HTMA stands for Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis. HTMA tells us any mineral deficiencies or toxicities, along with any heavy metal toxicities. It provides a snapshot of what has been going on inside the body for the past three months.
Why is this important? Balancing minerals is necessary for cellular metabolism, structural support, bone and teeth health, nerve conduction, muscular activity, immune functions, anti-oxidant and endocrine activity, enzyme functions, water and acid/alkaline balance, and even DNA function.
Why a hair test? Blood tests give information about mineral levels at the time of the test only. If your patient has just eaten a banana, the test can indicate high potassium levels, even though your patient may actually need potassium supplementation. On the other hand, hair analysis results indicate your overall level of potassium from the past three months. So a blood test will only accurately report what is being transported in the blood at the time of the test.
Testing for minerals in the urine measures the minerals that are being excreted from the body – not necessarily what has been absorbed as fuel for the body. So blood and urine tests are like snapshots whereas a hair analysis is the video of mineral retention.
More about hair… Hair is used for mineral testing because of its very nature. Hair is formed from clusters of specialized cells that make up the hair follicle. During the growth phase, the hair is exposed to the internal environment such as blood, lymph, and extra-cellular fluids. As the hair continues to grow and reaches the surface of the skin, its outer layers harden, locking in the metabolic products accumulated during the period of formation. This biological process provides a blueprint and lasting record of mineral status and nutritional metabolic activity that has occurred during this time.
What affects minerals? Many factors can affect minerals such as food preparation, the type of shampoo/skin products used, dietary habits, genetic and metabolic disorders, disease, medications, stress, environmental facts, and exposure to mold or heavy metals. Rarely does a single nutrient deficiency exist in a person today. Multiple nutritional imbalances are quite common which contributes to an increased incidence of adverse health conditions. In fact, it is estimated that mild and sub-clinical nutritional imbalances are up to ten times more common than nutritional deficiency alone.
Why can’t your patient just take a good multi vitamin? Vitamins and minerals in excess could be harmful. Take zinc for example; if you take too much zinc, it will deplete your vitamin d. Too little vitamin d, decreases your calcium. Too much vitamin c can cause a copper deficiency and allow too much iron to build up. It is a domino effect. Blindly supplementing could cause additional imbalances.
Why can’t your patient just eat healthy? Your patient probably wouldn’t have any need to see you if they could grow their own food in soil that hasn’t been depleted of minerals. Unfortunately in this day and age, we are not able to absorb nutrients from food because there are no nutrients in food. With soil being depleted with chemicals, there just isn’t any nutrients there to absorb. Even if you patient consumes only ‘organic’ from the grocery store, they still are not getting the nutrients they need. It isn’t just food….Pollutants in the air, the water we drink, and any medications your patient consumes (over the counter or prescription) can influence their bodies vitamin/mineral levels.
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