by Lawrence Wilson, MD

HAIR ANALYSIS INTERPRETATION METHODS AND LABORATORIES

by Dr. Lawrence Wilson

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.

Medical doctors, chiropractors, naturopaths, nutritionists and others use hair mineral testing in the following ways:

1. Most doctors and many nutritionists and naturopaths, as well, take little interest in hair mineral testing and/or have a negative view of it.

2. Most practitioners who use hair mineral testing do so mainly for the detection of toxic metals.

3. A few doctors use the test to detect low levels of the nutrient minerals and trace minerals. Most then practice replacement therapy to raise or lower the levels of the trace minerals and the electrolytes.

4. A number of practitioners follow the advice of Trace Elements, Inc. laboratory or some other laboratory.

5. Some practitioners follow the computerized recommendations of Analytical Research Laboratories, the lab founded by Dr. Paul Eck.

6. Some follow the advice on this website, which is an updated and expanded version of Dr. Paul Eck’s original method of interpretation of hair mineral tests.

MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE ABOVE

Here is more detail about each of the uses of hair testing described above.

1. THOSE WHO HAVE A NEGATIVE VIEW OF HAIR MINERAL TESTING

Most physicians, nutritionists, dietitians and some naturopaths have been brainwashed by a few, well-publicized “hatchet jobs” that were purposely designed to discredit hair mineral testing. This is similar to the propaganda that discredits chiropractic, for example, and other non-conventional methods of healing that work well, cost little, and threaten the drug and medical device industries.

If doctors really understood the implications of hair mineral testing, they would stop using most medical drugs. Many operations would also become unnecessary. At this time, this is unacceptable to mainstream medicine.

The article, Introduction To Hair Mineral Analysis, explains a few of the fraudulent studies of hair mineral testing in detail. The Hair Analysis References on this site list some of the extensive medical literature from the past 80 years or so on the subject of hair mineral testing. For other details, read Controversy With Hair Mineral Testing.

2. HAIR TESTING FOR TOXIC METALS ONLY

Some doctors and nutritionists use hair mineral testing to identify toxic metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, aluminum and nickel. This is fine as far as it goes. However, problems with this method are:

1. The test does not evaluate the total body load of any toxic metal. It only reveals what is currently in the hair tissue. This is a common misconception.

2. Hair testing, as with urine, blood, feces, and urine challenge tests, miss most toxic metals. This is because many toxic metals are stored deep in the body organs and glands, and are thus hard to find on any test.

3. We do not use the hair test primarily to identify toxic metals. Much more can be learned from the test, if it is performed and interpreted correctly.

4. Hair analysis and other tests on those who cannot eliminate metals very well often reveal very low levels of toxic metals. This is confusing, since most people have plenty of toxic metals. This is discussed in the article entitled Poor Eliminator Pattern on this site.

5. Most doctors who only use the test for detection of toxic metals then recommend chelation therapy. I find this therapy is not safe, and not necessary. It is also much less effective than nutritional balancing science. For more on this topic, please read Chelation Therapy on this website.

3. ASSESSMENT OF NUTRIENT MINERAL LEVELS, ALONG WITH THE TOXIC METALS

A number of practitioners use hair mineral analysis to assess trace minerals such as iron, copper, zinc, manganese, chromium, selenium, lithium, boron and others. They may also look for abnormal levels of the electrolytes such as calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, phosphorus and sulfur. They may also look for abnormal levels of the ultra-trace minerals such as rubidium, cobalt, molybdenum and others.

This use of hair testing is valid to a degree. However, problems with this method are:

1. Interpreting the value of the trace minerals and electrolytes on a hair mineral test is not simple. I would contend that without the concepts of Dr. Paul Eck, it is basically impossible or very unreliable. Many factors can potentially affect the levels of all the minerals in the hair.

2. Many practitioners make the mistake of thinking that the mineral level in the hair reflects the total body load of the mineral, which is definitely not true. The hair reading only reflects the amount present in the hair at the time of the test.

3. Most practitioners try to use replacement therapy to correct the levels of the trace minerals and electrolytes. Replacement therapy is the use of either dietary restrictions or supplementation of minerals to normalize the hair levels of the minerals.

Replacement therapy, in my experience, does not work well. It does not balance body chemistry and does not adequately replace missing nutrients. For more on this topic, please read Replacement Therapy on this website.

4. USE OF TRACE ELEMENTS, INC. OR OTHER LABORATORIES

The founder of TEI was an employee of Dr. Paul Eck until around 1983. He was then fired, and founded his own laboratory, TEI.

Beneficial aspects of TEI include 1) not washing the hair at the lab before testing it and 2) TEI reads more minerals than does Dr. Eck’s lab. This is helpful at times, but not needed.

The main problem with TEI and other laboratories is they do not offer development programs or development science. For this reason alone, there is no comparison between our development programs and the programs offered by TEI or others.

For example, their test interpretations are different, and the products are different. They do not recognize the newer patterns such as four lows, sympathetic dominance, the hill, the bowl, the trauma patterns, step up, step down, the shell, patterns of the second four minerals, and others.

In addition, at this time, TEI does not list the ideal values on their graph. These are needed to identify the patterns properly. Their test interpretations and diet suggestions are not at all similar to ours. The results we see are not nearly as good.

5. THE COMPUTERIZED RECOMMENDATIONS PROVIDED BY ANALYTICAL RESEARCH LABORATORIES

This is better than the methods above. However, the lab computer was altered somewhat after Dr. Eck’s death, and it has not been updated much in the last 12 years. The recommendations lack adequate kelp, fish oil, adequate vitamin D, TMG and, in most cases, need other adjustments.

6. WORKING WITH US FOR THE LATEST NUTRITIONAL BALANCING RECOMMENDATIONS

Over the past 21 years our medical team has researched a number of new patterns on the hair test and improved the supplement and dietary programs. Together, these changes make the programs more effective and safer.

At this time, the medical team sets up the programs for our Approved Helpers. We insist that our Helpers offer the programs exactly as we set them up for safety and effectiveness.

This scientific system of healing works well for most health conditions. It is specifically geared for today’s health challenges, unlike most healing sciences that are older and not as well suited for 21^st century health challenges such as extreme environmental toxicity, widespread ionizing radiation toxicity, a depleted food supply and widespread electromagnetic field toxicity.

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