boardn10 wrote:Hi all,
I recently had a hair analysis done at a local lab. Does anyone know the accuray or these tests? My results have me a bit concerned because several minerals are blow range
Has anyone had this done? In the final report itrecommends a lot of supplements,
Thoughts?
They recommended lots of supplements? Surprise, surprise.
Not only is there no standardization to these tests, or their interpretation, these tests have been shown in controlled studies to not be effective in evaluating nutritional status.
However, they are very effective in getting lots of people to buy lots of supplements.
In 1987, the Lancet published a study in which the ability to diagnose allergic disease was studied in 9 fish-allergic and 9 control subjects, who provided specimens of blood and hair for testing. All fish-allergic subjects had previously been shown at Guy's Hospital to have a positive skin prick test to fish. The specimens were submitted as coded, duplicate samples to five commercial laboratories that offered to test for allergy. All five laboratories were not only unable to diagnose fish allergy but also reported many allergies in apparently non-allergic subjects and provided inconsistent results on duplicate samples from the same subject.
A 2-year study of students exposed to fumes from metal welding found that hair analysis did not consistently reflect blood levels of 11 heavy metals.
"Researchers from the California Department of Health located nine laboratories and sent identical samples to six of them. The reported mineral levels, the alleged significance of the findings, and the recommendations made in the reports differed widely from one to another. The researchers concluded that the procedure is still unreliable and recommended that government agencies act vigorously to protect consumers."
"In 2001, German researchers did a study similar to mine in whch they sent hair samples from two volunteers to seven commercial hair analysis laboratories. They found inconsistencies in both both the results and the laboratory reference ranges and concluded that "hair mineral analysis from these laboratories is unreliable." Lazar P. Hair analysis: What does it tell us? JAMA 229:1908-1909, 1974.
Hambidge KM. Hair analyses: Worthless for vitamins, limited for minerals. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 36:943-949, 1983.
Klevay LM and others. Hair analysis in clinical and experimental medicine. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 46:233-236, 1987.
Barrett S. Commercial hair analysis: Science or scam? JAMA 254:1041-1045, 1985.
Kruse-Jarres JD. Limited usefulness of essential trace element analyses in hair. Am Clin Lab. 2000;19(5):8-10.
Seidel S and others. Assessment of commercial laboratories performing hair mineral analysis. JAMA 285:67-72, 2001.
boardn10 wrote: but lately I have been trying to get away from supps and concentrate on real food.
Best idea yet!
In Health
Jeff
