Because of the way hair is formed, it contains all of the nutrient minerals and toxic heavy metals present in your body.  HTMA results reflect how much of these elements are in your tissues and provide a blueprint your internal environment, or your biochemistry.  Not only can we see your nutritional status, but we can also learn how efficiently your body is working.  

Unfortunately when it comes to diagnostics, many doctors regard blood testing as the holy grail.

 Minerals in the blood are tightly regulated under a very different homeostatic mechanism than minerals in tissue.  A blood test will accurately indicate your mineral levels at the time of the test only.  If you just ate a banana, your blood test can indicate high potassium, even though you may actually need potassium (hint...most people do!).   On the other hand, HTMA accurately indicates your overall cellular level of potassium, unaffected by that banana you just ate.

Urine simply measure minerals that are being excreted from your body, but it doesn't give us any information about how minerals are being used for fuel by the body.

Think of a blood test is like a snap shot, catching a glimpse in time, and think of HTMA like a video of your mineral retention over an extended period of time. 

 Simply put, mineral magic happens in the cells not in the blood or urine.  This means blood and urine tests have relatively no equivalence to the cellular levels provided by HTMA.  These test lead to frequent misdiagnosis, leaving patients without the answers they need to restore their health. 

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I was personally one of those people who consumed a very healthy, well balanced diet and took a daily multi-vitamin - my health and my minerals were a mess! 

 Little did I know at the time that organic foods are treated with copper sulfate as a fungicide, which can easily throw off the zinc to copper balance and lower potassium levels.  It is also used as an additive in animal feed to correct copper deficiency and  fatten cows, pigs, and broiler chickens.  In addition glyphosate over spray from conventional farms settles on the majority of all crops, including organic crops, and depletes magnesium.  And let's not forget that poor farming practices have left our soils in a nutrient depleted state, so we aren't getting the nutrients in our foods today like we did before 'Big Ag' took over. 

Copper sulfate is also used in swimming pools and hot tubs as an to prevent the growth of algae, and bromine, a toxic halide, is often used in place of chlorine.  Both bromine and chlorine block iodine absorption causing a deficiency.  Iodine is essential for every cell in the body.  

Stress is a natural, healthy response in the body.  However, long term stress, rather physical or emotional, is very unhealthy, and will significantly alter the mineral levels in the body.  For example, the magnesium burn rate is greatly increased when we are under stress, and zinc and B-complex vitamins are also lost in greater quantities.  Nutrient absorption can also decrease when the body is stressed.    

Sadly, toxins are a normal part of our world today;  It is impossible to escape them.  They are in the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink, the clothes we wear, and the products we use on our body and in our homes.  

A healthy body is designed with a very intricate detoxification system, and detox happens naturally when we are nutritionally balanced.   Unfortunately, the onslaught of toxins we are up against creates a huge drain on the body, depleting it of crucial nutrient minerals, and upsetting the balance necessary for health.   For example lead, tin, aluminum and mercury interfere with mineral absorption and increase excretion.  

Medication are often mineral muggers.  For example, it is well known that diuretics cause sodium and potassium loss, and beta blockers beta cause a magnesium loss.  

Vitamins and minerals can even cause a mineral imbalance.  For example Vitamin C is necessary for iron absorption but too much can causes a copper deficiency.

Mothers pass their nutrient profiles to their unborn child.   So if your mother had toxic levels of heavy metals then you were born with them too.  If you are a mom, your child will also inherit a version of your mineral profile.  

Birth control is one of the leading causes of copper toxicity,  

And finally - if your digestion is not optimal, you will not be able to properly absorb and assimilate nutrients, leading to mineral imbalances.