IdeaLabs Service - Mineral Analysis (hair and/or (toe)nail)

[sunny]

I am growing my toenails, waiting for the steroid labs to be added.

 

[dukesbobby777]

As far as I know, doesn't Peat recommend just orange juice, coffee, milk, aspirin and (possibly) succinic acid to excrete heavy metals safely? Which many of us do here. And if you're high in certain heavy metals, its a guessing game as to what your exposure might be. You could be at it for a lifetime (trying to eliminate the issue), and yet you'd still not resolve the problem. I'm not being pessimistic, just how it appears to be really.

Emeramide? Zeolite? I doubt coffee, OJ and milk are really doing all that much (although helping to a certain degree)..

And on top of that, the plastics are a whole other issue. Especially for those of us who don't have the time or money to juice our own oranges each day. Just juicing one quart requires a silly amount of oranges..

 

[Lejeboca]

I got my results back too. Super high pretty much all heavy metals sans Beryllium. Some such as mercury are due to amalgams and not too surprising.
Started gentle chelation with magnesium from idealabs, transdermal (in navel) and with ground ivy (glechoma hederacea) tincture.

- Low copper. I enjoy copious quantities of chocolate. For breakfast I invariably make a skimmed goats milk hot chocolate with a good quality cocoa. I would have thought this would stave off any deficiency. As for liver consumption, my intake is intermittent. Clearly it should not be. Is cocoa actually a comparatively poor source of copper? Not bioavailable etc?

My copper was also lowish. I think it is being used in detoxifying the heavy metal load along with sulfur and selenium, which were also low for me. I read about this this somewhere by now didn't look up the source
More importantly, however, I think now copper should be taken away from zinc for its absorption, especially from foods with quite large Zn/Cu ratio.

Oysters, copper, graying and allergies

Chronic consumption of liver could manifest into vitamin A toxicity symptoms or low histamine due to massive copper content. Chronically high zinc intake via oysters or supplements can lead to copper deficiency and iron deficiency due to blocking absorption (and copper deficiency leading to iron...

raypeatforum.com

I've stopped eating oysters until the next test.

- Elevated levels of Antimony/Beryllium/Lead. I eat a clean, peaty diet of organic meat and vegetables. I do however supplement with methylene blue and have done so for the past 5 years. Previously I had considered the heavy metal load from 5mg methylene blue to be insignificant. I now wonder whether this risk needs to be taken more seriously. I had been using what I considered to be a high purity MB, it now seems that USP grade might be the way to go - this is not particularly easy to obtain.

I supplement MB mostly topically in salves and washes. My MB is not contaminated per its certificate of analysis,
Curious: Do you supplement with vitamin D and in which way?

 

[Tib]

I have gotten my results back, some surprises. Would appreciate anyone's thoughts/experiences.

High Potassium is concerning given how high it is (5 times the upper range). I consume homegrown vegetables a few times a week which fertilizer was used in growing them. This might add even more potassium to them? But such a high level to me seems to indicate another issue.

low potassium is often seen when cortisol is chronically elevated

In general, what could potentially cause very high potassium?

Given how high calcium actually indicates dietary calcium deficiency, would the Calcium/Potassium ratio actually be very much out of range. Anyone know of the significance of the Ca/P ratio, cant seem to find any information about it.
I also eat lots of dairy so a calcium dietary deficiency is be a surprise. Would potassium displacing calcium be something that could happen?

Very low copper is not surprising to me as I have started to get gray hairs. However I would have thought this would be in conjunction with high iron, which is not the case. Anyone with any experience with this?

Very low selenium, unsure why this is the case. I eat homegrown vegetables and from what I have read selenium is quite high in the soil here.

High antimony, probably caused by exposure to fire retardants

High mercury, now this is surprising as I rarely eat fish or seafood in general. No fillings. At a loss at what could have potentially caused this.

Anyone have any insight into elevated Bismuth, Rubidium and Strontium levels. Struggling to find anything online about these?

 

[Lejeboca]

In general, what could potentially cause very high potassium?

Not enough Na. K and Na are working in tandem, in a sense: Increasing Na will bring down K and vice versa, similar to Ca and P.

 

[haidut]

In general, what could potentially cause very high potassium?

Insulin, adrenaline, aldosterone, potassium channel blockers can all cause elevation of intracellular potassium.

 

[bobbity]

I got my results back too. Super high pretty much all heavy metals sans Beryllium. Some such as mercury are due to amalgams and not too surprising.
Started gentle chelation with magnesium from idealabs, transdermal (in navel) and with ground ivy (glechoma hederacea) tincture.



My copper was also lowish. I think it is being used in detoxifying the heavy metal load along with sulfur and selenium, which were also low for me. I read about this this somewhere by now didn't look up the source
More importantly, however, I think now copper should be taken away from zinc for its absorption, especially from foods with quite large Zn/Cu ratio.

Oysters, copper, graying and allergies

Chronic consumption of liver could manifest into vitamin A toxicity symptoms or low histamine due to massive copper content. Chronically high zinc intake via oysters or supplements can lead to copper deficiency and iron deficiency due to blocking absorption (and copper deficiency leading to iron...

raypeatforum.com

I've stopped eating oysters until the next test.


I supplement MB mostly topically in salves and washes. My MB is not contaminated per its certificate of analysis,
Curious: Do you supplement with vitamin D and in which way?

Anemia of Lead Intoxication: A Role for Copper

Abstract. Lead-induced anemia in rats, which is of a microcytic, hypochromic type, has been shown to be a result of an interference with the metabolism of coppe

academic.oup.com

Lead-induced copper deficiency is mentioned here. I believe some copper can be helpful in as much as it protects against certain aspects of lead toxicity. I would be interested to learn whether increased copper intake could displace the lead. Any thoughts @haidut?

I am no longer as worried about MB being the source of my excessive heavy metal results. I will soon receive results for a purity study I'm conducting on the source of MB I have been using, will update the forum accordingly.

I do indeed supplement with a substantial quantity of D3, around 10k daily in the form of drops - dissolved in MCT oil. I do weigh around 100kg so I don't consider this amount excessive.

 

[tastyfood]

I received my results and they are quite revealing. Thanks Idealabs for offering this service. Sharing my numbers here so we can all continue learning about this type of testing.

I have:

- Very high aluminum: 19 (range is < 3.6). I don't use any deodorants or skin products.
- Way above range calcium: 162.8 (range is 35-116)
- Way above range magnesium: 53.4 (range is 5.5-19)
- Above range potassium: 140.6 (range is 1.7-108)

From the additional elements I have:

- Above range barium: 0.407 (range is 0.028-0.399)
- Above range rubidium: 0.185 (range is 0.0042-0.13)
- Above range Strontium: 0.253 (range is 0.017-0.139)
- High titanium: 2.635 (range is 0.0940-1.16)

What are some environmental factors that could explain the high aluminum? Cookware? Food and/or supplement additives? It looks like oranges, apples, and thiamine are good ways to chelate the aluminum.

The only thing I can think of that goes into my nails is the pure epsom salts that I use in foot baths very occasionally. Between 2015 and 2019 I had more than 100 float tank epsom salt bath sessions though. Wonder if that built up my levels of some of these minerals overtime.

From the comments I gathered from this thread:

RP: If the hair and nails have an abnormally large amount of calcium, it’s more likely to indicate a dietary deficiency than excess, since when there is a deficiency of calcium in the diet, or vitamin D, the parathyroid hormone increases, causing calcium from the bones to move into the other tissues. A vitamin K deficiency is another cause.""

I ingest plenty of calcium on a daily basis from milk, cheese, and leafy greens. I also supplement with Vitamin K orally, around 20mg per day. Should I be taking more? My PTH gravitates around 20 when I test.

Insulin, adrenaline, aldosterone, potassium channel blockers can all cause elevation of intracellular potassium.

This makes sense in my case. I have high-ish cortisol.

If low magnesium in the cell indicates low thyroid function, what does excessive magnesium in the tissue indicate?

 

[Lejeboca]

If low magnesium in the cell indicates low thyroid function, what does excessive magnesium in the tissue indicate?

My understanding is that if Mg is high, then it's not a problem if Ca/Mg ratio is good. Yours of 3.04 seems to be OK. Since it is on the lower side of OK, might it be that Mg compensating for high Ca? I'd look into other mineral ratios.

Also since your K is also high, both K and Mg are (intra-celullar), so I'd increase Na if you'd like to lower them. Na will also lower the aldosterone, as I recall RP mentioning somewhere.

 

[tastyfood]

My understanding is that if Mg is high, then it's not a problem if Ca/Mg ratio is good. Yours of 3.04 seems to be OK. Since it is on the lower side of OK, might it be that Mg compensating for high Ca? I'd look into other mineral ratios.

Also since your K is also high, both K and Mg are (intra-celullar), so I'd increase Na if you'd like to lower them. Na will also lower the aldosterone, as I recall RP mentioning somewhere.

Thanks for the comment. I am working on increasing Na in the diet through salt and some baking soda. I feel like I've been taking enough but you never know.

These were my mineral ratios:

Full mineral results:

 

[tastyfood]

Another question would be: Can heavy metals inhibit the uptake of calcium, and that's why it'd show high in nails despite high calcium consumption?

 

[yerrag]

What are some environmental factors that could explain the high aluminum? Cookware? Food and/or supplement additives?

Does the typical schedule of vaccination for a typical American person born after 1986 provide enough aluminum to the body in the form of adjuvants?

 

[Peatness]

Another question would be: Can heavy metals inhibit the uptake of calcium, and that's why it'd show high in nails despite high calcium consumption?

Effect of lead intoxication on calcium homeostasis and calcium-mediated cell function: a review - PubMed

The interaction between lead and essential metals is a complex, well recognized, but poorly understood phenomenon. Dietary deficiencies or excesses of certain essential metals may alter the absorption, elimination, or dose response of lead. Lead, in turn, may alter the homeostasis and function...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[tastyfood]

Does the typical schedule of vaccination for a typical American person born after 1986 provide enough aluminum to the body in the form of adjuvants?

I didn't grow up in the US. The vaccination schedule in my home country was light, I only have a handful of vaccines.

I received the tetanus vaccine in 2017 for my Greencard application. I have hair mineral analysis and urine tests from 2015 and they don't show high levels of aluminum.

Something happened from 2015 that increased my levels of aluminum. Could have been that tetanus vaccine.

 

[haidut]

Something happened from 2015 that increased my levels of aluminum.

Regular usage of deodorants anti-perspiration products can also cause it. Most of these contain quite a bit of aluminium and we had a case where the person had VERY high aluminium levels on tests, stopped using those products and when he retested in 3 months the aluminium had almost gotten back to normal levels.

 

[tastyfood]

Regular usage of deodorants anti-perspiration products can also cause it. Most of these contain quite a bit of aluminium and we had a case where the person had VERY high aluminium levels on tests, stopped using those products and when he retested in 3 months the aluminium had almost gotten back to normal levels.

Great to know people were able to bring levels back to almost normal!

I haven't used a deodorant nor anti-perspiration product in more than 3 to 4 years, and when I did before, it was very sporadically.

I will definitely re-test in 3 months, and I'm thoroughly thinking about what in my environment could have brought the levels up so much in the last few years.

 

[golder]

Great to know people were able to bring levels back to almost normal!

I haven't used a deodorant nor anti-perspiration product in more than 3 to 4 years, and when I did before, it was very sporadically.

I will definitely re-test in 3 months, and I'm thoroughly thinking about what in my environment could have brought the levels up so much in the last few years.

It will be extremely fascinating and valuable to the community if we can lower the aluminium and get you back in normal range. Don’t forget to keep the thread updated.

 

[Overton]

What are some environmental factors that could explain the high aluminum? Cookware? Food and/or supplement additives? It looks like oranges, apples, and thiamine are good ways to chelate the aluminum.

A big aluminum source can be drip coffee makers. The heating element that the water passes through is a big aluminum plate that gets hot and leeches.

I saw some independent research on this a few years ago: My Mom's Aluminum Free Coffee Maker looks at different models and machine types.

Also baked products may have aluminum baking powder.

 

[tastyfood]

It will be extremely fascinating and valuable to the community if we can lower the aluminium and get you back in normal range. Don’t forget to keep the thread updated.

Thank you, James b! I definitely will. I thank everyone who's been sharing their results and comments. It's amazing what we can all learn together.

 

[tastyfood]

A big aluminum source can be drip coffee makers. The heating element that the water passes through is a big aluminum plate that gets hot and leeches.

I saw some independent research on this a few years ago: My Mom's Aluminum Free Coffee Maker looks at different models and machine types.

Also baked products may have aluminum baking powder.

I use a Chemex which is all glass. I have a stainless steel kettle which shouldn't be leaking anything. I'll check the article, thank you!

We barely eat any commercial baked products at home.