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

[Overton]

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.

That's good to hear, I similarly use glass french press; just brainstorming any possible aluminum sources.

That researcher also talks about water with natural silica chelating aluminum (Fiji brand is naturally high), but I know silica has other issues to avoid in Peat's view, so it could be a temporary protocol.

As others said, it would be interesting to see what works for you if your numbers get updated. Good luck!

 

[tastyfood]

That's good to hear, I similarly use glass french press; just brainstorming any possible aluminum sources.

That researcher also talks about water with natural silica chelating aluminum (Fiji brand is naturally high), but I know silica has other issues to avoid in Peat's view, so it could be a temporary protocol.

As others said, it would be interesting to see what works for you if your numbers get updated. Good luck!

Totally. I'm just replying to everyone who makes suggestions to clear all the possibilities.

Edit: Fiji water is high in either silicon, or silica. They are two different things, and the info is presented in confusing ways. I just bought a bottle of it and the label says "silica". I think there are interesting discussions in the forum about that. I can see how the naturally occurring silicon would be different than the silicon dioxide that is put in supplements and foods as an additive. Similar to how naturally occurring citric acid is fine, but not the one produced synthetically as a food additive.

Thanks for the recommendation, I am definitely interested in trying this water. Seems like an easy thing to do.

Thanks for the wishes!

 

[L_C]

... also somewhere on the forum I read L- malic acid can help with chelating Al.

Totally. I'm just replying to anyone to clear all the possibilities.

Fiji water is high in silicon, not silica. They are two different things, and I think there are interesting discussions in the forum about that. Thanks for the recommendation, I am definitely interested in trying this water. Seems like an easy thing to do.

Thanks for the wishes!

 

[tastyfood]

... also somewhere on the forum I read L- malic acid can help with chelating Al.

Yep. That's why apples and apple juice are recommended for their high malic acid content. Thanks for the comment.

 

[yerrag]

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.

Better ask around if you're going to get your citizenship. I had to get some more shots because I didn't keep any vaccine records from my childhood. Who does anyway especially if you didn't grow up in the US?

I would think twice before having to get more vaxes just to get the citizenship. Better to just stick with having a green card if the cost is vaxing getting you in a worse condition with chronic diseases.

 

[tastyfood]

Better ask around if you're going to get your citizenship. I had to get some more shots because I didn't keep any vaccine records from my childhood. Who does anyway especially if you didn't grow up in the US?

I would think twice before having to get more vaxes just to get the citizenship. Better to just stick with having a green card if the cost is vaxing getting you in a worse condition with chronic diseases.

Yeah I'm not getting any more vaccines. Since then I have learned of all the available exemptions to decline vaccinations. Thanks for the comment. Thankfully I have all my childhood records, so that helps.

 

[yerrag]

Yeah I'm not getting any more vaccines. Since then I have learned of all the available exemptions to decline vaccinations. Thanks for the comment. Thankfully I have all my childhood records, so that helps.

Glad you can make informed decisions on things that can have a permanent impact on you, especially on vaxes.

I don't know these days if immigrants on welfare are being put thru the health care social services grinder that destroys their health more than it helps.

I once helped a refugee family and had to see the children have to be get their teeth fixed and couldn't help to see that mercury amalgams still used on them as there were no other options.

I'm pretty after going thru the health care grinder, they would be fully harmed just as native born Americans are by the system.

 

[tastyfood]

For those of you who tested high for heavy metals, have you been able to make your significant other (or anyone sharing a roof with you), test as well? Testing the person you live with will help rule out any potential sources for the heavy metal.

I'm scratching my head trying to think where this aluminum in my body comes from.

 

[yerrag]

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:

View attachment 36792

Full mineral results:

View attachment 36793

Does Ray answer your question here?

From July 2021 Ray Peat Newsletter

 

[tastyfood]

Does Ray answer your question here?

View attachment 36909
View attachment 36910

From July 2021 Ray Peat Newsletter

This is helpful, yes. Clearly the aluminum is doing no good.

 

[L_C]

This is helpful, yes. Clearly the aluminum is doing no good.

Do you have bunions?

 

[tastyfood]

Do you have bunions?

No. I don't have any metal pieces in my body either. The closest to that would be the few porcelain crowns that I have which I doubt they are leeching anything.

 

[Smitty]

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:

View attachment 36792

Full mineral results:

View attachment 36793

My results parallel yours in many regards. Although, your reference ranges are different.. I'm assuming this is because you used hair and not a toenail? I too am quite puzzled over my concerning levels of aluminum. I now consume Fiji water exclusively – although not in large volumes as most of my fluid intake is in the form of juice or milk. I intend on retesting by the end of the year. I also recently had blood tests for my electrolytes and everything was perfectly in check besides potassium which was slightly below the reference range. Very strange as it's abnormally high in the HTMA. I do understand that homeostasis relies on a delicate balance of these minerals so blood levels don't necessarily reflect the state of the body compared to the HTMA. Please keep us posted on your journey, I'll do the same ?

 

[tastyfood]

My results parallel yours in many regards. Although, your reference ranges are different.. I'm assuming this is because you used hair and not a toenail? I too am quite puzzled over my concerning levels of aluminum. I now consume Fiji water exclusively – although not in large volumes as most of my fluid intake is in the form of juice or milk. I intend on retesting by the end of the year. I also recently had blood tests for my electrolytes and everything was perfectly in check besides potassium which was slightly below the reference range. Very strange as it's abnormally high in the HTMA. I do understand that homeostasis relies on a delicate balance of these minerals so blood levels don't necessarily reflect the state of the body compared to the HTMA. Please keep us posted on your journey, I'll do the same ?

I used toenail!

Sorry to hear your aluminum is also high. I think I'm going to go the magnesium malate route for excreting aluminum. I think it will be more convenient than having to drink 1L of Fiji water per day.

I will also re-test in 3 months or so.

 

[Smitty]

I used toenail!

Sorry to hear your aluminum is also high. I think I'm going to go the magnesium malate route for excreting aluminum. I think it will be more convenient than having to drink 1L of Fiji water per day.

I will also re-test in 3 months or so.

@haidut Can you please comment on the variation in our reference ranges and which one is 'correct'?

 

[yerrag]

This is helpful, yes. Clearly the aluminum is doing no good.

I'm not sure if what he said only relates to aluminum.

Your calcium high, iron high, as wrll as aluminum.

 

[haidut]

My results parallel yours in many regards. Although, your reference ranges are different.. I'm assuming this is because you used hair and not a toenail? I too am quite puzzled over my concerning levels of aluminum. I now consume Fiji water exclusively – although not in large volumes as most of my fluid intake is in the form of juice or milk. I intend on retesting by the end of the year. I also recently had blood tests for my electrolytes and everything was perfectly in check besides potassium which was slightly below the reference range. Very strange as it's abnormally high in the HTMA. I do understand that homeostasis relies on a delicate balance of these minerals so blood levels don't necessarily reflect the state of the body compared to the HTMA. Please keep us posted on your journey, I'll do the same ?

As the main post mentions, nails absorb much more from the body and as such the ranges for nail are often several-fold higher than hair. Here is the study from which most of the nail ranges were extracted.

Application of double focusing sector field ICP-MS for multielemental characterization of human hair and nails. Part II. A study of the inhabitants of northern Sweden - PubMed

Double-focusing sector-field, inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry was used for the determination of 71 elements in scalp hair and fingernail samples from an urban population group living in the north-east of Sweden. Samples (n = 114 for hair and n = 96 for nails) were taken from...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[tastyfood]

I'm not sure if what he said only relates to aluminum.

Your calcium high, iron high, as wrll as aluminum.

I think my calcium is high due to the high aluminum. I get more than 2g per day from diet. My vitamin D levels are high, and PTH is on the lower end of the range.

My iron was in range in the nail test, although it can always be lower. I have tested iron saturation multiple times in the last two or 3 years and it was always below 30%.

 

[L_C]

I think my calcium is high due to the high aluminum. I get more than 2g per day from diet. My vitamin D levels are high, and PTH is on the lower end of the range.

My iron was in range in the nail test, although it can always be lower. I have tested iron saturation multiple times in the last two or 3 years and it was always below 30%.

If you look at this website it seems like folate can help with aluminum along with vitamin C, Se etc.

Vitamin and Mineral Agonists and Antagonists

Get the most from your nutrients.

return2.health

 

[Smitty]

As the main post mentions, nails absorb much more from the body and as such the ranges for nail are often several-fold higher than hair. Here is the study from which most of the nail ranges were extracted.

Application of double focusing sector field ICP-MS for multielemental characterization of human hair and nails. Part II. A study of the inhabitants of northern Sweden - PubMed

Double-focusing sector-field, inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry was used for the determination of 71 elements in scalp hair and fingernail samples from an urban population group living in the north-east of Sweden. Samples (n = 114 for hair and n = 96 for nails) were taken from...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Understood, but.. to clarify, @tastyfood and I both used nails for our sample but have different reference ranges. A couple minerals vary by decimal points but sodium for example is significantly different. I'm wondering which is the correct reference range for nails?

Edit: In reference to your sample report in the original post, it appears my reference ranges are correct. Might be something to consider if you were chasing those metrics – most notably, copper @tastyfood