Hair vs. Urine for elements and heavy metals

[Aaron Hartman]

I’d like some clarification about the use and interpretation of hair heavy metal and element testing. At my training through the IFM they never mentioned hair testing only blood and urine (vs provoked urine) and their strengths and weaknesses. Hair was never mentioned. Some of Dr. Yasko’s stuff I’ve read mentions some kids with certain SNPs won’t excrete certain metals through their hair. So I’m unfamiliar with the strengths and weaknesses of using hair testing (besides ease of getting it). Could you clarify this for me?

Also how do you interpret low hair elements, does that mean an insufficiency or defficiency? How would blood levels or urine levels relate or help clarify the hair levels?
Thanks
Aaron Hartman MD

[DrWoeller]

Dr. Hartman,
In my experience none of the metal tests will provide absolute levels of metals in the body. The before and after urine tests do provide some nice analysis of metal excretion (and toxic load) when done via provocation method – with IV being the most powerful. Therefore, tracking the reduction of metals overtime via the urine, when the initial was high, can be worthwhile.

Hair testing can be useful too, particularly for the special needs kids, since it doesn’t involve blood or urine collection and it relatively easy to do. Although the reduction in metals seen overtime is slower on the hair analysis versus urine it does happen.

There is a method called the counting rules which was established by a metal chemist named Andy Cutler that is applied to the Hair Analysis from Great Plains Laboratory and Doctors Data. The counting rules is a bit complicated, but he feels it predicts metal toxicity. His counting rules method isn’t necessarily taken as legit by everyone in the lab industry, but I have found it to be helpful. Do a google search for ‘counting rules, andy cutler.’

I use to do a lot of oral challenge testing with kids using either oral DMSA or DMPS. It was useful overall, but logistically difficult for some kids to do, and could tend to cause a lot of yeast flare-ups in the gut. I also did IV challenges and therapy with kids too in the past.

As time has gone on I have relied more on the low dose DMSA for chelation therapy, along with methylation support, and various natural remedies, i.e. clustered cell chlorella.

Another combination of testing that is useful is the Hair Analysis and Porphyrin Analysis both available from Great Plains. The Porphyrin Analysis is a urine test and detects porphyrin imbalances that are highly susceptible to the presence of heavy metals at the cellular level in the mitochondria.

I hope this helps,
Sincerely,
Dr. Woeller

[Author]

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