Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) is a method that generates both interest and controversy. On the one hand, it is used in biomonitoring and environmental research; on the other, it is sometimes misinterpreted as a diagnostic tool. In this article, presented as a conversation with Dr. Anna Romaniuk, we explain what HTMA actually shows, what its limitations are, and how its results should be interpreted in practice.
Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA – Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis) is often presented online as a test that can “explain everything.” In reality, HTMA can be a useful functional and monitoring tool — but only when its scope, limitations, and proper interpretation are clearly understood.
Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) is increasingly used as a tool to support health prevention, lifestyle analysis, and supplementation monitoring. Before deciding to perform the test, it is important to understand when HTMA makes sense, when it does not, and what to look for when choosing an analysis.
These key minerals form the foundation of HTMA, and their proportions reflect: metabolic rate, hormonal balance, stress response, nervous system status.
HTMA evaluates long-term metabolic patterns (6–8 weeks), Blood evaluates the short-term physiological state (minutes–hours). What blood shows that HTMA does not: Chronic mineral deficiencies. Stress patterns (Na/K). Metabolic rate (Ca/P). Balance of the nervous system and electrolytes. Exposure to heavy metals. What do blood tests measure that HTMA does not show? Real-time hormone levels. Inflammatory
HAIR TISSUE MINERAL ANALYSIS (HTMA) is a metabolic test that assesses mineral levels and ratios in the body based on a hair sample, reflecting 6–8 weeks of biochemical changes. Unlike blood, which is tightly regulated by homeostasis, HTMA reveals long-term mineral patterns and toxic burdens
Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) is one of the most comprehensive and cost-effective diagnostic tools available in preventive health. It allows you to assess mineral balance, heavy-metal burden, and metabolic patterns — insights that standard blood tests cannot provide.
Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) has long attracted the interest of people who want to understand their health, metabolism and mineral balance on a deeper level. At the same time, many questions arise: Is the method reliable? Is it supported by scientific evidence? What can it actually tell us?
Constant weighing and calculating food, ongoing worry, uncertainty, feelings of fear, and sleep interrupted by fright. These are just some of the problems faced by parents of children with Type 1 Diabetes. Every day, right after waking up, thoughts about glycemic levels and the uncertainty of whether their child will wake up at all cloud their minds… Is there anything that can alleviate this fear and slightly improve the life quality of a parent with a diabetic child? Certainly, knowledge that each of them must possess to properly care for their child is crucial. One of the key aspects related to this disease is a proper diet and administering the correct insulin doses. Feeding a child with Type 1 Diabetes is not easy, but it is something that can be learned.
Superfoods are considered to be foods that are particularly rich in nutrients and antioxidants and are attributed with beneficial health properties. Although this group includes some fish and other food products, it primarily consists of plants.
Some key superfoods include moringa (Moringa oleifera Lam.), coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.), barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), chlorella (Chlorella vulgaris Beijerinck), and spirulina (Spirulina plantis).
Overweight and obesity are the plague of the 21st century, spreading wider and wider. According to research conducted in Poland in 2014, they have already been diagnosed in 62% of adult men and 46% of women. Excessive body weight is a result of inadequate energy intake compared to insufficient energy expenditure. Unfortunately, easy access to highly processed food with high sugar content, coupled with low fiber intake and very low physical activity, paves the way to obesity and, consequently, to metabolic diseases such as insulin resistance, diabetes, coronary heart disease, and hypertension. How can we protect ourselves from overweight? It turns out that taking care of the composition of gut microbiota is an effective way.
In today’s approach to health, there is a noticeable trend towards returning to early, even ancient concepts. The advancement of science and technology has allowed us to understand the principles of the functioning of individual cells and atoms, and it has been discovered that these principles also govern the overall functioning of the human body and all natural processes. This order and interdependence were described thousands of years ago by Chinese medicine, which used this acquired knowledge in a broad sense of therapy and patient recovery. Can we also utilize it today? Let’s try to find an answer to this question.
Toxic metal compounds such as mercury, cadmium, lead, arsenic, and aluminum pose a serious threat to human health. They can accumulate in the body and cause various diseases, such as neurological disorders, cardiovascular problems, respiratory diseases, and even cancer. Therefore, it is important to monitor the levels of heavy metals in the body and take steps to remove them if they are present in excessive amounts.
Minerals are essential for proper bodily function, and deficiencies can lead to many health problems. In today’s article, we will compare mineral supplementation in liquid form with supplementation in tablet form in terms of effectiveness, absorption, and convenience of use. Find out which option is best for you and how you can improve your health through proper supplementation.
To solve the problem, find its cause – said in the context of health problems Dr. John Bergman, an outstanding doctor and researcher, specialist in holistic medicine, author of many scientific publications. Treating the symptoms of the disease alone may not be effective. The only right and proper direction is to identify and remove the root cause of the ailment. Dr. Bergman’s thesis can be used as an effective therapy for many health problems. Is it also possible in the case of polycystic ovary syndrome, a disorder with which, according to statistics, about 10-15% of women of reproductive age struggle with. So, let’s look for the primary sources of this disease and try to identify natural methods to treat it.
Gadolinium is an element from the group of rare earth metals, the high concentration of which can lead to serious health disorders. Most often, we get poisoned by gadolinium through inhalation, ingestion or through the skin. In this article, we will present the harmful effects of high levels of gadolinium in the body, the main sources of poisoning, its symptoms, effective diagnostics, as well as ways to cleanse the body of excess gadolinium.
Have you ever felt unreasonably tired all the time? Have you experienced apathy, drowsiness, and general weakness for no apparent reason, despite having enough sleep? If so, it is worth examining the level of elements in the body, because iron deficiency may be the cause.
According to the World Health Organization, in 2020 depression became the second leading cause of disability in the world, after back pain and joint pain. It affects 350 million people in the world, and this is the best proof that depression is a huge problem and, at the same time, an excellent business for pharmaceutical companies that earn millions from the sale of antidepressants.
We all expect old age, which will bring us joy and a sense of fulfillment in life. At the same time, we would like to be aware that our perception of the world will not be affected by dementia processes. Unfortunately, the statistics are inexorable and clearly show that about 4% of us after the age of 65 may suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. The number of cases is growing drastically among 80-year-olds and is already 30%. Additionally, each year these numbers increase.
If your child starts having problems in both learning and behavior, it is worth thinking about lithium and checking whether its level in EHA is appropriate. This is especially true for children on the autism spectrum. Lithium is also very helpful in treating ADHD as well as post-traumatic stress or long-term chronic stress, such as
Lithium compounds have been the most popular mood stabilizers for years. Lithium was first used pharmacologically in the 19th century and is known to have a preventive effect on recurrent depression. After the discovery of the anti-manic effects of lithium, it has been used for over sixty years in the treatment of bipolar disorder in
Hashimoto’s disease is a chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis. The disease belongs to the group of autoimmune diseases. The immune system considers the thyroid gland to be a foreign body that it intends to fight. The entire process begins to produce antibodies that attack the cells of this organ. A complementary test that is worth performing is the EHA – elemental hair analysis – which allows you to diagnose the level of, among others, iodine, zinc, and selenium, as well as other elements that are nutritional factors involved in both the proper functioning of the thyroid gland and in the pathogenesis of thyroid gland diseases.
There is a temporal relationship between the emergence of disease epidemics autoimmune and neurodegenerative (which we can de facto include in the former groups). We associate the severity of these diseases with the mid-nineties, i.e., the moment when we started to change the composition of food, add to it various toxins, which initiated the process
Alzheimer’s is a neurodegenerative disease that usually develops very gradually and is very complex. From seemingly insignificant problems with concentration, through small memory loss to the development of dementia disorders noticeable by everyone else. The causes of Alzheimer’s have not been fully understood; hence it is impossible to present one effective one way to prevent it. However, the development of medical sciences, the involvement of scientific teams around the world and the results of their latest research shed some light on the mechanism the development of Alzheimer’s disease and hence in ways to prevent it.
Speech is one of the most important forms of human activity, and its disturbances have consequences in both social and cognitive functioning. It develops by leaps and bounds.
The 21st century is not conducive to gut health. Stress, poor diet, antibiotics and environmental pollution have a negative impact on the digestive system. That’s why dieticians often see people with digestive disorders in their clinics – almost half of all clients have this type of ailment. Of course, each case must be approached individually. Each one may have a different cause and progress differently, and each requires a properly chosen dietary therapy.
It’s widely believed that vegans and vegetarians are very susceptible to iron deficiency because as we know, the reason for insufficient iron is not enough being supplied in food to meet the body’s needs. Unfortunately, often, a seemingly healthy but actually poorly designed plant-based diet not only doesn’t have enough iron but also hinders iron absorption due to the presence of fibre, phytates, oxalates and polyphenols. So how can we balance the vegetarian and vegan menus to not risk anaemia and other dangerous effects of iron deficiency, and is this even possible?
The proper functioning of all organs in the human body requires daily provision of the appropriate doses of micro- and macroelements. Copper is an element that shouldn’t be overlooked in the daily diet. It’s responsible mainly for the formation and proper function of red blood cells, as well as for the metabolism of fats. Insufficient copper can also increase the frequency of migraines. How can you help yourself if you get severe recurrent headaches? One thing you can do is consume more copper-rich foods. Find out which foods these are and how to diagnose this deficiency.
Excessive hair loss is a problem that affects both women and men. Physiologically, we lose 50 to 100 telogen hair (hair in the resting stage) every day. If it’s more than this, we’re dealing with balding, which affects scalp hair, although not all areas of the scalp are equally susceptible to it. From the point of view of a functional medicine specialist, the most common causes of hair loss seen in the clinic are hypothyroidism (including atrophic Hashimoto’s thyroiditis), vitamin and mineral deficiencies (including iron, vitamin B12, folic acid, vitamin D3), omega-3 deficiency, active viral and bacterial infections (including Helicobacter pylori),
Hashimoto’s disease is the most common cause of thyroiditis and one of the most common causes of goitre, i.e. enlargement of the thyroid gland. Dr Anna Romaniuk in her lecture, explains the causes of this disease, the most important effects and possible causes of dealing with it. Dr. also notes the important role of EHA
Hypokalaemia is the main indication for potassium supplementation. However, people with other ailments can also benefit from supplementing this element. Swollen legs, constant drowsiness, headaches, tremors in the calves or thighs, mood swings and irregular heartbeat can mean that you haven’t got enough potassium in your diet.
Numerous studies have shown that the development of a child is influenced not just by their own diet, but also by what their parents ate, even before birth. This is why the entire family’s diet should be rich in nutrients already at the planning stage. But how can you know that what you put on the menu will ensure the optimal development of your child? First of all, you need to be aware of which elements play a key role both in conception and at later stages of a child’s development, as well as how to determine their levels in the body.
Lithium salts are one of the oldest currently available psychotropic drugs. Numerous studies have confirmed their value in psychopharmacotherapy, especially when it comes to the treatment and prevention of bipolar disorder (bipolar affective disorder – BPAD, also known as bipolar affective disturbances, previously known as manic depression or cyclophrenia, is characterised by depressive episodes, mania/hypomania
According to the World Health Organization, in 2020 depression will become the second-highest cause of disability in the world behind back and joint pain. There are 350 million sufferers worldwide, of whom already over 2.5 million are in Great Britain alone. This is the best evidence that depression is a huge problem. At the same time, it’s a great business opportunity for pharmaceutical companies that earn hundreds of millions selling anti-depressants.
Immunity is the body’s natural ability to defend itself against harmful factors that post a risk to its health, such as viruses, bacteria, mould and parasites. Immunity also protects against the negative effects of allergens, cancer cells and other threats. So, we need immunity, but do you know how to check that it’s working properly and how to strengthen it?
Aluminium is a toxic metal that in terms of global presence, occupies third place among all elements on the periodic table. We can safely say that we are surrounded by it. This is why we should learn to recognise its sources in order to protect ourselves, particularly children, who are particularly exposed to the negative effects of this element.
We have contact with aluminium every day and in almost every situation. Ways it gets into the body include the digestive tract due to contaminated food products, and skin penetration through cosmetics that we use every day. Its source may be kitchen pots (including enamelled ones – if they have been damaged, they’re not safe) and canned drinks, which in the case of children, especially those with any diagnosed neurodevelopmental problem, must be completely eliminated.
A selenium deficiency can cause many changes in the human immune system, the most important of which is suppression of the immune response to a bacterial or viral infection. Deficiency in selenium leads to quantitative and functional disruption of lymphocytes and other cells of the immune system. Research conducted in recent years has confirmed that
In recent weeks, there has been global chaos associated with virus, which has already infected more than 2 500 000 people in the world. How do you remain calm in this situation? First of all, don’t panic and stick to the rules that will ensure safety for you and everyone around you. Appropriate behaviour in
Chromium is a chemical element discovered in 1797 by the French chemistry professor Louis Nicolas Vauquelin. It belongs to the group of transition metals, and its name comes from the Greek word “colour”, as depending on the degree of oxidation, it forms compounds in various colours. For the human body, chromium is important in oxidation state III.
Modern women are suffering from more and more hormonal disorders and related symptoms, which include irregular, painful menstruation, periodic swollen and tender breasts, decreased libido, as well as breast and genital tumours. They are also increasingly getting treated for infertility. However, not everyone is aware that the symptoms of hormonal imbalance also include common fatigue, bloating, flatulence, constipation, and a sluggish metabolism; most people also don’t know that hormonal disorders don’t affect only women, and are also a problem for many men.
In nature, silicon (Latin silicium) occurs mainly in the form of the above-mentioned silicates and silica with the formula SiO2. The silicon content in the lithosphere is 276,000 [ppm], and in terms of quantity, it’s second behind oxygen. Under the influence of water and carbon dioxide, silicates are broken down into the final product, which is silica, for example, quartz sand. Its best-known form is the transparent mountain crystal, which, similar to black flint, is used to make silicon water.
Zinc is one of the most-important trace elements in the body. It’s a component of over 300 enzymes and proteins, and plays a crucial role in the synthesis of steroid hormones. What products is it found in? Meat, seafood and whole grains are the richest source of zinc. It’s worth noting, however, that only 30% of zinc taken with food is actually absorbed. For men, absorption ranges between 8mg and 15mg per day, and for women, it’s approximately 8mg per day. With age, zinc absorption decreases even more, and even though zinc excretion decreases proportionally, remember to consume enough to maintain a safe balance.
The soothing effects of heat have been known for many thousands of years. Indians had sweat lodges, Mexicans had Temescals, Russians used banyas, and mushi-buros were popular in Japan. Each of these places was a meeting place for the local community, and was used for healing purposes. Ancient Egyptian texts also have references to the use of heat therapy in certain diseases. Pioneers of natural therapies used the sauna as a therapeutic method. One of them was an American living in the 19th century – Dr John Harvey Kellogg. In his sanatorium in Battle Creek, Michigan, he thoroughly studied various types of hot dry and wet baths. This allowed him to assess their value as a healing method.
Excessive flatulence, bloating, constipation or diarrhoea, burping, a feeling of heaviness or nausea after meals, lack of appetite for meat or a desire to eat despite having a full stomach, heartburn, reflux, and a sour aftertaste in the mouth are just some of the symptoms of insufficient stomach acid. If you also suffer from allergies, psoriasis, or malabsorption, have observed recurring rashes, are underweight or obese, have brittle nails, hair loss or undigested food in your stool, it most likely means that your stomach is secreting too little stomach acid.
Our body needs a small amount of selenium – just 50 micrograms per day. However, this doesn’t mean that it can be overlooked in the daily diet. A lack of selenium can have serious effects, such as depression and poor immunity. The right amount in the diet, on the other hand, prevents many serious diseases.
According to the health statistics of industrialised countries, high blood pressure is no longer a disease that’s associated with obesity. Even slim people are susceptible to it. Officially, 25% of the population aged between 20 and 60 years have high blood pressure. This number rises dramatically among people over 70 years old. These days, this insidious and life-threatening disease is also reported among children. It’s assumed that approximately 8 million people have high blood pressure in Poland. If left untreated, it inevitably leads to heart attacks, cerebral haemorrhage, as well as premature failure or weakening of the walls of the arteries and blood vessels. The widely held belief that high blood pressure can be controlled only pharmacologically is untrue.
If you’re confident that your child is healthy, elemental hair analysis isn’t necessary. Unfortunately, from the paediatric point of view, this is not common. Try to look at your child with loving parental eyes, but critically. Does anything arouse your doubts? Your child is generally healthy, but isn’t growing well or has a poor appetite, or is picky and eats only certain products, has stomach pain and bloating. Or perhaps your child has weak hair, dry skin, blemishes, blackheads, or acne? Perhaps it’s none of these things. That’s great! How are they doing in kindergarten or at school?
Diabetes – an insidious and dangerous degenerative disease of millions of people, and a similar number who are still unaware that they have it. The fifth highest cause of mortality and one of the main causes of cardiovascular, kidney and eye disease (including vision loss and bleeding of the eyeball), damage to the nervous system and blood vessels, hypertension, cerebral haemorrhage, hearing loss, slow-healing wounds, ulcers, comas (due to dehydration), gangrene, and limb amputation.
