Upgraded Hair Analysis
by Lisa Sealey, AfterShock
We love the idea of self-testing and monitoring to take control of our bodies and understand what’s going on. Luckily there are a growing number of options in this area. Hair analysis is one that has peaked our interest. It reportedly detects deficiencies in key minerals and uncovers heavy metal toxicity better than a blood or urine sample-based testing. There is, as with everything “novel” in health, conflicting opinion about the results. However, Upgraded Formulas has a good reputation backed by the solid credentials of its founder.
Upgraded was founded by Barton Scott, a chemical engineer and nutritionist. Scott became a dogged health sleuth and inventor after failing to find a solution to the health issues that he, and those close to him, were suffering with. After taking a lot of supplements and seeing little to no improvement, he figured out that his body wasn’t absorbing what he needed. And what he really needed was key minerals.
As noted on their website:
“Here he applied chemical engineering process principles to minerals, along with his knowledge of thermodynamics, heat transfer, mathematics, nutrition, fluid mechanics, and organic chemistry to develop a solution that makes the minerals Upgraded Formulas offers today incredibly effective - roughly five times better than the next closest brand with each and every batch 3rd party tested and produced in an FDA-inspected facility.”
The Upgraded Mineral Deficiency, Heavy Metals, & Metabolism test currently costs $199 on their website. This price includes a consultation with one of their trained nutritionists which we highly recommend ($129 for test only). Gathering the hair sample is fairly easy. You might want a friend or family member to do the cutting for you so you don’t end up with a strange bald patch on your head! The kit’s instructions clearly guide you through the process which includes a brief survey. Mail the sample in the provided envelope and wait for an email with a link to set-up your consultation and review your results.
Hair analysis kit materials.
Results: About two weeks after sending in the hair sample we received an email notification with the results — and a link to select a time to review the results with their nutritionist. The consultation was over an hour in length and included explanations of each element on the results chart, with possible reasons for each result. The consultant asked me a lot of lifestyle questions as she reviewed my results and offered possible explanations for some of what showed up. My results are pictured below where I learned that I’m a slow metabolizer, have high circulating levels of calcium and some other minerals in my body — likely due to overconsumption of some powered electrolytes that my body isn’t able to properly absorb. She also pointed out some heavy metal toxicity, which needless to say is pretty concerning.
Recommendation: I’ve switched to a more absorbable type of electrolytes and also purchased their detox protocol supplements, which I started in October. They recommend a follow-up test after your personal recommendations about 3 months after the original one. I’ll update this article after following the protocol.
A snapshot of my results.