In spite of Andrew’s excellent and scholarly review, hair mineral analysis is successfully used by a wide spectrum of respectable practitioners in the treatment of a number of conditions and it is not difficult to interpret the results once you get the measure of it.

 

The problem is not the analytical technique or the collection of hair etc., it’s whether you believe that nutritional deficiencies can exist in the first place in the “walking, well” or “fairly well” population.

 

Demonisation of those who hold a different point of view (which is usually the direction taken in this particular discussion) is of course anti-academic and has no place in science.

 

Nick Miller

London

 

 

Dear all

 

The evidence for this is very suspect.  Despite what Nick says, there is no real understanding of the physiological mechanisms underlying the incorporation of major or trace elements into hair, nails, sweat and the myriad other analyses pushed by some at the fringes of clinical diagnosis.  There was a good review of this in the Annals a few years ago by Andrew Taylor (Taylor A. Usefulness of measurements of trace elements in hair. Annals of Clinical Biochemistry. 23 ( Pt 4):364-78, 1986 Jul.).  Nothing has changed since then’ the conclusion is that hair analysis may be useful for some limited population studies and can also, as Roger has said, be used for toxicology, but not for nutritional status of the individual.

 

Best wishes

 

Barry

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Clinical biochemistry discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Katy Cooper
Sent: Monday, November 24, 2008 12:04 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Hair analysis for mineral deficiency detection

 

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