by Lawrence Wilson, MD

POOR ELIMINATOR, VERY POOR ELIMINATOR AND ALL POORS PATTERNS ON A HAIR MINERAL ANALYSIS

A relatively new hair mineral analysis pattern is called poor eliminator pattern.

Definition. This pattern is present on a hair mineral analysis in which the hair has not been washed at the laboratory when the level of the mineral is extremely low. The exact levels to be considered a poor eliminator or a very poor eliminator for each mineral are listed below.

A very poor eliminator pattern just means that the level is even lower, and there is even more hidden accumulation of the metal present. In theory, one could even have very, very poor eliminator patterns – meaning even lower hair mineral levels, in some cases.

The pattern applies to all of the toxic metals and to some of the nutrient minerals, as well, such as copper, iron, manganese, cobalt, molybdenum, nickel, lithium, vanadium and boron.

On any given hair test, a person can have one poor eliminator level, or very often a person has 5 or 6 of them. When a person has about 8 or more of them, I call it an all poors pattern.

The all poors pattern may be due to nutritional depletion, sympathetic dominance, a very slow oxidation ratio, or it can be associated with a retentive personality type. The latter term was coined by Freud and Erikson. They believed that some people had difficulties or trauma around toilet training, usually around age 2 to 4. As a result, these people developed a lack of trust and difficulty with elimination. This personality type is sometimes called ‘anal retentive’ in classical psychology. This is still a research topic.

Very slow oxidation, sympathetic dominance and severe nutritional depletion also seem to make it more difficult for most people to eliminate toxic metals.

Meaning. The meaning of the pattern is that it indicates that a person is having difficulty removing the metal that is very low on the chart from the body. As a result, the metal is building up in the body, which is a serious condition. The pattern is a hidden toxic metal pattern, in other words. I have found this pattern to be very accurate as an indicator that a person has too much of the mineral in the body.

The meaning of an all poors pattern is that a person is having a difficult time eliminating any toxic metal or any of the toxic forms of some nutrient minerals such as copper, iron, manganese or others.

Old name for this pattern. An older name for the poor eliminator pattern was the Double 0 pattern. The reason this name was used is that the toxic metals are often so low that the numbers are 0.001 or 0.002 mg%, which are double 0 numbers. However, this older name is not quite as good as poor eliminator pattern, which is more descriptive of what is occurring, so I prefer the newer name.

Not in the 2010 book edition. The poor eliminator and very poor eliminator patterns are not mentioned in the 2010 edition of Nutritional Balancing And Hair Mineral Analysis by Dr. Wilson, because the pattern had not been identified at publication time.

CRITERIA FOR THE POOR ELIMINATOR PATTERNS

Poor eliminator indicators consists of extremely low levels of the toxic metals and also, very low levels of some of the nutrient minerals. These very low levels do not indicate that a person does not have any of the mineral in the body.

Instead, it has been found empirically that the meaning is that the mineral is sequestered and, in fact, is accumulating in the body in a toxic form that cannot be utilized by the body. This is a biounavailable form of a mineral.

Below are the levels at which we can presently say that a poor eliminator pattern or indicator is present:

Poor eliminator criteria:

Aluminum – 0.3 to 0.64 mg%.

Lead – 0.01 to 0.029 mg%.

Mercury – 0.01 to 0.031 mg%.

Cadmium – 0.003 to 0.004 mg%.

Arsenic - .002 to 0.0039 mg%.

Nickel – 0.01 to 0.03mg%.

Iron – 0.08 to 1.19 mg%.

Manganese – 0.009 to 0.02 mg%.

Copper – 1.0 to 1.4 mg% in a slow oxidizer.

Copper – 0.9 to 1.4 in a fast oxidizer. This is newer and still being researched.

Boron – 0.02 to 0.04 mg%. (Note: boron is still being researched. It is not currently read on hair charts from Analytical Research Labs and may be less important.)

Vanadium – 0.1 to 0.2 mg%. (Note: vanadium is still being researched and is not currently read on Analytical Research Labs charts, and may be is less important.)

Very poor eliminator pattern criteria:

Aluminum - less than about 0.3 mg%

Lead - less than about 0.01 mg%.

Mercury - less than about 0.01 mg%.

Cadmium - less and 0.003 mg%.

Arsenic - less than about 0.002 mg%.

Nickel - less than about 0.01 mg%.

Iron - less than about 0.8 mg%.

Manganese - less than about 0.009 mg%.

Copper - less than 1.0 mg% in a slow oxidizer.

Copper - less than about 0.9 in a fast oxidizer.

Boron – less than 0.02 mg%.

Vanadium – less than 0.1 mg%.

Criteria for all poors pattern:

Eight or more poor eliminator patterns. This may include very poor eliminator patterns at one time.

QUANTIFYING POOR ELIMINATOR PATTERNS

To quantify the poor eliminator and very poor eliminator patterns, simply count up the number of toxic metals and nutrient minerals on the hair mineral chart that fall within the ranges listed above. For example, if two poor eliminator patterns are present, one may say that it indicates a double or 2X poor eliminator pattern. Three of the above is a triple poor eliminator, and so on.

Also, the lower the mineral level within the poor eliminator and very poor eliminator ranges, most likely the more difficulty the person is having eliminating the toxic metal. For this reason, the lower the number below the threshold levels above, often the more serious the imbalance or hidden toxicity.

The concept of counting the number of poor eliminator and other patterns on a hair analysis has to do with quantifying the severity of mineral patterns. This is a more advanced hair analysis interpretation system that is discussed in a separate article entitled Quantifying The Hair Mineral Patterns.

POOR ELIMINATOR PATTERN IS THE BEST WAY TO IDENTIFY HIDDEN TOXIC METALS ON A HAIR MINERAL ANALYSIS

One of the valid criticisms of hair mineral testing, and indeed of ALL methods of assessing toxic metals in the body, is that many toxic are not revealed on the test. They are sequestered so deeply in the organs and tissues, or bound so tightly in enzymes that no test – blood, urine, feces, challenge tests, hair tests, or electronic machines – can detect them all with any sort of reliability.

This has, indeed, been my experience as a physician over the years. Fortunately, with nutritional balancing science, we do not need to identify which toxic metals are present, as they will all be eliminated, along with hundreds of toxic chemicals.

The best way, so far, that I have found to identify hidden toxic metals is via the poor eliminator indicators. It makes this pattern one of the most important on a hair mineral analysis, especially in some cases.

CAUSES FOR POOR ELIMINATOR PATTERN

These include, but are not limited to liver toxicity, kidney toxicity, adrenal exhaustion, sympathetic dominance, a very slow oxidation rate, a very low Na/K ratio, three lows or four lows, and what is called Pelvic Syndrome. Any of these can seriously impair one’s ability to eliminate toxic metals. Often a combination of several of these causes are present, and this is often associated with multiple poor eliminator or very poor eliminator patterns. Some of these causes are explored in more detail below.

POOR ELIMINATOR PATTERN AND ADRENAL EXHAUSTION/LOW VITALITY

We have observed that the poor eliminator pattern is often associated with adrenal burnout. The body simply does not have enough energy to remove the sequestered toxic metals or biounavaiable forms of the physiological minerals.

Quantifying the relationship to adrenal burnout. Our current research indicates that every three poor eliminator indicators indicates one adrenal burnout indicator.

In addition, every two very poor eliminator indicators equals one additional adrenal burnout pattern.

This is an important fact about the poor eliminator pattern and about adrenal exhaustion, which is often related to an inability to remove toxic metals. To read more on this interesting topic, read Adrenal Burnout on this site.

This helps explain why hormone replacement therapy using products like CortefÒ, prednisone and others for adrenal fatigue or burnout is not the answer. The answer is to remove the toxic metals deeply, which cannot be done by giving hormones. Neither can it be done, in most cases, by using chelation therapy, for example. To read more on this topic, read Chelation Therapy on this site.

The indicators for adrenal burnout or exhaustion include:

1. Phosphorus less than 13 mg%.

2. Slow oxidation, especially very slow oxidation.

3. Three lows pattern.

4. Four lows pattern.

5. Sodium/potassium ratio less than about 2.5:1.

6. A calcium shell.

7. Low sodium level.

8. Low potassium level.

9. Poor eliminator and very poor eliminator patterns.

10. Perhaps high copper.

For the exact criteria to calculate the number of burnout patterns present on a hair test, see the Quantifying The Patterns article.

The combination of poor eliminator pattern and reduced vitality patterns makes sense. When the body’s vitality is low, it will tend to have more difficulty eliminating toxins. You will notice there is some overlap between low vitality indicators and the indicators for adrenal exhaustion.

POOR ELIMINATOR PATTERN AND SYMPATHETIC DOMINANCE

Often, a poor eliminator pattern is found along with sympathetic dominance indicators on a hair analysis. In fact, poor eliminator patterns are a sympathetic dominance indicator. Thus, sympathetic dominance indicators include:

1. A hair potassium level of 4 mg% or less.

2. Sodium/potassium ratio above about 4 with a low potassium.

3. The above plus an elevated calcium/magnesium ratio.

4. Three or four highs pattern with a sodium/potassium ratio above about 3.

5. A wrong two highs pattern with a sodium/potassium ratio above about 3.

6. A four lows pattern.

7. A high Ca/Mg ratio, when found with an elevated Na/K ratio, particularly with a low potassium level.

8. Four or more poor eliminator patterns and four or more very poor eliminator patterns.

For the exact criteria to calculate sympathetic dominance, see the article entitled Quantifying The Patterns on this website.

The appearance of both poor eliminator and sympathetic dominance patterns together should not be a surprise, because it is known that people who overuse the sympathetic nervous system have more difficulty with the elimination of all types of toxins from the body.

This occurs because one action of the sympathetic nervous system is to shunt the blood away from the eliminative organs such as the liver and kidneys, and move it toward the muscles and brain to mount a fight-or-flight response. When this occurs chronically, as it does in a person with a sympathetic dominance pattern, the person’s ability to eliminate all types of toxins diminishes significantly.

POOR ELIMINATOR PATTERN AND “THE AMIGOS”

Poor eliminator indicators of iron, manganese, aluminum, copper and perhaps other minerals indicate the hidden presence of the so-called “amigos”, irritants or oxides in the body. These are specific biounavailable forms of these minerals, usually oxides, I believe. They are extremely irritating to the tissues, causing oxidant damage. They are called the amigos because they are often found together. They appear to function by supporting adrenal glandular activity when the body is in a weakened nutritional state by irritating the central nervous system or other structures. They may also function in the electron transport system to some degree, but not as well as more bioavailable forms of iron and copper, for example.

Rather than give anti-oxidant nutrients, which tend to be very yin, we can actually remove the amigos or oxides. To read more about this interesting phenomenon, read The Amigos – Iron, Manganese, Aluminum And Others.

CORRECTING POOR ELIMINATOR AND VERY POOR ELIMINATOR PATTERNS

As a person follows a properly designed nutritional balancing program, the poor eliminator indicators tend to go away on their own. However, ways to enhance the process include:

1. Be sure to add TMG to the program at a dosage of 500 to 1000 mg daily. Read TMG And Nutritional Balancing to understand why this is done.

2. More rest and an excellent diet are important.

3. Add the optional supplements. These are Renamide, selenium and Endo-veggies. Rough dosages are up to 2-2-2 for Renamide (kidney support), 2-2-2 for Endo-veggies (a dried vegetable capsule), and 1-1-1 of selenium (100 mcg each).

4. Be sure to use a near infrared sauna once or twice daily, and daily coffee enemas (one or two daily). These must be continued for a year or more, in most cases.

5. Improving one’s attitudes and emotions, and relaxing may also help improve poor eliminator patterns.

POOR ELIMINATOR PATTERN IS MAINLY IMPORTANT ON AN INITIAL HAIR ANALYSIS, OR ON A RETEST WHEN IT WAS PRESENT ON THE FIRST TEST

This means that poor eliminator patterns or tendencies are probably less important if they appear ONLY on a retest hair analysis. If the patterns just appear on a random retest, it has less significance and just means the person is not eliminating that particular toxic metal at that particular time.

POOR ELIMINATOR PATTERN ON A RETEST ONLY, OR A WORSENING OF THE PATTERN ON A RETEST

Possible causes for poor eliminator patterns to appear only on a retest, or to become worse on a retest include:

1. The oxidation rate has slowed significantly.

2. The person has moved into a sympathetic dominance pattern.

3. A healing reaction is in progress that impairs metal elimination for some reason. This could be a physical healing process or an emotional or mental retracing or healing reaction.

4. Other mineral patterns may impair toxic metal elimination such as a bowl pattern, a very low sodium/potassium ratio, retracing an infection, or something else.

5. Finally, the level of the toxic metal really is down significantly because the person has eliminated most of that toxic metal. This usually takes many years on a program for most people.

6. Armoring up. When poor eliminators increase on a retest, the pattern may be what is called “armoring up”. In this situation, the person retains some toxic metals to stay in balance and perhaps to retrace a difficult situation from the past. It is usually temporary and does not last more than 6 months or often less.

WEIGHT GAIN DUE TO POOR ELIMINATOR PATTERN

Rarely a client gains weight on a nutritional balancing program for a time. One reason can be the appearance of a poor eliminator pattern. The reason for the weight gain may be water retention as the body attempts to dilute certain toxic substances to reduce their harmful effects.

A related cause is a problem in the kidneys, perhaps, that are not able to handle the toxins that need to be eliminated. Usually, this is temporary and will pass when the poor eliminator patterns pass.

POOR ELIMINATOR PATTERN AND TOXIC CHEMICALS

A person with poor eliminator pattern may also be having difficulty removing toxic chemicals from the body, since some of the same elimination pathways in the liver and kidney are the same or related to those for toxic metals, although certainly not all of them. At this time, this is a research area and I will report our findings in this area as they become known.

This is potentially important because just as it is difficult to identify hidden toxic metals, it is also difficult to identify hidden toxic chemicals in the body. In fact, it is even more difficult to identify hidden toxic chemicals, at times, than it is to find hidden toxic metals. It is possible that poor eliminator patterns, along with burnout and low vitality patterns, may tell us about a person’s ability to eliminate toxic chemicals as well. This is another possible way to use or understand poor eliminator patterns.

CONCLUSION - THE VALUE OF THIS INTERESTING PATTERN

Identifying poor eliminator patterns is exceedingly important for the following reasons:

1. Hidden toxicity indicator. Identifying this pattern helps us avoid a common mistake of thinking that because toxic metal levels are very low, the person is less toxic. This is rarely the case.

2. Health is worse than it appears. Poor eliminator patterns can alert the practitioner that liver toxicity or kidney toxicity, burnout, or other things may be worse than one thinks, based on other readings on the hair mineral chart or other tests.

3. An adrenal burnout indicator. This has been discussed above. Basically, we find that for every three poor eliminator patterns, it is equal to one adrenal burnout indicator. Each two very poor eliminator patterns equals one additional burnout indicator.

4. An important sympathetic dominance indicator. This is discussed above. Basically, every four poor eliminator indicators equals one sympathetic dominance indicator. Every four very poor eliminator indicators equals one additional sympathetic dominance indicator.

5. Possibly an indicator that progress with healing will be somewhat slower. Progress toward real health and healing is often slower on a nutritional balancing program when more poor eliminator patterns are present.

6. A need for doing the “procedures”. The procedures such as sauna therapy, foot reflexology, coffee enemas, twisting the spine daily and the others are always important. However, they are even more critical when poor eliminator patterns are present. With them, we can help remove the toxic metals much faster.

7. Possibly a toxic chemical indicator. This is discussed above.

8. Possibly a reason for weight gain.

9. An indicator of the presence of “the amigos”.

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