How To Interpret Test Results

Hair Test Results and Analysis: What is it telling you?

The Bio-Trend Hair Mineral Analysis is a sophisticated methodology for evaluating the mineral levels within one’s tissues. We have kept it simple in order to keep costs down and the easiest way to do this is to not spend the time and effort to describe in detail the interrelationships between the measured levels of nutrient minerals, toxic minerals, and the specific mineral ratios of the nutrient minerals. Instead, we have provided you with the ICP Mass Spectrographic analysis in an easy to read bar chart and a mineral menu to follow to begin you on your path to tissue mineral homeostasis.

It is important to note that the interpretations of the results are not intuitive. You don’t look at what you are low in and figure out how to get more and look at what you are high in and stop eating anything with these minerals in them. In fact, the results are not as reflective of your dietary consumption of any specific mineral as they are a combination of what you have consumed, excreted, transported and used over the last few months. The ratios describe how your endocrine glands are functioning, how you are dealing with sugar, what your metabolism is doing, and how you are dealing with stress, among other things. Consequently, we may recommend you take minerals that are high on your results and not recommend supplementing with a mineral you are low in.

The actual interpretation is based on over 30 years of clinical use of this type of testing and a comparable amount of time studying nutrition, physiology as well as the work of others in the field of hair mineral analysis.

In our analysis we first look at the toxic mineral load. Of importance here is the level of the toxic element and the number of them showing a positive reading. The mere showing of the toxic mineral is significant. Sometimes one can be toxic in an element and it won’t initially show up on the hair test. As the number of toxic element readings increases, their physiological impact becomes exponential, not arithmetic. In other words, if two minerals show up as positive on the test, their toxic effect is more than the sum of one added to the other.

The presence of heavy metals on a hair test will normally result in a recommendation for supplementation of one or more of the following elements: iodine, selenium, sulfur, zinc, and silica. Research has identified these elements as potent heavy metal chelators. The presence of heavy metals is many times a good indication of a deficiency in one or more of these essential minerals.

We next look at the mineral ratios. Each reported ratio reflects different physiological or endocrine functions. Imbalanced ratios reflect the body’s inability to properly perform certain essential functions. When this occurs, we see it as symptoms, which are then categorized or named, as diseases when in fact they are actually just the body at dis-ease.

Following is a brief summary of the ratios we evaluate and their significance:

1. CA/P: Normal ratio is 2.5:1. The Calcium to Phosphorous ratio reflects one’s basic metabolism, which can be slow, normal, or fast. If this ratio is below normal you have a fast metabolism and a propensity to sugar sensitivities. If this ratio is above normal, your metabolism is slow. A slow metabolism predisposes one to store calcium in wrong places like joints and arteries. High tissue calcium implies a reduction in cellular permeability while low phosphorus, the energy element, will impede energy production.

2. NA/K: Normal ratio is 2.4:1. The Sodium to Potassium ratio is the primary stress indicator for the Adrenal glands. It reflects the intracellular (inside) and extra cellular (outside) balance of potassium and sodium respectively. This balance is regulated by your adrenal glands and when they become overtaxed either by a dietary depletion of minerals or excessive stress, which uses up minerals, you have difficulty maintaining this particular mineral balance.

3. CA/K: Normal ratio is 4.2:1. The Calcium to Potassium ratio is also known as the Thyroid ratio. It does not reflect the ability of the thyroid to make T4 or T3 hormones (as a blood test does). Instead, it reflects how efficiently the T3 hormone can access each cell. When this action is inhibited, the result is fatigue. This would be indicated by a ratio greater that 18 where the excessive calcium is creating reduced cellular permeability. A low ratio reflects a sensitivity to sugar indicative of excessive thyroid effect and highly permeable cell walls.

4. ZN/CU: Normal ratio is 8:1. The Zinc to Copper ratio is an inflammatory stress marker. Relating more to emotional stability, a high ratio is reflected by emotional steadiness whereas a low ratio, reflective of copper dominance and perhaps toxicity is usually associated with emotional instability. To offset high copper levels we might recommend sulfur or zinc.

5. NA/MG: Normal ratio is 4:1. The Sodium to Magnesium ratio is the secondary adrenal stress marker. Again, we are looking at sodium, this time in how it relates to magnesium. A low ratio means one recovers slowly from a stressful situation. Magnesium is rapidly burned off during stressful situations and is normally poorly available in the average American diet. One’s ability to quickly re-supply the cells with magnesium has a large role in the recovery process. Magnesium is an essential mineral in over 300 cellular enzyme reactions, most notably in controlling cellular relaxation after contraction as in the beating of your heart and relaxing of muscles while at rest. Cramping while asleep is a sure sign of a magnesium deficiency.

6. CA/MG: Normal ratio is 7:1. Your Calcium to Magnesium ratio is your blood sugar indicator. A high or low ratio indicates sensitivity to sugar and unstable blood sugar chemistry. A high ratio indicates the propensity to improperly manage calcium and deposit it in abnormal places in the body. A low ratio usually indicates a calcium deficiency. As calcium is required and utilized by the pancreas to make insulin, a high or low ca/mg ratio (over 10:1 or under 3:1) indicates a tendency towards diabetes and a diet high in refined sugars and carbohydrates. Consequently, a dietary modification can go a long way to normalizing this ratio.

7. FE/CU: Normal ratio is .9:1. This is another inflammatory stress marker as we look at the interrelationship between iron and copper. Ratios above or below normal indicate inflammation. A high ratio indicates possible iron toxicity while a lower ratio indicates a possible copper toxicity. Identifying your inflammation levels is extremely important as it is now recognized that cellular damage caused from the body’s natural response to toxins and other pathological invaders many times is the actual damaging process that creates illness and what is classified as dis-ease.

The balancing of your individual mineral levels and their associated ratios is a sophisticated art. It is most easily achieved through the use of liquid mineral supplements. Consequently, your mineral supplementation menu is specifically designed using Eidon Liquid Minerals for precise dosing.

Special attention should always be paid to one’s diet. For optimal benefit of this program, your diet must be changed to exclude all refined sugars and grains while incorporating organic fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and organically raised meat. This change dramatically reduces insulin production and increases mineral intake. Avoid as much as possible eating foods from a box, bag, can, or jar, as they are usually refined. If you are drinking distilled water, stop! Instead, switch to spring water or local water treated to remove pathogens, chlorine, toxins, and ​​​​​​​fluoride.