The practice of placentophagy – a woman consuming her placenta after she gives birth – is a bit of a hot topic these days. For those of you not familiar with the practice, if you're imagining the Dothraki queen devouring the giant, bleeding heart of a horse with her bare hands, you're probably not alone. In reality, there's much less of a "yuck" factor associated with the process when consuming an…
Tags: Elements Testing, Fertility, Estrogen, Progesterone
The field of epigenetics has far-reaching implications for psychiatry. As acquired epigenetic alterations can be transferred to the next generations, what scientists used to label as an inherited psychiatric disease may in fact be the result of epigenetic changes in a family’s shared environment. Many psychiatric diseases are consistent with the theory of epigenetic dysregulation because of their fluctuating nature and disease course.…
Tags: Elements Testing, Neurotransmitters, Mental Health, Mineral Imbalances
As far as cosmologists can tell, there were only three elements present when the universe was first formed some 13.8 billion years ago: hydrogen, helium, and lithium. As one of the three original elements, lithium is found throughout our atmosphere. The sun, stars, and meteorites burn brightly with the gleam of this highly reactive element. On earth, lithium remains a major mineral component of granite rock, and also lingers in significant amounts…
Tags: Elements Testing, Neurotransmitters, Mental Health, Mineral Imbalances
In part 1 of this series, we discussed the importance of correcting trace mineral imbalances of copper and zinc to reduce behavioral symptoms and improve medication efficiency in children with ADHD. There is another nutrient that should be considered by all healthcare professionals, parents, and those struggling with ADHD: magnesium. Magnesium is a macromineral required for hundreds of the body's…
Tags: Mental Health, Elements Testing, Magnesium, Neurotransmitters, Mineral Imbalances, ADD and ADHD
What if there was a safe, effective, inexpensive, and simple way to help treat one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders of childhood? Health care professionals often overlook nutrients; yet imbalances in many minerals are frequently seen in medical disorders including ADHD. Fortunately, replenishing nutrients with an integrative treatment plan has proven to be an effective treatment for…
Tags: Elements Testing, Neurotransmitters, Magnesium, Lead, Mineral Imbalances, ADD and ADHD
Have you seen the movie The Martian? I highly recommend it. The premise is that an astronaut called Mark Watney goes with a team to Mars, gets left behind and has to survive. I love semi-disaster stories and even better when it's Matt Damon playing the main character. Now, according to the book, Watney had lots of vitamins and mineral supplements to supplement his diet. But if he hadn't had those…
Tags: Elements Testing, Patient Education, Selenium, Magnesium, Mineral Imbalances
Urine, serum, plasma, whole blood, red blood cells, feces, hair, fingernails…the list goes on. How do you decide what biological sample(s) to use for element analysis? Can results be compared to scientific literature or do they have clinical significance? Is it possible for values to be elevated or low in one sample type and normal in another? Do test results indicate recent intake, body burden,…
Tags: Elements Testing, Heavy Metals, Dried Urine Testing, Blood Spot Testing, Iodine, Selenium, Bromine, Arsenic, Cadmium, Lead, Mercury, Magnesium
On August 5, 2015 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) accidentally breached a tunnel holding liquid waste as part of the cleanup of the Gold King Mine in Colorado. This breach resulted in the release of 3 million gallons of toxic waste into Colorado’s Animas River. The waste stained the river yellow and continued to travel downstream into the San Juan River. The Animas and San Juan Rivers are…
Tags: Elements Testing, Toxins, Lead, Mercury, Arsenic, Cadmium, Heavy Metals
A balance of nutrients is required by our bodies to maintain good health, and selenium (Se) is an important one that often gets overlooked. This essential element is a required component of the selenoproteins, which include those that are needed to convert thyroid hormone from the inactive to the active form, and several important anti-oxidants. While optimal selenium levels are imperative for…
Tags: Elements Testing, Thyroid Health, Toxins, Selenium, Mineral Imbalances
Did you know that the amount of arsenic in your public water supply is strictly regulated by the FDA, and must test below 10 ppb* total arsenic? Ironically, the food we eat has no such regulations on arsenic content, and some staple foods such as rice may contain high levels of arsenic. Arsenic is a natural element found in soil and water at different concentrations throughout the world. There are…
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