DEEP HEALING VS

LIFESTYLE FACTORS REVEALED ON HAIR MINERAL ANALYSES

By Dr. Lawrence Wilson

Many people think that hair tissue mineral analysis is useful mainly for toxic metals, or simply to assess nutrient deficiencies, or even mainly for assessing the oxidation rate. However, it is much more than this.

This short article begins to address the important area of lifestyle modification, based upon indicators revealed on a hair mineral analysis. Inappropriate lifestyles are a most important reason why some people do not get well on all healing programs.

THE FIRST INDICATOR – THE OXIDATION TYPE

As a rule, fast oxidizers need to slow down, calm down and relax more. Any therapies, dietary changes (such as less coffee or other stimulants) or lifestyle changes that will accomplish this are well worth the effort. These might include yoga, tai chi, meditation, relaxation exercises, deep breathing, gentle exercise only, or more sleep and rest.

Children. It is normal for young children to be fast oxidizers. However, even in these cases, recall that young children need plenty of rest and that they are easily overstimulated by being exposed to excessive television, music, computer games or any other source. Of course, children should also avoid stimulants such as caffeinated soda pop, coffee, tea or others. This is most important to help control fast oxidation in a child.

We will go so far as to say that some fast oxidizing children even need much less interaction with peers in school or other settings. They are hypersensitive to others or to their environment, and do not fare well in crowded or noisy situations in particular.

For example, some children may learn much better in a one-on-one setting rather than a classroom full of other children. This may be difficult if the child is in a babysitting center or childcare setting where he or she must be with others. However, it is an important consideration in some resistant cases of fast oxidation.

Slow oxidizers are often still excessively active. However, their body chemistry has, in general, ‘burned out’ so they are not able to experience the thrills or feeling that the fast oxidizer feels much of the time. They also need to slow down in many cases, and it can be as difficult for them to do this as it is for fast oxidizers. Slow oxidizers suffer from more complex autonomic nervous system imbalances than fast oxidizers in many cases. Their speed-up or fight-or-flight system, as is discussed below, is often ‘stuck’ in an active position. This can make slowing down even more difficult for slow oxidizers.

A SECOND INDICATOR FOR THE NEED TO CALM DOWN - VERY LOW POTASSIUM

When the potassium level on a hair tissue mineral test is less than 6 mg%, and especially when less than 3 mg%, a person is said to be sympathetic dominant. This means, in simple terms, that he or she overuses the sympathetic nervous system, also known as the fight-or-flight system. This is getting to be more and more common on the tests we see.

Other sympathetic dominance indicators, though less critical, are an elevated sodium/potassium ratio and a high calcium/potassium ratio when seen with the first indicator above, the low potassium level.

These individuals, like the fast oxidizers, need to slow down tremendously. They are “burning themselves out” and will not get well fast at all if they do not change their lifestyle and often their thinking patterns to reflect a more peaceful and more gentle and loving approach to their lives. They need to help their bodies get out of the fight-or-flight mentality.

Unlike the fast oxidizers, these individuals are quite burned out. They often need to slow down mentally as much as they need to slow down physically. They may need to change the television viewing habits to stop stimulating their sympathetic system. They may need to engage in more spiritual reading or other pursuits that uplift, inspire, relax and reassure themselves that all is well and one need not be in fight-or-flight as much of the time.

As with fast oxidation, this is a very important lifestyle change that is needed, or these patients will make very slow progress on any program. The simple reason is that the sympathetic nervous system inhibits their digestive, eliminative and immune systems. This really crimps any healing program that they may undertake.

We suggest to these individuals that they meditate along with any supplement and dietary program, and that they reduce their supplement program in a few ways. We suggest they:

1) Stop using Hi-B altogether. Substitute Megapan if a slow oxidizer, no more than 1-1-1

3) Substitute Thyro-complex for Endo-dren. They may take up to 6 Thyro-complex per day in most cases.

These changes are necessary until they come out of this pattern by showing a higher potassium reading and better ratios on their hair tissue retest analyses.

We would also suggest that they do whatever is possible to reduce worry about anything. This is easier said than done, but quite necessary in many cases. In other words, sympathetic dominance is often a mental/emotional tendency to worry or imagine the worst. Many items in the newspapers, radio and television encourage this kind of thinking. The opposite pattern of thought, that of the optimist, is more characteristic of a person who is steeped in their spiritual thoughts, knowing that all is well in spite of appearances to the contrary. This change is important also for some people in sympathetic dominance.

Children. Sympathetic dominance in children is unfortunately quite common, especially in teenagers, in our experience. These young adults are overstimulated with music, or due to stimulant drinks like soda pop or even tea or coffee. They may also have much on their minds, between school pressures, home pressures, boyfriends and girlfriends, and so forth.

Teens and most adults, for that matter, need less stimulation, more (often much more) rest and sleep, less athletic competition or any competition, and often a more relaxed home and school life.

Sympathetic dominance is an important pattern that may not be indicated yet on your Profile 2 Interpretation Report. That is in progress at this time.

A THIRD INDICATOR - DEFENDING AN INAPPROPRIATE LIFESTYLE - A VERY HIGH CA/MG RATIO

Another interesting pattern on the hair mineral analysis intimately associated with lifestyle is an extremely elevated ratio of calcium to magnesium. When this ratio is at around 15:1 or above that level, it has been found to indicate that a person is defending something in their lives that is not in their best interest. This may be a job or career, a relationship or partnership, a way of being or thinking, or some other aspect of lifestyle.

This is a new observation, made just during the past several years, and as a result little has been written or studied regarding this pattern. However, it holds true many times, so we would like to bring it to everyone’s attention.

When you see this pattern, which occurs commonly today, it is very wise to ask the patient if there is something in their life such as a job, location, thought pattern or difficult relationships that may not be optimal and that could be interfering with their health. This is all too often the case.

By bringing this to the patient’s attention, it can help the person to make new choices that are more health-producing. This is the value of this pattern to the clinician.

An elevated calcium to magnesium ratio is often associated with a calcium buildup and, psychologically, with feelings of defensiveness. This pattern is more about the excessive use of energy being spent on defending a maladaptive or non-ideal lifestyle than anything else. It is as though the person is expending a lot of energy, overloading the system as one would overeating on carbohydrates, (indicated by a high calcium/magnesium ratio as well) but doing so related to their lifestyle patterns.

Children. A difficult situation arises many times when this pattern shows up in young children. We interpret the pattern in these cases to mean that the child is having difficulty in school or with parents, or with a sibling or some other friend or relative. Of course, this is harder to correct in a child, as children have less control over their lives. However, one can point out to the parents when the pattern is revealed on the child’s hair tissue mineral analysis. It may help a parent to make changes in the child’s lifestyle or school situation that will greatly enhance the healing process.