Metals Hair Test

Heavy metals toxicity caused by increasing levels of pollution and use of chemicals in industry is a growing threat to our health and development of our children. High levels of toxic metals deposited in body tissues and subsequently in the brain, may cause significant developmental and neurological damage.

A Metals Hair Test checks for current exposure to toxic metals. Hair provides important information that can assist the practitioner with an early diagnosis of physiological disorders associated with aberrations in essential and toxic element metabolism.

WHY CHOOSE A METALS HAIR TEST

Many researchers consider hair as the tissue of choice for toxic and several nutrient elements. Deviations in hair element levels often appear prior to overt symptoms and can thereby be a valuable preliminary tool for predicting the development of physiological abnormalities.

Hair element analysis provides important information which, in conjunction with symptoms and other laboratory values, can assist with an early diagnosis of physiological disorders associated with aberrations in essential and toxic element metabolism.

Scalp hair is easy to collect, and because it grows an average of about a half inch per month, it contains a record of exposure to toxic elements.

Toxic elements may be 200-300 times more highly concentrated in hair than in blood or urine. Therefore, hair is the tissue of choice for detection of recent exposure to elements such as arsenic, aluminum, cadmium, lead, antimony, and mercury. The CDC acknowledges the value of hair mercury levels as a maternal and infant marker for exposure to neurotoxic methylmercury from fish.

BENEFITS OF METALS TESTING

• Determine if metal toxicity or mineral deficiency is contributing to the disorder
• Monitor the effects of chelation (elimination of heavy metals from the body)
• Identify if supplementation of important minerals may bring about significant improvements

SPECIMEN REQUIREMENTS

Hair (source head or pubic): 0.25 grams (approximately 1 tablespoon) of hair is the absolute minimum. 1 gram is preferred.