MINERALS
Minerals
Testing the element status in the body
The (trace) elements or minerals belong, like vitamins, the essential amino acids and essential fatty acids to the essential nutrients human beings need to be able to function properly and that the human being is unable to produce from food.
(Trace) elements are crucial parts of many kinds of biochemical conversions in the body, such as co-enzyme reactions. Deficiency or excess of (trace) elements can lead to a decreased function of several (organ) systems and the human body as a whole. Other elements and toxic metals can influence the need for a (trace) element. Consequently ratios are sometimes also important.
Deficiency, toxicity or an imbalance?
The elements in a blood test can provide insight into absolute and relative deficiencies, toxicities and imbalances between elements. The test can be used for diagnostic or preventive purpose. The test can also give insight into the effect of dietary changes/supplementation. The test gives information about the levels at the moment of blood taking.
All elements, with can be measured in whole blood. Lithium also can be measured in serum. Calcium, potassium, chromium, copper, cadmium, lead, magnesium, selenium, sodium and zinc also can be measured in serum and bloodcells.
By measuring the quantities in and outside the bloodcells, additional information is obtained about the location of a deficiency.
Both WHLBunnik as well as HDRI in the US can test for the above described elements in blood.
Clinical condition warranting assessment of Single elements
WHL TESTS FOR SINGLE ELEMENTS AS WELL AS COMPLETE TOXICOLOGICAL PANELS
| ELEMENT | LOW levels | HIGH or TOXIC levels |
|---|---|---|
| Aluminium (Al) | Loss of appetite, nausea ,colic, pain in muscles, weak bones, weakness, dementia, mental complaints. | |
| Arsenic (As) | Headache, confusion, convulsion, vomiting, severe diarrhea. | |
| Cadmium (Cd) | Atherosclerosis, hypertension, decreased immunity. | |
| Calcium (Ca) | Brittle bones/osteoporosis, joint pains, muscle cramps, mental complaints like irritability, tooth decay, slow blood clotting/ hemorrhage, pregnancy. | |
| Chromium (Cr) | Alcoholism, atherosclerosis, glucose intolerance/hypoglycemia, pregnancy. | Skin problems. |
| Cobalt (Co) | Pernicious anemia, retarded growth. | |
| Magnesium (Mg) | Alcoholism, allergy, caries, diabetes, diarrhea, dysmenorrhea, eclampsia, epilepsy, cardio-vascular diseases, high/low blood pressure, high intake of calcium, phosphates and vitamin D, headache, hyperactivity, hypothermia, complaints of the muscles and muscle cramps, mental diseases like anxiety, depression, disorientation, hallucination, irritability and confusion, nausea and vomiting, tiredness, kidney stones, osteoporosis, spasm, stress (also because of noise, infection or disease), decreased breathing, pregnancy. | |
| Manganese (Mn) | Convulsion, diabetes, weak bones, loss of hearing, glucose intolerance, neurological complaints, sterility. | Anorexia, psychological and motor difficulties. |
| Mercury (Hg) | Diarrhea, neurological complaints like irritability, moodiness and depression, loss of coordination, intellectual ability, vision and hearing. | |
| Nickel (Ni) | Headache, nausea and vomiting, respiratory problems. | |
| Potassium (K) | Slow irregular heartbeat, neuromuscular diseases like signs of paralysis, weakness. | |
| Copper (Cu) | Anemia, atherosclerosis, osteoporosis, poor wound healing, too high zinc or cadmium, vitiligo. | mental illness, (postpartem) depression, liver cirrhosis. organ damage. |
| Lithium (Li) | Aggressive behavior, depression. | |
| Lead (Pb) | Stomach ache, hypertension, mental diseases like depression, dizziness, concentration impairment, irritability, restlessness, confusion and impaired memory, pain in the muscles, premenstrual syndrome, decreased immunity against infection, fatigue, pregnancy-related diseases. | |
| Selenium (Se) | Asthma, eczema, joint complaints, heart diseases, (increased sensitivity for) infections, high exposure to heavy metals (e.g.. mercury), cancer, decreased fertility of man, decreased glutathion peroxydase activity, hypothyroidie (decreased conversion of T4 to T3), increased degeneration. | Loss of hair, teeth and nails, brittle nails, skin problems, Gastro-intestinal distress, garlic breath odor, lethargy. |
| Vanadium (V) | High cholesterol/ cardiovascular diseases, glucose-intolerance/ hypoglycemia, impaired growth. | |
| Zinc (Zn) | Impaired growth, alcoholism, impotence (young man), irregular menstruation (young women), infertility, poor wound healing,loss of taste/sense of smell, pregnancy. | Copper deficiency. |
Blood tests to choose from:
WHL can test for single elements or for one of the panels below. We also included here a specific toxicology panel that tests for POP's. Persistent organic pollutants
(POPs), sometimes known as "forever chemicals" are organic compounds that are resistant to environmental degradation through chemical, biological, and photolytic processes. [4] Because of their persistence, POPs bioaccumulate with potential adverse impacts on human health and the environment. The effect of POPs on human and environmental health was discussed, with intention to eliminate or severely restrict their production, by the international community at the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants in 2001. Source: Wikipedia
WORKING TOGETHER
A total elements check-up is advised in case of:
01
Poor (general) health
Monitoring the effect of suppletion
Preventive purpose/ to detect subclinical deficits
Digestive problems.
Psychological complaints, behavioral disorders and learning problems.
02
Persistant Fatigue
Heart and vascular diseases
Cardiovascular complaints
Fatigue
Check possibilities of optimizing health/performance
Many vague complaints.
03
Exposure to toxic metals
Suppressed immunity/ allergy
Psychological, behavioural and learning diffculties/ mental diseases
Complaints of poisoning / free radical pathology.
Degeneration diseases: Rheumatism.
Cancer
Carcinomas
04
Pregnancy
Glucose-intolerance/hypoglycemia
Complaints of joints and bones
Vague complaints and aspecific symptoms like fatigue and headache
Reduced / poor defenses.
LITERATURE:
- Gayla J. Kirschmann. Nutrition Almanac. Fourth edition McGraw-Hill, New York, USA 1996
- Melvyn R. Werbach. Nutritional influences on Illness. A sourcebook of clinical research. Third Line Press. USA, 1993.
- Melvyn R. Werbach. Nutritional influences on mental Illness. A sourcebook of clinical research. Third Line Press. USA, 1999.
- Ritter L; Solomon KR; Forget J; Stemeroff M; O'Leary C. "Persistent organic pollutants" (PDF). United Nations Environment Programme. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2007-09-16.