HAIR ANALYSIS
INTERPRETATION METHODS AND LABORATORIES
by Dr. Lawrence Wilson
© April 2018, L.D. 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.
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 EckÕs 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 Òhatchet jobsÓ 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. EckÕs 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. EckÕs 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 todayÕs
health challenges, unlike most healing sciences that are older and not as well
suited for 21st century health challenges such as extreme
environmental toxicity, widespread ionizing radiation toxicity, a depleted food
supply and widespread electromagnetic field toxicity.
Click here to find a
Helper to begin a program.
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