmental Protection Agency has accepted that hair analysis is an effective way to measure mineral status, and studies have shown that, unlike blood samples, levels of toxic minerals in the hair correlated with kidney and liver concentrations, and was therefore a good indicator of bodily accumulation.

A correctly analyzed sample will provide a wealth of information about a patient's nutritional status, the effects of their diet, stress levels and exposure to toxic metals.

To ensure that testing is accurate, use only a laboratory that is licensed and certified by state and federal regulatory bodies.

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