What is a Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis?

A hair analysis is a scientific test which accurately measures the mineral content for over 30 different minerals in the hair using atomic absorption methods. Mineral content of the hair reflects the mineral content of the body’s tissues. It can also indicate whether that mineral is bioavailable to the cells and tissues.

Hair mineral analyses are also very accurate in determining the levels of toxic heavy metals – a problem which is becoming all too common in an ever-increasing toxic world. Toxic metals such as mercury, aluminum, arsenic, lead, strontium, and sometimes iron can have a profound impact on health and can be very destructive.

What Other Conditions Can It Detect?

A mineral hair analysis can also reveal a variety of different nutritional and health problems as well as the status of many organs and glands, including the liver and kidneys. It is also very useful to assess thyroid, pituitary, and adrenal gland function. It can pinpoint digestive problems, blood sugar imbalances, anemia, inflammation, and stress levels.

Why Don’t These Imbalances Show Up in a Blood Test?

A hair analysis can detect many imbalances that a conventional blood testing cannot. Nutritional physiology takes place at the cellular level, not in the blood. Blood levels of nutrients and minerals are kept within very narrow limits by the body and are slow to change. Thus, blood levels are not a true reflection of the nutrient status within the tissues, organs and glands which are all often depleted before the blood is. In contrast, tissue mineral analysis provides information about cellular activity within the tissues and the metabolism of all nutrients throughout the body.

Routine blood tests also cannot detect chronic heavy-metal poisoning; however, tissue mineral analysis, using atomic absorption, is considered an accurate method.