htma results example
HTMA (Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis) is a painless, non-invasive test that takes just a small sample of hair to provide a reflection of the whole body's mineral status and intracellular activity. It shows not just minerals like sodium, iron, copper, and magnesium, but heavy metals- like mercury, aluminum, and lead.
The body unloads excess minerals and heavy metals in the hair in order to keep them away from vital organs. The HTMA is therefore an extremely effective test to determine mineral imbalances, deficiencies, and excess. Especially when we look at specific rations and markers, we can learn SO MUCH about the body's functioning and why someone feels the way they do. Since the hair holds a lasting record of mineral status and metabolic activity in the body- HTMA can show us what's going on in the body over the last 3-4 months.
Every cell in our body needs minerals in order to function properly. Minerals are necessary for cellular metabolism, structural support, muscular activity, maintaining pH balance, digestive function, hormone activity, nerve conduction, DNA function, nutrient transport, and more. Each mineral plays an important role and they all work together- no one mineral functions alone.
Since minerals are required for every cognitive process, we can see things like unhealthy personality tendencies, lifestyle imbalances, poor memory, short attention span, brain fog, a tendency to overthink, whether or not a person is in chronic fight or flight response, and more.
What is HTMA (Hair tissue mineral analysis)?
-Nervous system state
-Metabolic rate
-Glandular activity (particularly the adrenal and thyroid)
-Blood sugar regulation and carb tolerance
-Liver/ detox function
-Oxidative stress and inflammation
-Hormonal insight (estrogen/ testosterone)
-Heavy metal presence
-Energy production
-Stage of stress (alarm, resistance, exhaust/burnout)
From there, we can create a personalized plan using food, herbs, supplements, lifestyle, and more to bring more balance to the body. Custom supplements may be formulated based off of your results if desired.
When it comes to measuring minerals and toxins in the body, a blood test shows us a snapshot in time, while a HTMA allows us to see the body's mineral status over the past 3-4 months. HTMA is a more accurate measure of mineral levels in the body as levels in the blood can change day to day based on factors like stress, diet, and exercise. In addition to that, the blood is a buffered system, it's main priority is to maintain homeostasis (balance) at all times, even at the cost of our tissues and organs. This means that when the blood needs more minerals it will pull from the tissues. When toxins such as heavy metals enter the bloodstream the blood will quickly shut them inside the tissue cells in order to keep pH and other levels optimal. Because of this, blood test is simply not an accurate measure of heavy metals in the body.
Women are often asking for DUTCH comprehensive hormone testing, but we require HTMA testing along with it. The DUTCH complete test is a urine sample that allows us to view metabolites of hormones and see what pathways they are going down in the body. This test measures sex hormones, stress hormones, and a few organic acids and neurotransmitters- you get a lot of information. However, seeing hormonal imbalances often leaves us wondering what caused them in the first place.
For example, if someone has high estrogen I would want to see their magnesium, copper, and heavy metal levels since these impact estrogen detox. Another example, if estradiol (the most potent form of estrogen) is high on your hair test and your progesterone is low, this is common when a thyroid issue is present. We need enough thyroid hormone to convert pregnenolone (our primary hormone) to progesterone. you can do a thyroid blood test, but that doesn’t tell you what’s happening on a cellular level, only how much hormone is being produced. The hair mineral test will show us if anything is keeping your thyroid hormone from getting inside the cell and doing its job. That's why I like minerals, they tell us the why. Blood, DUTCH, and HTMA are all helpful, but when it comes to making nutrition, lifestyle, and supplement changes, HTMA wins test to prioritize. Lastly, HTMA is about 1/2 the price of hormone testing.
If someone were to say that being American is causation of mineral imbalance, they wouldn't necessarily be wrong. Over 90% of Americans have some kind of mineral deficiency due to things like soil depletion, nutrient-insufficient diets (unlike what our ancestors ate), chronic stress, heavy metals, pregnancy (especially multiple), supplements, medications (such as birth control), fortified foods, trauma, and more.
Heavy metals like lead, mercury, aluminum, and arsenic are toxic to the body. They do not provide energy; rather, they disrupt cellular function by interfering with enzymes, damaging DNA, and generating free radicals, which can lead to migraines, fatigue, and a plethora of other health issues.
Some toxic heavy metals can mimic essential minerals and replace them in biological processes, which can initially seem like they are fulfilling a necessary role. However, this mimicry is harmful because it disrupts normal cellular processes. For example, lead can replace calcium in bones, weakening them, and mercury can interfere with selenium-dependent enzymes, disrupting antioxidant defenses.
The custom powders we provide based on HTMA results are a revolutionary product that deliver all of the nutrients that an individual needs, based on science. These powders are an “all-in-one” high potency supplement, formulated to support the individual’s unique oxidation rates, overall mineral balance, methylation, and detoxification pathways; because every human and animal are different. This method ensures maximum absorption and bio-availability.
Our custom supplements are produced with the highest quality, and purest raw, bio-available, natural ingredients with absolutely no fillers or artificial flavors. The lab we work with is GMP compliant and ingredients are always third party and beta-tested to validate the identity and purity of every single ingredient.