Mineral Balancing Program
All of the biochemical processes in our bodies are dependent on minerals in one way or another, including crucial roles like oxygen delivery, fluid balance, structural support, energy production, enzymatic reactions, and neutralization of free radicals and toxins. To function optimally, it’s important for our inner array of minerals to be replete and in appropriate relationship with one another and the body. Certain minerals can get depleted or deranged as a result of improper nutrition, physical or emotional stressors, illnesses, or medications. Minerals are vital components of the foods we consume, however, oftentimes a balanced diet is not enough to correct significant deficiencies or imbalances.
What is Mineral Balancing?
Mineral balancing is a way to improve the energy-producing mechanisms of the body through the use of specific foods, nutrients, herbs, and lifestyle factors that are customized based on a person’s current mineral profile. Energy then becomes more available for healing, rejuvenation, detoxification, and other activities. A hair tissue mineral analysis (HTMA) is used to assess an individual’s mineral levels based on a small lock of hair. The test peeks into body biochemistry at a cellular level, providing insights as to its deficiencies, imbalances, and toxicity by assessing the status of 16 essential minerals and 5 toxic metals. This reveals a blueprint of the body’s biochemistry occurring over the growth phase of the sample, providing a profile of how the individual has been handling minerals and toxins over a 3-4 month period of time.
A practitioner skilled in interpreting the results can recommend targeted therapies to improve the mineral status and help steer the body toward more optimal performance. We view the mineral profile as a whole, considering all of the minerals at once. The dynamics of our inner metabolism are highly intricate, involving numerous interrelated reactions and compensations. The body’s vitamins and minerals also have an effect on one another and can behave as helpers or antagonists depending on the particulars. Simply replacing what is low on a hair test is usually inadequate, and can sometimes make a situation worse.
When properly interpreted, the HTMA is a tool that can offer insights into a person’s:
- metabolic rate
- blood sugar regulation and sensitivity to carbohydrates
- nervous system state / how one tends to respond to stress
- state of stress (fight-or-flight, resistance or exhaustion)
- digestive function and immunity
- effectiveness of thyroid and adrenal hormones
- energy production
- liver/detox function
- oxidative stress & inflammation
- toxic metal presence
Toxic metals (such as lead, mercury and aluminum) place a great deal of stress on the body, especially our nervous and detoxification systems. HTMA is a valuable screening tool and is considered by the US EPA to be more effective than blood or urine for monitoring exposure for many toxic metals. We are all exposed to these elements, and can even acquire them at a very early age from our mothers during the gestation period. If our bodies are stressed and our physiologic mineral reserves are low, we are less able to effectively deal with toxic junk, which can disrupt normal functioning and lead to tissue damage over time. Mineral balancing is a gentle and effective way to support the body’s elimination of toxic elements, leading to increased vitality, clarity, and lasting improvements in overall health.
What to Expect?
The fundamentals for this type of therapy include many of the basic healthy lifestyle habits that we regularly recommend, such as those listed below. Incorporating these practices into your daily habits helps remove barriers to your body’s healing processes, and will help you get the most out of the program. Additional support is oftentimes strongly encouraged to facilitate your body’s detox processes, including saunas, castor oil packs, and Epsom salt baths.
- clean, whole foods
- quality sleep
- supporting the body’s natural rhythms
- filtered or spring water
- appropriate rest and movement
We also make basic dietary recommendations that are compatible with your current metabolic state and mineral profile. Generally speaking, it includes a balance of macros from whole foods and especially seasonal vegetables. The particulars may be adjusted over time as your metabolism shifts.
Another important component of a mineral balancing program is a customized supplement protocol. This includes a number of basic nutrients that are strategically assembled in response to your body’s needs. These are physiologic dosages of commonly used vitamins and minerals (nothing extreme or experimental). Finally, anyone following a mineral balancing program should be aware they may experience flares of symptoms associated with metals or bio-unavailable minerals as they are eliminated. The body is amazing at keeping garbage under wraps, but this waste may need to be liberated in order to be eliminated, and that may or may not create noticeable side effects. Overall the program is gentle in that it essentially supports the body’s natural processes. Any discomforts that may arise are temporary in nature and can usually be lessened with a minor program adjustment. Most people are excited to have this evidence of corrections that are happening at a deep, cellular level.
The body’s conditions will be addressed in their own order, not necessarily in a sequence that you may think is most important. For this reason, you may notice improvements in certain areas first, while others require more time for correction. In the beginning, it’s important to re-test every few months to fine-tune your program for continued progress. You can decide when you are ready to stop or scale back. For example, this can look like reducing supplements to a minimal maintenance level, or continuing with a supportive diet and checking in periodically to see how the HTMA looks. Keeping body chemistry balanced through periodic HTMA retesting is key to sustaining energy, increasing overall vitality, and restoring the body and mind to a balanced and resilient state.
Who is MB for?
Mineral balancing is appropriate for any age. It’s amazing for children because it gives a growing body the nutrients it requires in order to function properly and eliminate what it does not need. This sort of balancing is key to improving a whole host of symptoms, including allergies, food reactions, attention, and neurological issues. Restoring proper mineral balance allows a child to think better, feel more energetic, and get back to the business of being a kid. It also helps prepare them for more healthy and robust growth and development. In many cases, children show improvements quite readily because of their more naturally vital metabolic state.
Mineral balancing is also a wonderful investment in perinatal preparation. Not only does it help balance hormones and deeply nourish prospective parents, but it also facilitates the elimination of toxins at a very deep level, laying the groundwork for optimal sperm/egg quality. This does take some time (at least 6-12 month is recommended), but is worth planning ahead for.
It’s beneficial to focus on mineral balancing at any time in a fertility journey, even if already pregnant. This is a metabolic state where glandular activity is ramped up, and the importance of nutrition cannot be overstated due to increased demands for vitamins and minerals. An MB program is tailored to each expectant mother’s particular needs as they shift through the course of pregnancy and beyond, and has been shown clinically to lessen a number of discomforts including morning sickness, constipation, and water retention, as well as improve milk quality and quantity during lactation. This can greatly enhance the well-being of both mom and the baby.
