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Can hair be used to test mineral content in our body?
...analysis of human hair alone is not a valid technique for diagnosing diseases of an individual.
(Posted on 16 November 2006)
Q1. Some companies claim that hair can be used to test mineral content in our body. Is it reliable?
A1. It is totally not true that "hair analysis can give an accurate indication of nutrient mineral excesses, deficiencies, biochemical imbalances and toxic metal accumulation" - as claimed in one of the articles promoting a commercial laboratory on the Internet. Although the level of heavy metals in human hair has been used for research purpose on a population, analysis of human hair alone is not a valid technique for diagnosing diseases of an individual. The American Medical Association (AMA) has opposed to the use of chemical analysis of the hair as a determinant of the need for medical therapy. The AMA Committee on Cutaneous Health and Cosmetics has pronounced that: "The state of health of the body may be entirely unrelated to the physical and chemical condition of the hair", and that "hair metal levels would rarely help a physician select effective treatment."
Most commercial hair analysis laboratories, as pointed out by various medical experts in the US, have not validated their analytical techniques. The level of minerals in human hair can be affected by the color, diameter and rate of growth of an individual's hair, the season of the year, the geographic location, and the age and gender of the individual. Hair mineral content can also be affected by exposure to various substances such as shampoos, conditioners, hair dyes and atmospheric contamination. Poor collection and handling of hair samples can also lead to erroneous findings.
Q2. What makes up our hair?
A2. Human hair is mainly constituted of an especially strong protein called keratin. It is the same protein that makes up feathers, claws, nails and hoofs and horns in animals.
With human hair, strands of keratin protein are arranged longitudinally along its length. Multiple strands of keratin fibres are compressed into bundles like a rope within a matrix. That's why our hair is one of the strongest and most resistant tissues in the human body.
Like other protein molecules, keratin is made up of smaller unites called amino-acids chained up together by chemical bonds. Perming and relaxing of hair involve changing the nature of the chemical bonds between amino-acids.
Apart from the protein keratin, human hair also contains granules of pigment called melanin. It is the variation in this pigment produced that gives us different colors in the hair. Hair also contains fats, small amounts of vitamins, and traces of zinc and trace amounts of metals.
Although water makes up only 10-13% of the hair, the amount and distribution of water is extremely important for our hair's physical and chemical properties.
Q3. Can hair really reflect our general health status?
A3. Yes, of course. Most people would know that cancer treatment can result in loss of hair, for example. Many women would notice excessive hair loss the few months after giving birth to a baby. Some patients may suddenly lose a large amount of hair 3 or 4 months after an illness or a major surgery. The mechanism may involve a change in the patient's hormonal activity.
A shrewd clinician would suspect that a patient's secretion of a hormone, called thyroxine, is inadequate if the patient is shedding excessive body hair on the head, the underarm and the pubic region with the characteristic loss of hair on the outer edge of the eyebrows. The symptoms and signs of the disease can be very subtle with the elderly.
It is often women who complain of excessive body hair. Excessive body hair is often a sign of abnormally high levels of male hormones circulating in the blood. Tests may reveal that the patient has cysts in the ovaries (a condition known as polycystic ovaries), or that a tumour may be growing in the adrenal glands which are producing the abnormal hormones.
Menkes Syndrome is a rare genetic disease in children. These patients have serious neurological problems such as convulsions and slow development. An experienced paediatrician may pick up the diagnosis by noting the characteristic kinked, twisted and brittle hair.
Source: Quality HealthCare
