Hair Sample Analysis to determine deficiencies, toxicities etc.

My natropath has recommended I have a hair analysis report done. What you do is cut off a 4cm piece of hair at the back of your head near your neck (about 10 - 20 strands depending on how thick or fine it is) and he sends it in for testing... you have to wait for hair dye to grow out (about 6-8 weeks).

I was shown a report done recently for another client (name hidden). It was amazing! Very detailed. It showed that he had copper toxicity (too much of it in his system) along with several other things.... plus a few deficiencies. All minerals are detected. The patient used it to show his GP who i think was reluctant to test him for hypothyroidism (slow metabolism..... the patient was finding it hard to lose weight). The report stated all the diseases the person could be suffering from if the levels continued unchanged.

So i was wondering if anyone has had this done? Was it helpful and how much did it cost? I was quoted $140.

Not ever heard of it before..sounds very interesting though. Its amazing what a stand of hair can tell you.

Tracey our health expert had hers done, I will see if she can pop in...

Both Matilda & I have had ours done. It showed high levels of mercury in both, and then the doctor followed it up with blood tests. Some medical doctors argue that the hair analysis isn't good enough & there is a higher margin of error. Its helped us.

The main problem is that there have been no major studies done to see the levels of toxicity in NORMAL healthy people's hair. So they can find you have a lot of one thing or another but in fact that's not really the problem - there has been no evidence to link levels of normal elements (base metals etc.) in hair to tendency to illness. If you have it done make SURE you have blood tests to make sure what is in your hair is IN FACT in your body too.

The body gets rid of it's many of its excesses through the liver, the kidneys and the lymphatic system - some of those toxins grow out in your hair - your hair shaft has no circulation so the chemicals your body puts there are not IN your system. Having high levels of something in your hair might just be a reflection of how well your body is managing to clear such things from the functioning systems.

In a situation where someone is being slowly poisoned this sort of thing can be useful, since it can reveal drugs which were in the system many weeks or months before, but even then it wouldn't be enough for court, only to get a warrant for further tests/searches. Cannabis is a drug which tends to grow out in hair and nails - your hair can be full of it but it's not IN your system anymore.

I think if you go into it with your eyes open it might help in a situation where you're ill and normal doctors are drawing a blank on why by narrowing down what you might want to look for in a normal blood screening.

Bx

I had my hair analysis done a few years back - just for interest. There was nothing alarming in it and I wasn't sick.

These tests are not the be-all and end-all of tests but it can show up exposure to toxicity and is helpful when people are not getting anywhere with normal testing.

Blood tests usually show up a snapshot of right now and if you have been exposed to something a while back, your blood has been cleaned and the toxicity removed or stored in your bones and fat tissue.

I think the most reliable is a tissue style test where some body tissue like fat is taken and analysed but I don't know anyone who has had it done. I have read in books where it has been done to look at the toxicity of people in general.

The book I like best which deals with toxicity is 'Detoxify or Die' which is written by Dr Sherry Rogers and is written in simple english. I think everyone should read it - not to alarm people but to educate people so over time they can make informed decisions for themselves.

I do these for some of my patients. First I do the urine analysis and then the hair analysis. Esp for those wanting to fall pregnant or suffer chronic fatigue.

It's a great tool - and it allows the practitioner to fix the problems fast.