Holistic Healthcare

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Hair analysis is a soft tissue mineral biopsy and is much more than a test for minerals.  From a small sample of hair, you can learn about your metabolic rate, stage of stress, immune system, and adrenal and thyroid glandular activity.  The test offers accurate information about carbohydrate tolerance, energy levels and tendencies for over 30 illnesses, often years before they manifest.  You can also tell if you are eating enough protein, eating too many carbohydrates, and whether a vegetarian diet is working for you.

Mineral patterns also reflect mental and emotional conditions.  A hair analysis can identify personality tendencies, how you handle stress and a person’s stress level.  It can indicate whether you tend toward extroversion or emotional withdrawal.  It can tell if you are prone to anxiety, depression, phobias or mood swings.  Even addiction and violence may be predicted with a hair test. [Source: Nutritional Balancing and Hair Mineral Analysis, 2005, Lawrence Wilson, MD]

How is all this, and more, possible from a few snips of hair?  It is possible because minerals are involved in all bodily functions as chemical elements are the basic building blocks of our bodies.  Hair analysis provides a reading of the mineral deposition in the cells and interstitial spaces of the hair over a 2-3 month period.

Hair makes an excellent biopsy material for several reasons, among which are:

• Sampling is simple and non-invasive
• It is a stable biopsy material
• Mineral levels in the hair are about 10 times that of the blood
• Advancements in technology have made hair mineral analysis cost effective, accurate, and reliable
• It provides a unique cellular reading of the mineral levels in the body because cells, not blood or urine, are the major site of metabolic activity
• Hair analysis is acknowledged to be one of the few ways to detect toxic metals

Blood tests are valuable in determining cholesterol, hemoglobin levels, and many other parameters; however, they cannot provide the information of a hair analysis.

• Mineral levels in the blood are ten times less than they are in the tissues making measurement difficult.
• Blood levels are kept within very narrow limits by the body for various reasons so that readings vary and less information can be learned.
• Blood tests are subject to daily fluctuations by the foods we eat and our emotional states whereas hair analysis is not.

Hair analysis is considered a screening test and is not intended to be a diagnostic tool of any disease or condition.  However, screening tests can play a critical role in both prevention and early detection of physical and mental disorders.  Often, years of physical, biochemical and emotional upsets deplete the body of nutrients, cause the accumulation of toxic metals, and, in other ways, disturb the body.  These disturbances are added to imbalances, deficiencies, and toxicity with which almost everyone today is born.  Healing is a reversal of this process.

Northland Holistic Health is concerned with assisting you in healing your imbalances, and not simply removing your symptoms.  Symptom removal may occur faster, but often does not address the underlying cause(s).  Bringing imbalanced body chemistry back into balance takes time. It is well-known that oftentimes it can take up to six months to replenish even one mineral. Most individuals have numerous imbalances to correct. In addition, factors such as diet, lifestyle, stress, medications, etc., can alter mineral levels and ratios and can affect the rate of improvement.

After approximately three months, a retest may be required because, (1) as your body chemistry changes, your wellness program should change to meet your current needs; and, (2) to reveal a deeper layer of your metabolism.  Uncovering and reversing layers of adaptations and compensations, a process we call retracing, requires time and some persistence, but is far more permanent and health-producing than simply eliminating your symptoms.  Under no circumstances should you remain on a program more than six months without a retest.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Care Financing Administration, Division of Health Standards and Quality carefully inspect each commercial laboratory annually.  An operating license is issued only if personnel and procedures meet rigorous standards.  Hair analysis laboratories are scrutinized more closely by the government than most blood laboratories. The lab Northland Holistic Health uses takes every precaution to handle each sample carefully and appropriately thereby providing consistently accurate readings.  In addition, our clinic has the distinguished privilege of working with well-known and highly respected doctors and experts in this field to assist with complicated results readings.

To ensure our tests are performed and interpreted correctly, Northland Holistic Health strictly follows certain guidelines and restrictions when conducting hair analysis testing.  As a convenience to our clients, Northland Holistic Health will send to you a Hair Analysis Kit with easy-to-follow instructions.  Once the sample is taken, simply place the hair sample container back in the mailing packaging provided and return to us postage pre-paid.  Your results, and our recommendations, are typically available within 14-21 days.

Sources and Resources:

D. Airey, Total Mercury Concentrations in Human Hair from 13 Countries in Relation to Fish Consumption and Location. The Science of the Total Environment, 31 (1983) 157-180, Elsevier Science Publishers.

H.S. Dang and D.D. Jaiswal, Trace Element Changes in Hair During Pregnancy: Preliminary Study.  Science of the Total Environment, 31 (1983) 187-192.  Elsevier Science Publishers.

A. Klok, Trace Element Analysis in Human Hair By ICP-ES.  Pharmceutisch Weekblad Scientific Edition, Vol. 5, 1983.

D. Airey, Mercury in Human Hair Due to Environment and Diet: A Review.  Environ. Health Persp., Vol. 52, pp 303-316, 1983.

J.D. Campbell, Hair Analysis: A Diagnostic Tool for Measuring Mineral Status in Humans, J. Orthomolecular Psychiatry, Vol. 14, #4, pp. 276-280, 1985

E.M. Cranton, MD., Critique of the American Medical Association’s Published Position on Hair Analysis, J. Holistic Med., 8 (1) 1986

E. Blaurock-Busch, B. Busch, Hair Analysis Not a Valid Test? Says Who?, Dig. Chiro. Econ., Mar/April, 1994

M. Muir, Current Controversies in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Heavy Metal Toxicity, Alternative and Complementary Therapies, June 1997

Disclaimer:  This material is for educational purposes only and is not intended as diagnosis, treatment, or prescription for any disease.  Hair mineral analysis is a method of assessing and correcting imbalances and is not a replacement for regular medical care.