MINERAL LEVELS IN HUMAN HAIR – IDEALS, RANGES, TOXICITY AND POOR ELIMINATORS

by Dr. Lawrence Wilson

Š October 2022, LD Wilson Consultants, Inc

 

All information in this article is for educational purposes only.  It is not for the diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure of any disease or health condition.

 

Update 10/27/22.  We reduced the mercury ideal to 0.02 mg%.  We know this is low, but we believe it is accurate.

Update 1/5/21.  The mercury ranges have been updated.

Update 4/1/20. The chromium and selenium ranges have been updated.

 

Contents

 

I. INTRODUCTION

Issues Regarding Ideal Hair Mineral Values

 

II. THE NUMBERS

Ideals

Good Ranges

Toxic Ranges

Poor Eliminator Ranges

Very Poor Eliminator Ranges

 

III. OTHER TOPICS

Research On Other Minerals

__________________________

 

PART I. INTRODUCTION

 

            This article contains the most up-to-date hair mineral levels we currently use for human beings.  It is more up-to-date than any of our other articles or books.  For the ideal hair mineral levels for animals, please read the articles about each animal.

NOTE: Analytical Research Labs only reads 20 minerals.  The others are included for research purposes only.

 

The subject of normal or ideal human hair mineral levels is not a simple one.  Accurate numbers depend upon:

 

A. Proper hair sampling.

B. Proper lab preparation of the hair (do not wash it).

C. Careful laboratory measuring procedures.

 

            Once one has accurate mineral readings, understanding the readings depends upon:

 

D. Therapeutic considerations.

E. Theoretical concepts.

F. Statistical concepts.

 

            Let us discuss each of these topics.

 

A. HAIR SAMPLING ISSUES

 

1. Location of sampling.  The hair sample must be from the head, beard, underarm or chest.  The ranges for pubic hair are much wider, making this type of hair sample much less useful, in my experience.  I do not permit the use of pubic hair for this reason.

2. Cleanliness.  Hair must have been washed in tap water with a mild shampoo and no other hair products applied, no more than 48 hours before taking the hair sample, for best accuracy.

3. Water softeners.  Hair washed in water that has been softened with salt or potassium will skew these levels badly.  If one has a water softener, one must wash the hair twice before cutting the sample in plain tap water or reverse osmosis water, or even a spring water.

4. Washing the hair after cutting the sample.  Never wash the hair after it has been cut off the head or other area of the body.  This may seem trivial, but it is very important.  It has to do with the bodyŐs ability to re-equilibrate certain minerals on the skin and hair after a person bathes.

 

B. PROPER PREPARATION OF THE HAIR AT THE LAB

 

At this time, (January 2018) we do not like the accuracy of testing at any commercial hair analysis laboratory except for Analytical Research Laboratories.  We hope this changes in the future.  Below are some of the reasons for problems with the accuracy of hair testing at most labs:

 

1. Hair must not be washed at all at the laboratory.  This is critical!  Most laboratories in the United States and other nations wash the hair at the lab.  This skews some of the mineral levels, often in an erratic way.  For much more on this issue, please read Introduction To Hair Analysis and The Effect of Washing Hair At The Laboratory by Ray Leroy, DSci, J Orthomolecular Medicine.

 

C. PROPER LAB PROCEDURE

 

1. Controls and proper lab procedure.  The laboratory must use several types of controls to maintain their equipment in calibration.  Controls must be used with every batch of hair samples.  If the controls do not check out, the batch must be thrown away and the entire batch must be analyzed over again.  Quality labs always use at least one government standard control and at least one in-house control, as well.

 

D. THERAPEUTIC ISSUES

 

1. Low toxic metal normals.  I use very low ideal toxic metal levels because I know we can achieve these with a complete nutritional balancing program.  The toxic metal ideal values are lower than those used by most laboratories that offer hair mineral testing.

With other healing programs, such low levels of toxic metals may not occur.  As a result, most laboratories and doctors use higher ŇnormalÓ values.

 

E. THEORETICAL ISSUES

 

1. Poor eliminator ranges and very poor eliminator ranges.  Very low mineral readings can have a special meaning.  This is newer science, and very interesting.

2. Assessing various forms of minerals, such as the ŇamigosÓ.  The hair test itself does not tell us which form a mineral is in.  However, experience and the levels of other minerals on the test can help distinguish between some forms of minerals.  This can alter the ideal values.

3. The order of the minerals.  On the hair chart from Analytical Research Labs only, the nutrient minerals are grouped in a special order called the mineral tetras (groups of four).  This is critical in order to properly interpret the hair test by the principles used in nutritional balancing science.  This may seem confusing, but is necessary.

 

F. STATISTICAL ISSUES

 

1. Normals versus ideals.  There are basically two conceptual ideas regarding ŇnormalÓ mineral levels.  Most labs use statistical ranges.  The most common method is to express mineral readings as within one or two standard deviations from the mean.  This is a purely statistical concept.

However, nutritional balancing focuses on ideal mineral values, and is not very interested in standard deviations or large ranges of ŇnormalÓ.  This idea is based on the research of Dr. Paul C. Eck and others.  It is based on a different concept of how to assess human functioning, and how to correct it precisely.  Wide normal values simply will not work within this framework of correction.

 

2. Variation of normals among various hair testing laboratories.  If one checks the various laboratories, the normal levels and ranges of minerals in human hair vary.  Some detractors of hair analysis do not like this.  However, it is mainly due to differences in the preparation of the hair at the laboratory, and is perfectly acceptable once one understands that washing the hair at the lab, for example, washes out a significant amount of the water-soluble minerals such as sodium and potassium.

 

PART II. THE NUMBERS – IDEALS, RANGES, POOR ELIMINATORS and VERY POOR ELIMINATORS

 

Below are the most up-to-date human hair ideals and ranges that we use.  This is an ongoing area of research, so the ideals may change from time to time, and this article will be updated. 

 

CHART OF MINERAL IDEALS, RANGES, POOR ELIMINATORS AND ELEVATED LEVELS

(all values are in mg%)

 

MINERAL

IDEAL

GOOD RANGE

POOR ELIMINATOR

VERY POOR ELIMINATOR

ELEVATED

Nutrient Minerals

 

 

 

 

 

Calcium

40

 

 

 

> 40

Magnesium

6

 

 

 

> 6

Sodium

25

 

 

 

> 25

Potassium

10

 

 

 

> 10

 

 

 

 

 

 

Iron

2

 

0.8 – 1.1

< 0.8

** <0.6

> 2

Copper

2.5

 

1–1.4 (slow oxid.)

0.9-1.4 (fast oxid)

< 1 (slow oxid.)

<0.9 (fast oxid.)

>2.5

Manganese

0.04

 

0.009 – 0.019

< 0.009

** <0.007

> 0.04

Zinc

16

 

 

 

> 16

Chromium

0.12

 

0.02 - 0.03

< 0.02

> 0.12

Selenium

0.12

 

0.02 – 0.03

< 0.02

> 0.12

Boron *

0.3

 

0.05 – 0.09

< 0.05

> 0.3

Vanadium *

0.005

 

0.001 – 0.0019

< 0.001

> 0.005

Iodine *

0.1

 

0.002 – 0.004

< 0.002

> 0.01

Rubidium *

0.06

 

0.006 – 0.009

< 0.006

> 0.06

Zirconium *

0.005

 

0.001 – 0.019

< 0.001

> 0.005

Germanium *

0.003

 

< 0.001

 

> 0.003

Sulfur *

5000

 

 

 

> 5000

Phosphorus

16

 

 

 

>16

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cobalt

0.001

 

 

 

> 0.001

Molybdenum

0.001

 

 

 

> 0.001

Lithium

0.001

 

 

 

> 0.001

 

 

 

 

 

 

Toxic Minerals

 

 

 

 

 

Aluminum

0.08

0.08 – 0.2

(not sure about Al -3/2021)

 

> 0.2

Arsenic

0.004

0.004 – 0.008

0.002 – 0.003

< 0.002

> 0.008

Barium *

 

 

 

 

 

Cadmium

0.004

0.004 –

0.006

0.002 – 0.003

< 0.002

> 0.006

Lead

0.02

0.02 – 0.04

0.01 – 0.019

< 0.01

> 0.04

Mercury

0.02

0.01 – 0.02

<0.01

<0.006

 

> 0.02

Nickel

0.015

0.015 – 0.019

0.006 -  0.014

< 0.006

> 0.019

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beryllium *

0.001

0.001 – 0.004

0.0005 – 0.0009

< 0.0005

> 0.004

Uranium *

0.01

0.01 -  0.03

0.005 – 0.009

< 0.005

> 0.03

Antimony *

0.006

0.006 -  0.009

0.003 – 0.005

< 0.003

> 0.009

 

NOTES:             *    Not read by Analytical Research Laboratories

**  Tentative range for a very, very poor eliminator pattern

We donŐt use ranges for the nutrient minerals, so any number above the ideal is considered elevated.

 

III. OTHER TOPICS

 

RESEARCH ON OTHER MINERALS

 

Currently, Analytical Research Labs does not read the hair mineral levels of some macro, trace and toxic minerals.  This limits our ability to determine ideals and ranges for these minerals. 

The chart above contains tentative ideals and ranges for boron, vanadium, sulfur, iodine, rubidium, zirconium, germanium, antimony, beryllium and uranium.

Additional good ranges for toxic metals that are not read by ARL are:

 

Barium          = 0.03-0.05 mg%

Bismuth       = 0.05-0.1 mg%

Platinum      = 0.008-0.01 mg%

Silver              = 0.08-0.1 mg%

Strontium = .008-0.01 mg%

Thallium      = 0.004-0.006 mg%

Thorium       = 0.004-0.006 mg%.

Tin                     = 0.02-0.04 mg%

Titanium      = 0.05-0.07 mg%

 

 

Related Articles

 

Mineral Systems

 

Ideal Values Versus Reference Ranges

 

Toxic Metals

 

Poor Eliminator Pattern

 

 

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