Prog Food Nutr Sci 1987

The consumption of highly refined, heavily processed foods reduces the trace element content of the diet. The higher trace element requirements of pregnancy, growth & disease, may further contribute to marginal trace element nutriture.

Nutr Cancer 1982

  
Vitamin & Minerals

Element Profiles - Essential & Toxic

IWDL offers a comprehensive range of vitamin, mineral and toxic element assessments including: 

• Hair Mineral Analysis
• Nutrient & Toxic Elements
• Antioxidant Profile
• Vitamin & Mineral Profile

Vitamins

Vitamins are organic compounds required in small amounts by the body for normal metabolic functions. While these compounds are required for life, they cannot be manufactured  by the body and are therefore deemed essential. The vitamins themselves cannot be converted into energy by the body, but are required in the process of energy production. 

Vitamin insufficiency can result from poor nutrition and lifestyle and has many faces. This can start with a preliminary reduction of nutrient stores with no symptoms, leading to a biochemical reduction in enzyme activity through a lack of nutrient-derived co-enzymes. This may be followed later by the appearance of symptoms of that deficiency.

Minerals

Essential elements (often referred to as minerals), are fundamental to every function in the body. They join together in crystalline structures, forming bone, they shuttle independently across membranes, resulting in nerve impulses and they serve at the heart of most enzyme reactions.

It is because of their diverse and vital roles that vitamin and mineral imbalances are frequently found to be factors in many chronic degenerative diseases. Since there is no way for the body to manufacture these nutrients, and daily losses are unavoidable. Vitamins and minerals are classed as "essential" and can only therefore be taken in through the diet, making deficiencies a common factor in many different conditions.

Conditions associated with elemental imbalances:

Depression	Inflammation
Diabetes	Insomnia
Muscle spasms	Malabsorption
Arrythmias	Irritability
Osteoporosis	Hypoglycaemia
Chronic stress	Skin disorders
Vision / hearing disorders	Anaemia

Toxic Elements

Metal toxicity is a significant environmental health concern as many harmful elements can accumulate in tissues. A toxic load of the heavy metals lead, cadmium, mercury or arsenic is capable of rendering considerable damage to the brain and nervous system, particularly in children. 

Toxic elements produce their many negative effects through various mechanisms. One mechanism, irreversible enzyme inhibition, is illustrated by the anaemia caused when lead binds to enzymes in the haemoglobin synthesis pathway. The cancer-inducing effect of arsenic seems to be due to an inhibition of DNA repair, while damage to the chromosomes is linked to the free radical generation abilities of cadmium, lead and nickel.

Conditions associated with toxic metal accumulation:

Depression, irritability, anxiety	Tremors
Impaired memory	Pains in joints / limbs
Incoordination	Infertility, miscarriage
Loss of balance	Insomnia
Recurrent infections	Constipation
Fatigue	Autistic Spectrum disorders
Anaemia	Exposure to chemicals or toxins

 

Analytes measured by each test:

ANALYTES	Nutrient & Toxic Elements	Vitamin &  Mineral Profile	Hair Mineral Analysis
TOXIC
Arsenic	*		*
Cadmium	*		*
Lead	*		*
Mercury	*		*
POTENTIALLY TOXIC
Aluminum			*
Antimony	*		*
Barium			*
Baryllium
Bismuth			*
Boron
Gadolinium			*
Lithium			*
Nickel			*
Platinum
Rhodium			*
Rubidium			*
Silver
Thallium	*		*
Thorium
Tin	*		*
Titanium
Uranium			*
VITAMINS
Vitamin A		*
Beta Carotene		*
Alpha Carotene		*
Vitamin E		*
Vitamin C		*
Vitamin B1		*
Vitamin B2		*
Vitamin B6		*
CoQ10
ESSENTIAL
Calcium	*	*	*
Chromium	*	*	*
Cobalt			*
Copper	*	*	*
Iodine
Iron		*	*
Lithium			*
Magnesium	*	*	*
Manganese	*	*	*
Molybdenum			*
Phosphorus			*
Potassium	*		*
Selenium	*		*
Sodium			*
Strontium			*
Sulphur			*
Vanadium	*		*
Zinc	*	*	*

Pricing

Description		RRP Price
Hair Mineral Analysis		£65.00
Nutrients & Toxic Metals		£160.00
Vitamin & Mineral Profile		£280.00

To order test go to Having a Test