Hair Mineral Analysis, Part 2 Inflammatory Indicators A Unique Perspective on Biochemical Individuality - Jack Grogan, CN, Chief Science Officer for Uckele Health & Nutrition Inflammatory Indicators Mineral imbalances can significantly increase the risks of distress that, over time, can manifest into a health challenge. In many respects, the most important piece of information shown by HMA is the type and degree of excessive inflammatory stress the horse’s body is attempting to manage. The amount of excessive inflammatory stress can, at some point, cause a genetic weakness to show itself. Indications of excessive inflammatory stress can appear in many ways. For example, in and of itself, the presence of any toxic metal automatically increases the amount of excessive inflammatory stress that’s occurring in the metabolism. Mineral imbalances, either excessively elevated or low levels of nutrient minerals are also powerful indicators of excessive inflammation. The mineral copper, in particular, is of great significance in terms of inflammatory markers. Copper is the single most important anti-inflammatory mineral in equine health. It is nearly universal for equine hair samples to show low levels of copper. This can occur as a result of several factors. Inadequate copper intake or poorly absorbed forms of copper present in complete feeds or supplements are contributing factors, as well as the fact that copper is rapidly utilized during periods of inflammatory stress in an attempt to offset the inflammatory patterns and to protect the tissues of the body from inflammatory stress. Elevated internal stress patterns usually associated with the mineral sodium or sodium related ratios are also good markers for inflammatory stress. Sugar sensitivity indicators such as elevated calcium or magnesium level or elevated calcium to magnesium ratio can also indicate the potential for excessive inflammation relative to the relationship between blood sugar imbalances or dysglycemia and inflammation. Elevated levels of nutrient minerals such as iron, zinc, manganese, boron, cobalt, chromium and vanadium, either alone or in combination, are also indicative of excessive inflammatory stress. From horse to horse, there can be a completely different set of issues according to the genetic weaknesses, since each horse is genetically unique. Allergic reactions in horses are of great concern, and are an example of individualized manifestations of excessive inflammation. For example, a horse with hives is manifesting an inflammatory pattern associated with the skin; breathing distress is an inflammatory pattern manifesting in the respiratory system; a joint issue showing as an inflammatory stress pattern affecting the joint, and so on. The presence of toxic minerals automatically increases inflammation and uniquely affects aspects of the body and the metabolism. Aluminum and arsenic are the two most common environmental toxins that have been found in the thousands of equine hair samples analyzed. Aluminum is the single most common mineral toxin. Exposure can occur from airborne aluminum, certain feed processing techniques, and the effect of acid rain on soil that increases aluminum’s uptake into pasture. This toxic mineral affects calcium metabolism, bone mineral reserves, and will further imbalance the metabolism in the direction of the dominant imbalances. For example, if the basic metabolism is imbalanced on the slow side, aluminum toxicity will slow the metabolism to a greater degree; if the metabolism is imbalanced on the fast side, aluminum will increase the degree of the imbalance by increasing the speed of the metabolism. The result of this is an automatic increase in inflammatory stress. The toxic mineral arsenic can also generate major inflammatory stresses and is the second most common toxic mineral in horses. Arsenic can also occur in airborne exposures, even if the source of the arsenic is several hundred or thousand miles away. Well-water contamination is a very common source of arsenic exposure. In some states, up to 70% of the wells are estimated to be contaminated with arsenic. Arsenic affects the gastrointestinal tract, immune function, hormonal balance, and can mimic gastritis and ulcer issues. Recently, acceptable levels of Arsenic in the hair were reduced by a factor of five. The levels of nutrient minerals can also indicate increases in inflammatory stress. Nutrient minerals that are either too high or too low can directly affect inflammatory trends. For example, the mineral selenium, a well-known antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, allows the horse’s body to effectively control inflammatory stress and is often excessively high or low during periods of increasing inflammatory stress. It is interesting that selenium is also involved in allowing the horse’s body to manage excess arsenic. The type and degree of excessive inflammatory stress can show in many ways and can be cause by elevated, low or imbalanced mineral levels. The HMA can reveal the powerful indicators of excessive inflammation even before inflammatory stress can cause a genetic weakness to show itself.
Posted on: Wed, 11 Sep 2013 07:35:52 +0000
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