Several factors combine to make our hair tissue mineral analysis the best in the industry!
We are one of only two laboratories that do not wash the hair at the laboratory. Washing hair samples at the laboratory has been shown to erratically wash out the water-soluble elements. This creates much less accurate results. In a 2001 study in the Journal of the AMA (Seidel, S. et al., Assessment of Commercial Laboratories Performing Hair Mineral Analysis, JAMA, 285(1) Jan 3:67-72.) the two laboratories that did not wash the hair, of which we were one, showed superb reliability.
We use technologically advanced testing instruments, including the Perkin Elmer Elan 9000 ICP Mass Spectrometer.
We are proud of our laboratory quality control procedures. These include known controls which are tested at the beginning, middle and end of every batch of hair samples to insure the accuracy of the results.
We automatically retest any reading that is out of a normally expected range, provided sufficient hair is available for a second sample.
Test results are printed on an easy-to-read graph, unlike many of the other laboratories. This is a great benefit for both practitioners and their clients as well. The printed graph includes the mineral results, major mineral ratios and the oxidation type.
We offer the only complete individualized test interpretation by the method developed by the late Dr. Paul C. Eck, our founder. This is unique as it includes information related to one's metabolic rate, energy levels, autonomic balance, a personal dietary supplement program, basic diet recommendations and other information that can be inferred from the test results.
Ionomics
Our hair analysis follows principles of Ionomics, in which the ratios and relationships of the minerals/elements present is often far more important than just looking at a single mineral alone. As such, the entire system of minerals can tell us much more than any one mineral by itself. This "systems biology" approach allows us to view the results in a more integrative way that helps us to arrive at a better diagnostic impression of a person's overall state of health. With an Ionomics approach, we can now integrate and cross-reference the findings with a person's genetics, metabolomics, microbiomics, proteomics, physiology, age, toxin exposure, stress levels, etc. We are currently the only resource for this type of integrated analysis and will continue to expand on this immensely complex approach in order to serve our patients and clients better.
Meta-Omics Analysis is an integrative approach that combines in-depth analysis of the microbiome along with an advanced understanding of genomics, ionomics, metabolomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, environmental toxins, physiology, and nutrition in order to advance human health. Instead of trying to oversimplify the complexity of the human body, Meta-Omics seizes upon the opportunity to utilize the most up-to-date analytics in order to provide an integrative holistic picture of the state of health in the body.
We utilize testing of the genetics, metabolome (cellular byproducts and nutrient levels), microbiome, hair analysis for ionomics (minerals/elements), and toxic burden, along with an in-depth assessment of each person's health history (including ancestral), to arrive at a more complete picture of where the body stands currently. Each of these assessments by themselves are informative, but together, they represent the most complete diagnostic evaluation possible. To our knowledge, we are the only ones offering such an integrated analysis based on thousands of hours of research and discovery.
(***Requires purchase of additional MetaOmics tests - Functional Genomics, NutraEval, Gut Zoomer, Organic Acids Test, and Total Toxins Burden with PFAS Chemicals)
