This is my son’s dietary and supplement game-plan based on his Hair & Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) results. It came as a surprise to me that he was deficient in several crucial nutrients because we eat really healthy balanced organic meals. It just goes to show how depleted our foods are of essential minerals and vitamins because even an extremely health conscious mama like me who can be a bit obsessive about what goes into my kids’ bodies, can’t get my kids what they need by just organic and traditional diets alone. We follow what some would say is the Weston A. Price diet, (I call it a traditional diet)– we eat nutrient dense foods, high in fats and proteins and practically zero refined foods. I say zero because we do eat the occasional bag of organic chips every now and then. Even the chocolate I buy them is dark organic chocolate.
So where did I go wrong? When I first received my kids’ HTMA results there was a tiny moment of panic and guilt. “How could this be?,” I wondered. But I quickly checked my ego and reminded myself that I’ve been doing my best and it’s the food supply that is failing us. Our soils and waters are so polluted and therefore depleted of essential nutrients that food today has a fraction of the nutritional value it had 50 years ago. An orange in the 1950’s is equivalent to 21 oranges now.
His results showed that he was deficient in several essential nutrients like selenium, sodium, copper, chromium and manganese and also had elevated levels of aluminum. My kid has high levels of aluminum?! STOP I can’t take it! My daughter had even more deficiencies and also had elevated levels of aluminum. I was shocked to say the least.
After stopping myself from spinning out into panic and guilt, I reminded myself that this is exactly what the HTMA is for– to check for and correct imbalances not only when there are specific complaints or manifestations of disease, but also to prevent disease from arising in the first place. Thankfully, my kids do not have any chronic issues aside from the occasional bouts of anxiety. Correcting any nutritional imbalances should also take care of their occasional anxiety. Thus, it is my recommendation that whether or not your child is dealing with specific chronic issues, that you get an HTMA done.
HTMA shows us one’s mineral and nutritional pattern of the last 3 months, telling us exactly how the body is digesting and metabolizing foods and nutrients as well as the state of the gut, liver, kidneys, thyroid and adrenal glands. We then can offer foundational care by correcting any imbalances or dysfunctions through a targeted nutrition plan.
The nutritional plan you see in these pictures were written out by my son. I gave him exactly what I give all my client– pages and pages of analysis of his HTMA results and recommendations. We then sat together to process and filter through all the information, and he wrote down what he needed to be sure to eat on a daily or weekly basis on one chart (the food chart) and then the supplements he needs to take daily on the other chart (the supplement chart). These charts are a way of organizing all the information and recommendations made, making it simpler to understand and follow on a daily basis. This process was an excellent lesson not only in food nutrition and biology but it also got him involved in his own health.
There are a few things missing from the chart, like drinking Fiji water with electrolytes daily as it is high in silica and silica binds aluminum and drains it through the kidneys. The electrolytes provide essential trace minerals, like sodium and magnesium which he is in need of. Also missing from the chart is his daily intake of elderberry syrup, something we add to our regimen every flu season. Though he wrote down only one purpose for most of the supplements and foods, each of them fulfill many functions and support more than one process, deficiency, or organ at a time.
The goal is to maintain a nutrient rich diet, high in proteins and fat (I’m so lucky my kids love liver!), and to eventually stop taking most of the supplements. The intention is to get his body to digest and metabolize food and nutrients properly on its own, so he doesn’t need to have the additional supplements for life. There are some supplements like Cod Liver Oil (CLO) and Whole Food Vitamin C (also missing from the chart) that we will all keep as maintenance supplements because they provide daily essential nutrients that are otherwise absent from our modern foods, even the nutrient dense foods.
We will be retesting in a couple months as most people start seeing and feeling changes within a few months of following the recommendations and to make adjustments and modifications to his plans.
Reach out if you’d like to know more about HTMA + Targeted Functional Nutrition and how Nutritional Balancing can help your kids!
*For those outside the US, we can still get an HTMA done for you. Reach out to learn more.