Let’s cut to the chase: HTMA (Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis) is one of the best ways to gain insight into the state of your health. It’s why we incorporate this foundational tool of functional medicine in our methodology and analysis.
At it’s most simple, a hair tissue mineral analysis test reveals mineral deficiencies and heavy metal toxicity. But what many don’t understand or realize is that it also provides a blueprint to banish brain fog, get more restful sleep, improve energy, and increase your performance and longevity.
Hair tissue mineral analysis reveals and explains many of the health symptoms you are experiencing today, whose underlying causes are largely related to nutritional deficiencies, mineral imbalances, and heavy metal toxicity.
Now let’s dive deeper.
WHAT IS HTMA TESTING, REALLY?
Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) is an accurate and non-invasive laboratory test that analyzes the mineral content of a hair sample. The hair sample is best collected from the scalp (although other options are available) and this small sample of hair provides a reflection of the whole body’s mineral status. “After a combination of chemical and high-temperature digestive procedures, testing is then performed using highly sophisticated detection equipment and methods to achieve the most accurate and precise results.”
HTMA provides a mineral outline, along with other essential information about your health status, including metabolic rate (whether you are a slow or fast metabolizer), energy levels, stress response, thyroid and adrenal function, and sugar and carbohydrate tolerance.
Here at Honed, we don’t stop there though. We combine your HTMA health status with a comprehensive questionnaire before analyzing, assessing, and providing a blueprint for optimizing your health.
WHAT CAN A HTMA TEST REVEAL?
An HTMA does not diagnose, but instead acts as a screening test; a tool for you to better understand why you feel the way you do, and a blueprint for how to improve your health.
This test reveals the status of 29 minerals and their ratios, at the cellular level, including calcium, magnesium, potassium, copper, zinc, iron, selenium, and boron, to name a few. It also reports on 8 heavy metals including, lead, aluminum, mercury, arsenic, and uranium.
A hair mineral analysis provides a clear picture of body chemistry including:
- Heavy metal toxicity
- Mineral imbalances / nutrient deficiencies
- Your metabolic rate (fast, slow, or normal)
- Adrenal fatigue (the glands that handle our stress response)
- Thyroid function
- Nervous system imbalances
- Hormonal imbalances
- Inflammation
- Energy levels
- Liver function
- Digestive dysfunction
- Mental health
- Blood sugar imbalances & carbohydrate tolerance
Most doctors don’t utilize HTMA testing simply because a prescription can’t be given for a low magnesium to calcium ratio or to detox heavy metals. Their approach is reactive, not preventative. This is where functional medicine comes in. As a cornerstone of functional medicine, HTMA testing reveals the information needed to successfully improve your health through diet, lifestyle, and supplementation.
WHY DO WE USE HAIR?
Hair is one of the many places the body unloads excess minerals and heavy metals for storage away from vital organs. So while the hair itself is dead, the minerals remain as the hair continues to grow. This is why we recommend the sample be collected from as close to the scalp as possible. It provides the most recent cellular mineral activity.
Your hair is also considered a gold-mine for this information because 95% of the minerals in your body are intracellular, meaning they are stored inside of your cells. On the other hand, a blood test measures extracellular nutrient levels, or those outside of your cells. The problem with this is if 95% of minerals are stored inside your cells, a blood test is giving you an incomplete picture of the minerals circulating your body. Consider magnesium: less than 2% of this essential mineral is stored in your blood, with the rest being stored in your cells.
"The balances between these essential nutrient minerals are more easily disrupted in the cells and tissues than they are in the blood. Deficiencies and excesses of minerals are more readily observed in an HTMA than in a blood analysis or urinalysis. Therefore, an HTMA is often an earlier indicator of a trend towards health problems (physical and psychological) than is a blood analysis or urinalysis. This fact is very important, especially when considering disease prevention or health maintenance nutritional supplement program.” – Dr. Rick Malter, Ph.D. The Strands of Health, 2003.
Or consider iron, a common nutrient concern, particularly among women. A blood test may not reveal anemia until much later. You can have symptoms of iron deficiency long before it is detected in your blood serum levels but testing your cellular storage with HTMA will revel this sooner.
“Blood is homeostatic. That is, blood has the capacity to balance itself in essential minerals at the expense of cell and tissue reserves of these same minerals. – Dr. Rick Malter, PhD, The Strands of Health, 2003.
Let’s consider another example - you are tired all of the time, despite getting good sleep. but your blood tests come back normal and there’s nothing left for your doctor to do for you. However when you look at your HTMA results, we see an imbalance of sodium/potassium and sodium/magnesium, which are clear indicators of your symptoms. By rebalancing these minerals, while considering the other vitamins, minerals, toxins, and lifestyle factors that contribute, you can optimize your health for the long-run.
WHY TEST FOR MINERALS AND HEAVY METALS?
Minerals are the “spark plugs” of life. They activate the vitamins and enzymes that fuel your body.
Without enzyme activity, life ceases to exist. The foundation of health lies in appropriate mineral intake and optimal mineral ratios (the balance of one mineral to another). Everything else you do for your health is great, but minerals should be considered the foundation. Once they are replenished and balanced, a majority of health problems are resolved.
“You can trace every sickness, every disease, and every ailment to a mineral deficiency”- Dr. Linus Pauling
The essential minerals reported in HTMA testing are necessary for the proper functioning of organs and tissues, PH balance, digestive function, hormone balance, transferring nutrients, muscle relaxation and contraction, nerve function, and metabolic rate. Not only is it important to consider mineral deficiencies that can impair function, they can also metastasize (store in organs where they’re not supposed to be) and further prevent function. While many minerals need to be replenished, others may need to be detoxed when in excess or forms the body can’t utilize.
Let’s consider sodium and potassium. The sodium/potassium ratio is an expression of the adrenal hormones. Both minerals are sensitive to stress and inflammation in the body. When sodium is high in contrast to potassium, it can indicate an inflammatory response present in the body. This is why it’s not just about the status of a single mineral and supplementing with it. Minerals are a game of co-factors, and they need to be in balance with one another for the body to function optimally.
Simply put, without proper mineral balance we cannot achieve optimal health.
Heavy Metal Toxicity
Humans are exposed to the highest level of toxic metals in recorded history. Everyone has metals in their body, the question is how much do you have? Removing excess heavy metals from your body can vastly improve health, physical and mental function, energy, and daily performance.
Hair tissue mineral analysis can detect heavy metal toxicity at an early stage before it causes significant damage to the body. No test, including urine, stool or blood tests, can show all your heavy metals toxicities as they are buried deep in the bones, brain and organs. However, used for early detection of heavy metal toxicity, HTMA allows for the necessary interventions to reduce heavy metal exposure, remove the toxic elements from the body, and monitory detoxification progress overtime.
For example, mercury is found in most people from consuming fish. Mercury toxicity is associated with countless health issues including adrenal and thyroid dysfunction, depression, fatigue, headaches, insomnia, gut dysbiosis, kidney damage, memory loss, mood swings, and muscle weakness.
WHAT CAN CAUSE A MINERAL IMBALANCE / DEFICIENCY?
Mineral deficiencies are among the most prevalent and serious nutrient deficiencies due to numerous lifestyle, diet, and environmental factors. Many factors contribute to mineral imbalance, but here are a few of the most common:
- Toxic food supply: Our food and soils are depleted of minerals from hybrid crops, fertilizers, refined foods, pesticides, food additives and more, which all contribute to a nutritionally depleted food supply.
- Toxic metals and chemicals: Toxins deplete your body of vital vitamins and minerals required for detoxification and tissue repair. Toxic metals and chemicals can be found in food, water, air, and in everyday products like cosmetics and household cleaners.
- Stress: Even good stress like exercise can put a strain on mineral and nutrient reserves if not properly replenished.
- Dietary choices: Improper supplementation and consuming processed foods can strain and disrupt nutrient balance.
- Drinking water: In many cities tap water is not safe due to added chlorine, aluminum, fluoride and sometimes copper, which can cause toxicity or displace other minerals.
- Lifestyle habits: Lack of sleep, limited exercise (or too much), alcohol consumption, and pharmaceutical or other drugs (whether taken now or in the past) are some of the biggest offenders.
Symptoms of mineral imbalance:
- Brain fog
- Fatigue
- Trouble concentrating
- Anxiety / Depression
- Food intolerances
- Digestive issues
- Headaches / Migraines
- Hormone imbalances
- Low energy levels
- Adrenal dysfunction
- Thyroid dysfunction
- Allergies
- High blood pressure
- Skin rashes
- Acne
- Weight gain / Unexplained weight loss
WHO CAN BENEFIT & WHAT TO DO NEXT
Everyone can benefit from an HTMA test. Whether you are looking answers to current health symptoms, want to prevent future health challenges, or want a better understanding of your body and health status, HTMA can help. However without the knowledge to interpret HTMA results, you can be more at a loss than you were before. This is where we help you.
At Honed we take HTMA one step further, combining the results with a comprehensive questionnaire to understand diet, lifestyle, and other factors that may be contributing to your current health status. After careful analysis, we breakdown all of your results in a comprehensive report, and provide a clear path to restore health through diet, lifestyle, and supplementation. Further, we deliver the precise supplement protocol for you to restore mineral balance and optimal health, delivered monthly.
The Honed test kit is a powerful tool for individuals who want to take a proactive approach to their health and well-being. If you are interested grab your at-home test kit today to get started.
For a complete list of references, books and studies on hair tissue mineral analysis, see http://nutritionalbalancing.org/center/htma/science/articles/htma-references.php