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Hair Analysis and Lifestyle
In an effort to understand body chemistry, one can overlook the influence of lifestyles in hair
analysis interpretation. Not only can lifestyles dramatically affect one's mineral readings, lifestyle
changes are often essential for correction of mineral patterns. Hair analysis can be a wonderful
tool to help understand the effects of lifestyle habits on one's health.
Sleep Deprivation
Mary is a highly intelligent health professional. She eats well, exercises and takes nutritional
supplements. When she saw her mineral test with an extremely slow oxidation rate and a calcium
shell pattern, she couldn't believe it. "There's nothing wrong with me", she insisted. "I feel fine.
Why is it such a bad-looking test?"
Having reviewed thousands of mineral tests, I knew the test does not lie. I asked Mary if she
ever got tired. "Well, yes, in the morning". Next I asked how many hours she sleeps? "Five", she
said. "Sleep is a waste of time!" Questioning Mary further, she also suffered from irritability,
mood swings, other emotional difficulties and digestive problems.
While there may be other causes for Mary's extremely slow oxidation rate, lack of sleep is
likely a major cause. If I had not asked about her sleep habits, I probably would not have
understood Mary's hair analysis, and probably would not be successful in helping her feel better.
I suggested to Mary that in addition to correcting her diet and taking specific supplements, she
needs more sleep, at least 8 hours or more until her body recovers. Most healing takes place
during sleep. During the day we expend energy, while at night we regenerate and restore the
body. Ignoring the sleep factor can sabotage the best-designed nutritional program.
Exercise Addiction
While some people do not exercise enough, others overdo. Ann is a housewife and mother of
two. Her mineral analysis revealed a slow oxidation rate with a potassium level of 1.0 mg%. This
is the lowest possible potassium reading. Often it indicates that a person is pushing herself. So I
asked Ann about her lifestyle. She was quick to tell me she eats well, takes supplements, sleeps
well, and works out hard two or three times a week.
I asked whether exercise makes her feel better. She said yes, she feels great for a few hours.
However, the next day she always feels more tired and depressed.
This is unfortunately a common pattern involving exercise. Exercise is wonderful. However,
when the body is exhausted, exercise can act simply as an adrenal stimulant. One feels better for
a few hours, but depleted the next day. One then feels the need for another lift, and exercises
again. The exercise depletes the body further, so one feels worse the following day. This is a
classic addiction pattern. It is necessary to break the addictive pattern in order to get better.
I suggested to Ann to be more in touch with her body, and not to exercise so much that she
becomes exhausted. It is possible to walk gently, or do some other kind of exercise that is less
stressful. It may not yield the same feeling as the vigorous exercise, but it also won't deplete the
glandular reserves causing more fatigue and depression. As her body recovers, she may be able
to exercise more without the addictive effect.
Four-Lows and Stress Addiction
Ann's husband, Bob, had a different lifestyle pattern on his mineral analysis. His test showed
four-low electrolytes. The calcium, magnesium,
sodium and potassium readings were all low. The pattern had shown up on a hair test two years
ago, and had changed little.
We liken the four-lows pattern to a car with its wheels stuck in the ice. The wheels are
spinning, creating a lot of noise or pseudo-activity, using up a lot of energy without getting
anywhere.
Bob was exhausted all the time, but he continued to stayed up late and pushed himself to keep
working. He said life presented one crisis after another, so he had to keep pushing. He was also
highly critical of his two children, ages three and four. One could see how much strain they were
under. The three-year-old had a chronic kidney infection and the four-year-old had dark circles
under his eyes and a frustrated, sad look about him. Even at these tender ages, both children's
hair analyses revealed four-lows patterns.
I asked Bob, a highly intelligent, professional man, why he felt he had to live his life this way.
He said his father had taught him this. He knew no other way to live. He was terrified to slow
down, relax and enjoy his family. Often, for these individuals, working is a way to avoid looking
at feelings of fear, low self-esteem, past trauma or something else.
The supplement program for the four-lows pattern has as its goal "putting the adrenals to bed
". It is designed to force the person to slow down and relax, in order to give the body a chance
to recover. At times, the nutrition program and some brief counseling are enough to enable one
to change this lifestyle pattern. However, I also encouraged Bob to go for counseling to learn
why he is running from himself and to make new choices.
This is another instance in which hair analysis alerts us to a lifestyle problem. The physician
who had run the previous hair analysis had not addressed lifestyle issues. As a result, Bob had
made little progress in two years, while he and his family suffered the effects.
Low Sodium/Potassium Ratio
Bob's hair analysis also revealed another mineral pattern that at times has a lifestyle
component. He had a low sodium/potassium ratio. This is indicative of chronic adrenal stress and
excessive tissue catabolism. However, Dr. Eck felt that when this pattern is chronic and ongoing,
one often is not perceiving reality correctly. He associated this pattern with feelings of frustration,
resentment and hostility. This can cause or be the result of a tendency to "beat one's head against
the wall", which can certainly contribute to adrenal gland stress.
Sexual Dysfunction
One other lifestyle aspect of this case is that Ann complained that sex was no longer of interest
to her husband. Both partners seemed to care very much for each other. I explained that Bob's
mineral test indicated chronic fatigue, and he probably just doesn't have the energy. He agreed.
However, Ann persisted in her complaining.
Sexual dysfunction is a common ‘‘side effect' of physical exhaustion. In this case, Bob did not
have any physical dysfunction, just a lack of energy and libido. It is also possible that Ann
wanted to use sex in an addictive fashion - to temporarily escape her fatigue and depression, just
as she was using exercise in this manner.
In summary, hair analysis can alert one to lifestyle factors that play an important part in
physical conditions. These patterns include four-low-electrolytes, very low potassium levels, and
low sodium/potassium ratios. In fact, all hair analysis patterns have emotional and psychological
characteristics. A properly-interpreted mineral analysis reflects many levels of functioning, from
genetic patterns to physical, mental and emotional aspects of living.
Copyright © 2001
This material is for educational purposes only
The preceding statements have not been evaluated by the
Food and Drug Administration
This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
