Our “master gland,” our thyroid, regulates our metabolism, energy levels, and overall health. When thyroid dysfunction occurs, such as an underactive or overactive thyroid, many different symptoms can occur. Some of the most common symptoms are fatigue, weight gain, hair loss, and mood imbalances. Traditional bloodwork labs measure TSH, free T3, free T4, and antibodies and can provide valuable insight into thyroid function but don’t always consider the whole picture. In this blog, we discuss the importance of Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis testing (HTMA) and how it can be a helpful tool to help you gather more information about how optimally your thyroid is functioning and what potential imbalances could be contributing to dysfunction.
As functional medicine practitioners at Infinite Wellness, we view the body as an interconnected system. The health of one organ often reflects imbalances or stresses in others. Using an HTMA can give you unique insights into your thyroid health and how various mineral imbalances contribute to dysfunction.
What is a Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA)
The Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis is a noninvasive test that measures the mineral content of hair over 3 to 4 months. Since hair grows over several months, it provides a long-term view of your body’s mineral levels and patterns. It offers a perspective that blood or urine tests may not capture as they cannot look at history; instead, it is an in-the-moment measure. Additionally, the test results allow you to analyze mineral ratios to help one of your practitioners uncover essential connections about metabolic function, adrenal stress, heavy metal toxicity, and especially thyroid health. These connections enable the practitioner to help you understand the relationship of your symptoms to the present test results. From there, an individualized care plan is created to fill the gaps in deficiencies or help you remove any unwanted toxicities contributing to poor thyroid health.
How HTMA Can Provide Insights Into Thyroid Health
The thyroid is heavily influenced by mineral balance. Below, we will discuss the key minerals and what the HTMA can reveal concerning thyroid function.
- Calcium and Magnesium
- Calcium levels are often elevated in many individuals with hypothyroidism. High calcium levels can indicate that the thyroid is underactive and under a great deal of stress. Additionally, calcium controls the nervous system and has an inhibitory effect on thyroid hormone. Calcium elevation causes dysfunction with our iodine receptors, enabling optimal thyroid hormone conversion. Calcium elevation can slow down cellular metabolism.
- Magnesium is another key player that works together with calcium. Adequate magnesium is necessary for proper thyroid hormone production and utilization. Magnesium is one of the first minerals to get depleted in times of stress. A deficiency may indicate the need for magnesium support to improve thyroid function.
- Sodium and Potassium
- Both sodium and potassium are vital for cellular energy production, which is closely tied to thyroid function.
- Low sodium levels can indicate adrenal fatigue, which often accompanies thyroid concerns. Our adrenal gland and thyroid function are interconnected, so addressing sodium levels can help support the system and improve energy levels. A thyroid that is not functioning properly will be unable to sweat, get rid of water, and absorb sodium to encourage balance.
- Potassium is critical for converting inactive thyroid hormone (T4) to its active form (T3). Low potassium levels may suggest poor conversion, leading to hypothyroid symptoms even if blood T4 levels are normal. You can think of potassium as the mineral that sensitizes the cell to thyroid hormones, creating more sodium-potassium pumps to allow our cells to uptake thyroid hormones and become more sensitive to them.
- Zinc and Copper
- Zinc is a key mineral for thyroid hormone production, and you can think of it as a building block. Low levels of zinc can contribute to hypothyroidism by impairing the thyroid’s ability to produce sufficient hormones.
- Conversely, copper is often elevated in thyroid dysfunction. Copper excess inhibits thyroid hormone function, leading to symptoms of hypothyroidism. HTMA helps identify the need for copper balancing regarding zinc.
- Selenium
- Selenium is another mineral essential for converting T4 to T3, the active form of thyroid hormone. An HTMA that shows low selenium can indicate poor thyroid conversion and the need for increased dietary intake to enhance thyroid health. As functional medicine practitioners, we also help you understand why your selenium levels are out of balance.
- Heavy Metal Toxicity
- When you complete a Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis, you will notice that the test also reveals the presence and burden of heavy metals within your body’s tissues. The metals that we see as most common are mercury, lead, and aluminum. The thing to note about heavy metals is that they have a high affinity for the thyroid and disrupt thyroid function. Mercury, for example, can interfere with selenium and block the conversion of T4 to T3, encouraging thyroid issues.
How to Use HTMA Results to Support Your Thyroid Health
Once you complete your HTMA and receive your results, our goal at Infinite Wellness is to develop a targeted, individualized plan to address the current mineral imbalances. Within your care plan, you will find a combination of the following:
- Nutritional Support: Incorporating specific foods that are rich in minerals, such as selenium (found in Brazil nuts) or magnesium (found in leafy greens), can improve thyroid production.
- Targeting Supplementation: Based on your results, supplements like zinc or magnesium may be introduced to correct deficiencies and optimize thyroid function.
- Detoxification Protocols: If heavy metals are a contributing factor to your thyroid dysfunction, a detoxification plan using natural methods may be recommended in addition to other liver support recommendations.
- Lifestyle Modifications: Stress management, hydration, and improving sleep patterns can also help to regulate mineral levels, support adrenal health, and support thyroid health.
The Infinite Wellness Approach
At Infinite Wellness, the core of our practice is helping the body innately heal when given the right support. Using a tool like a Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis allows our practitioners to go beyond the patient’s symptoms to help uncover the root causes of thyroid imbalances. Instead of simply treating hypothyroidism with medication, we aim to restore balance to your body, ensuring your thyroid and the rest of your body can function optimally as intended.
Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis testing offers a holistic and personalized view of your thyroid health and overall well-being. Reminding you again that the body works together and not in separate parts. With this information, working with one of our practitioners at Infinite Wellness allows you to address not just your thyroid symptoms but also the underlying imbalances that contribute to your condition, keeping in mind that your treatment differs from others in our individualized approach.
Putting It All Together
If you have been struggling with thyroid issues and are looking for an alternative and comprehensive approach, HTMA testing could be the missing piece to your health puzzle. By understanding how mineral imbalances affect your thyroid, working with a practitioner at Infinite Wellness can help you create a personalized plan to restore balance and improve your thyroid health naturally.
If you are interested in exploring how an HTMA can help you gain deeper insights into your thyroid health, contact us and schedule a free consultation. Let’s work together to uncover the root cause of your thyroid imbalance and get you on the path to healing.