It’s said that the eyes are the window to the soul, but a little known fact is that your hair can highlight many important factors about your health. Analysing your hair could provide a detailed picture of your recent and longer term health, as well as imbalances in minerals and organ function.

Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) is a safe, non invasive test that gives unique insight into nutrient and mineral levels in the body, as well as assessing toxic elements in body tissues. It is a valuable tool for not only assessing current health, but also long term patterns, and can be a crucial part in preventative health care. Mineral imbalances can often present in the hair long before any obvious symptoms have even appeared.

Although hair cells are dead, the root of the hair below the skins surface contains living cells which helps the hair to grow. As hair grows the minerals are present in the hair shaft, which then gives us a picture of the metabolic activity and how much exposure to toxic metals we have had in the previous months as well as long term patterns.

Minerals are the corner stones of health. They are essential to all aspects of health, providing structural support in bones and teeth, regulating the body’s pH, water balance, nerve activity, muscle contractions, energy production and enzyme reactions. Our health is affected by any mineral deficiencies and imbalances, and any excess of toxic metals, any of which can aggravate any health condition essentially including cardiovascular health, thyroid and adrenal health, immune function and mental health.

As well as assessing mineral levels individually, hair analysis can also evaluate ratios between different minerals, as well as ratios of minerals to toxic metals. This can give a deeper insight into the following:

• Your body’s metabolic type
• Your body’s response to stress and which part of your nervous system is dominant
• Thyroid function
• How well hormone balance is being supported
• Adrenal function
• Blood sugar support

Great Reasons to get Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis done

• Hair specimens can be collected more quickly and easily than blood, urine, stool samples etc.
• Hair analysis is cost-effective
• Unlike blood, hair is less susceptible to fluctuations that occur day to day
• Long-term changes of mineral retention or losses are more easily detected in hair than blood.
• Hair testing reveals key information about your body’s metabolic activity.
• Concentrations of most elements in the hair are significantly higher than found in the blood and other tissues.
• Hair provides a record of past as well as present trace element levels
• Hair provides information of substances entering the hair from the blood as well as from other sources.
• Hair is invaluable in the assessment of toxic metal levels.
• Hair testing measures mineral imbalances that can directly affect related vitamin activity.

Nicole is now offering more in depth Hair Analysis. If you’re an existing client you can get in touch for a kit and to organise payment. If you’re a new client you’d need to book in for a first visit to discuss your medical history and health goals, and we can organise your hair analysis at the same time. Find out more about Hair Analysis here: https://nicoletricarico.com/naturopathy/hair-tissue-mineral-analysis-htma-testing/