ATHLETICS AND HAIR TISSUE MINERAL ANALYSIS
by Lawrence Wilson, MD
©2008, The Center For Development
Hair analysis
and nutritional balancing science can benefit amateur and professional athletes
in many important ways. This can
mean the difference between a mediocre season and a winning one.
Benefits
include enhanced strength and stamina, better mental clarity, awareness and
focus, prevention of injuries and burnout, rapid and more complete recovery
from injuries, better weight control, and improved general health. Nutritional balancing is also an
excellent way to guide diet and supplement recommendations for athletes.
Dr.
Paul Eck worked with athletes in peak condition to develop the normal values
used in hair analysis. He also
found the hair must not be washed at the laboratory, and the principles of
nutritional balancing science must be applied to interpret the test.
STRENGTH AND STAMINA
Balancing
the oxidation rate enhances the efficiency of energy production in the body
cells. A very slow or very fast oxidation
rate is similar to running a car or bicycle in the wrong gear, producing poor
energy efficiency. Different
sports require different metabolic attributes. For example, a fast oxidizer may do well as a sprinter. However, a slow oxidizer will often
succeed better as a long distance runner.
Iron,
copper, manganese, magnesium, chromium, zinc and other minerals are intimately
involved in cellular energy production.
The proper combination is the key.
Identifying and eliminating excess toxic metals is also most helpful for
energy, flexibility and stamina.
Stabilizing
carbohydrate tolerance also contributes to stamina. A balance of many nutrients including calcium, magnesium,
manganese, zinc and chromium are required for the proper metabolism of glucose
to generate sustained energy.
MENTAL CLARITY AND FOCUS
Coordination,
clarity, awareness, judgment and a quick response time are a major part of all
athletic performance. The brain is
a chemical organ, and requires a vast array of nutrients for proper
functioning. All toxic metals
interfere with the central nervous system, leading to impaired mental
functioning. Correcting
biochemical imbalances invariably
leads to improved mental focus and functioning for athletes.
An
important problem in athletics today is the behavior of team members, on-field
and off. Nutritional balancing
helps enhance emotional clarity and stability, leading to better attitudes and
behavior.
IMPROVED HEALTH AND AVOIDING BURNOUT
Especially
later in the season, many athletes go into burnout. Chronic fatigue and related problems are common among
athletes. Nutritional balancing
programs are excellent to help prevent and correct chronic fatigue and burnout
among athletes.
Colds,
flu, pneumonia and other illnesses often plague athletes, especially those who
travel and train hard. The
immune system and resistance to infection depends on a balanced chemistry and
the availability of a variety of vital nutrients. Nutritional balancing permits monitoring and correction of
imbalances before one gets sick to help maintain excellent health during the
rigors of training, as well as during while traveling.
INJURY PREVENTION
Nutritional
imbalances cause weak joints, tendons and ligaments, excessive inflammation and
muscle tears. Balancing body
chemistry can help avoid injuries by maintaining stronger ligaments. It can also help reduce the need for
antibiotics and other drugs by improving the immune system and general health.
Each
year a number of supposedly healthy high school and professional athletes die
from sudden heart attacks and even strokes. These tragic deaths can usually be predicted by stress
indicators from a properly performed and interpreted hair analysis. They could be prevented through dietary
changes and proper supplementation.
Without
mineral testing and nutritional balancing, athletes often take needless risks -
and suffer the consequences.
Standard blood tests do not reveal this information.
ENHANCED RECOVERY
One
of the most impressive uses of nutritional balancing is to speed up recovery
from fractures, sprains and other injuries. Many nutrients including zinc, manganese, copper, calcium,
magnesium and a variety of vitamins are required for healing of injuries. When these are provided in the correct
amounts and combinations, the results are most impressive.
A
low sodium/potassium ratio or an abnormal phosphorus level in an unwashed hair
sample are associated with excessive protein breakdown or catabolism. A chronic catabolic state can impair or even prevent the normal
healing of sports injuries.
WEIGHT CONTROL
Stubborn
problems with food cravings and weight control plague some athletes. Nutritional balancing offers a scientific
and individualized method of approaching this issue in a safe and effective
manner. Nutrition programs can
assist with both weight gain and weight loss.
PROPER SUPPLEMENTATION
Most
athletes take a variety of supplements, some of which are incorrect and perhaps
even dangerous. Nutritional
balancing is very helpful to assess the adequacy of the diet, and to guide the
use of supplements to balance and
enhance body chemistry. Once
again, nutritional balancing requires that the mineral testing laboratory does
not wash the hair, and that the test is interpreted in terms of the oxidation
types.
MYTHS ABOUT EXERCISE
Myth #1. Strong muscles
and a beautiful body indicate you are in good health.
These
may make you feel like you have health, and everyone may tell you how wonderful
you look. However, I work with
people who look great, but have cancer or some other disease. It is certainly wise to care for your
body, but health goes far beyond muscles and fat content. Don't judge yourself and others only in
terms of how much exercise you can do.
Physical strength is only one parameter of health.
Myth #2. A healthy
heart and healthy arteries indicate you are healthy.
This
is a recent fetish. Experience
with many people shows that if your body chemistry is truly in balance, your
arteries and heart will be fine.
Gentle exercise is beneficial for everyone, but a narrow-minded focus on
cardiovascular fitness is insane.
Recently
a 25-year old woman consulted me complaining of fatigue and depression. She was doing aerobic exercise 3-5
evenings a week. Her heart and
arteries were probably fine, but her glandular system was so exhausted she
could hardly get out of bed in the morning. Her hair analysis indicated a depleted, exhausted body. Exercise was just aggravating the
problem. This case is typical of
the 'exhausted exerciser'.
Myth #3. Exercise
rebuilds your body.
Exercise
assists circulation of the blood and oxygenation of tissues, and can help
rebuilding in this sense. Mild to
moderate exercise is excellent for these purposes. Excessive exercise, however, can stress
the heart, arteries, and glands.
They are forced them to respond to stress, and to use up energy in that
response. Muscles enlarge as a
response or accommodation to stress.
Healing and rebuilding is largely a biochemical phenomenon, requiring
proper nutrients, and often requiring rest so that energy can be directed to
the area in need of healing.
Research supports the idea that moderate exercise can provide the same
benefits as vigorous exercise. The
point is, don't overdo exercise any more than you would overdo any other
activity.
To
exercise when you feel well is great.
To exercise "in order to feel well" is skating on thin
ice. Today, most people are subtly
malnourished due to consumption of food that is low in trace elements and other
nutrients. No amount of exercise
will make up for these deficiencies.
It is a mistake to think you can compensate for a biochemical problem by
exercising. The result will be
that you will feel well for a while.
Later, you will find yourself addicted to exercise. If you skip it for two days, you will
feel depressed, irritable or exhausted.
This occurs because exercise stimulates the adrenal glands and can keep
exhausted glands functioning - like whipping a tired horse. If you stop whipping, naturally the
horse will not feel like getting up.
Myth #4. Exercise
cannot be harmful.
Most
marathon runners are good for several years. Then they must retire because they are 'burned out'. Many professional athletes die
young. Indeed, they have one of
the shortest life spans of any group of adults. The slow heartbeat of professional runners is due in part to
their healthy heart, but also due to a mechanism to slow their metabolism,
because they put such strain on their heart. Cysteine is released from muscle tissue and slows the
thyroid. The idea that since a
little is good, more must be better, can be lethal when applied to exercise.
GUIDELINES FOR EXERCISE
1. Don't use your pulse as your only guide. Many people are not that healthy, in spite of a normal pulse
rate.
2. Follow common sense and stay in touch with the body. Don't push past exhaustion. Listen to yourself before you listen to
any coaches, experts or friends.
Go at your own pace.
Do as much exercise as you need to keep yourself fit for your
lifestyle. That is enough.
3. Don't use exercise as a crutch or drug. If you are running to get away from your problems, you are
misusing exercise. If you are addicted
to exercise, work toward getting unhooked, as you would with any other
addiction. Addiction is not health.
4. If you skip exercise for a few days, you should still feel fairly
well. If you are depressed,
exhausted, constipated or irritable you are probably using exercise as a
whip. Cut down slowly and look
into other reasons why you are feeling this way.
5. A tissue mineral analysis performed by a lab that does not wash the
hair, and interpreted by someone who understands it well, can tell you if you
are overdoing exercise. Often, the
sodium and potassium levels will be low, or the sodium/potassium ratio will be
low.
These
indicate adrenal exhaustion and a need to moderate and rebuild. Gentle exercise is acceptable, but
vigorous exercise in this condition only slows regeneration.
6. Studies show that gentle to moderate exercise regimens provide as
much benefit as vigorous exercise.
Involve your whole body.
Exercise outside in the fresh air whenever possible. Flexibility is as important as strength
and endurance. Stretching and deep
breathing are vital for health.
Walking,
swimming, bicycling and gardening are excellent. Long-lived people of the world often work hard and long, but
not necessarily strenuously.
Meditative exercises such as yoga or tai chi are also excellent. These involve stretching, deep
breathing and a moving meditation as well as developing strength and endurance.
The great exercise guru, Dr. Kenneth Cooper, author of Aerobics, recently changed his mind about heavy
exercise. According to his press release, he became disturbed by repeated
stories of young people, supposedly in the best of shape, who developed cancer
or had heart attacks at a young age. He has realized that gentle moderate
exercise is plenty and no longer
Adapted from
the Eck Institute Bulletin
Vol. 18, January 2002, Number 1
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