Hair contains a person's 'biochemical record'

By Maria Endah Hulupi

JAKARTA (JP): You can only say so much about your hair but your hair has a lot to tell about you, doctors say.

Kenneth Kang, the principal consultant for Singapore-based company Spectrum Learning, said that hair reveals the mineral level resulting from an individual biochemistry process -- what toxic minerals are in the air or work area a person has been exposed to and what trace nutrients are lacking. The presence of toxic minerals and a lack of trace nutrients say a lot about the health of a person.

"A deficiency of certain minerals will affect a person's condition and make him prone to certain health problems," said Kang during a press gathering to introduce Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA).

"A person has around 75 trillion cells. If the cells start to die, you too will slowly die," he said.

A mineral imbalance or the condition of toxicmatose due to a polluted environment can lead to headaches, stress, insomnia, fatigue, hyperactivity, impotence and muscular pain, among other things.

Kang explained that calcium and magnesium were sedative minerals which helped calm people and if the levels of these minerals were low, that person would be tense, anxious and have problems sleeping, leading to fatigue and irritability.

The HTMA test, which dates back to two centuries ago, can be used to support blood, urine and stool tests, he said.

It can also reveal possible food allergies, intolerances or a poor diet, which can deprive people of certain minerals. "We found that grain products secrete certain acids that can hamper the absorption of calcium," Kang added.

He also said the test result would reveal mineral imbalances that could be the cause of health problems, something that could not be thoroughly detected through biological tests.

Aside from this, HTMA is practical, painless and provides an accurate analysis of trace minerals levels, he said. "And unlike other tests, hair is durable," he added.

Take blood tests for example. The blood requires special handling and is also subject to homeostatis, or a tendency to maintain its physiological environment at "normal" levels even if the rest of the body is lacking something.

"So if the blood test doesn't show signs of a mineral deficiency, it doesn't necessarily mean that the person isn't lacking important minerals," Kang said.

The HTMA result will explain the body's biochemical condition and the eating patterns of a person over the past two months. "If your lifestyle hasn't changed, the result can be used to predict your health in the future," Kang said, adding that nutrient recommendations would be made to suit a person's requirements.

Why hair? Hair growth is exposed to the internal metabolic process. All elements, including nutrients and toxicmatose, are incorporated into the hair protein matrix. When hair punches up through the skin, it hardens and store all the things within it and keeps them in its structure. The contents are protected as the hair hardens and they are difficult to remove, even through normal washing. Therefore hair contains a person's biochemical record.

Bayu P. Hie, an expert on food supplement at Opti Mine, said mineral levels in the body were important as they were correlated with vitamins and hormonal activity.

"If the mineral level is balanced, the body and the brain can function optimally," he said, stressing that living in one of the world's most polluted cities, people in Jakarta are prone to toxic-related health problems.

Budi Setiawan from the Pathology Division at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital said couples considering having a child could benefit from the test. "Studies show that autism and hyperactivity in children may be triggered by mineral imbalances," he said.

With moving to somewhere less polluted not an option for most Jakartans, a toxicologist with the Islamic Hospital Foundation, Ahmad Hidayat, said improving nutritional intake would provide the body with better defenses against harmful pollutants and help rid the system of toxic matters.

"Nutritional therapy is cheap, simple and safe. This therapy can balance the unhealthy exposure to pollution and it may be better to try this before drugs therapy," he said, adding that HTMA results show that malnourished children have higher levels of lead in their systems compared to children with better nutrition.

The US$120 test requires taking 1.5 inches of hair from several areas on the scalp. This can be done at the Opti Mine Bio-Mineral Diagnosis company, Century outlets and Rudi Hadisuwarno beauty parlors. But the analysis is done in Singapore.

Kang added that to obtain an unbiased result, people who want to get the HTMA are advised to wash their hair using mild baby shampoo. Those with dyed, permed or treated hair are told to include the information about the product brand they used, if possible.

"That information will help explain the possibilities of high levels of zinc in the test result, for example," he said.

More information can be obtained at Opti Mine Bio-Mineral Diagnosis tel. (021) 800-5888 www.traceelements.com