Have you ever felt like you're doing all the right things such as eating clean, staying active, prioritizing your health, but you're still anxious, tired, or bloated? Maybe you've been on this healing journey for a while, trying detoxes, parasite cleanses, or taking random supplements suggested by wellness influencers… yet you still feel depleted, or even worse than before.

Well…. same.

All of those things can have their time and place… especially because I’ve personally benefited from a good parasite cleanse, but it wasn’t until I started using HTMA (Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis) for myself and my family that I began to experience deeper healing.

What is a HTMA?

“HTMA shows how the body’s energy system is out of balance and how to use nutrition and diet to correct it. Once the body’s energy and stamina are restored, it can heal other problems on its own” - Edward Gogek, MD

HTMA stands for Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis. It’s a non-invasive screening test that measures the levels of minerals and heavy metals in a small sample of hair. Because hair is a soft tissue, it provides a snapshot of your body’s mineral status and patterns of mineral loss or accumulation over the past 2–3 months.

While HTMA is not a diagnostic test, it offers valuable insights into how your body is handling stress, nutrients, and detoxification. It reflects long-term trends that may not show up in blood tests, which makes it a powerful tool for identifying imbalances and root causes of symptoms.

Hair vs Blood Chemistry

While blood testing is also a valuable tool, HTMA has a unique advantage when it comes to assessing mineral status because mineral concentrations in hair are about 10x higher than in blood, which makes imbalances easier to detect.

The body works hard to keep the blood in balance (homeostasis), so when it's under stress or exposed to toxins, it often pushes excess minerals or toxic metals into soft tissues like hair to keep the blood “clean.” This means that toxic metals rarely show up in high amounts in the blood unless there’s been a recent acute exposure.

Another important thing to consider is that HTMA looks at mineral levels inside the cells, while blood tests reflect what's happening outside the cells. These two tests are both incredibly insightful, but they shouldn't be compared side by side because they each represent different body compartments and homeostatic systems.

Think of them as two different pieces of your health puzzle, but when used together, they provide a more complete picture of what’s going on in the body.

Why Are Minerals So Important?

Minerals are often called the "spark plugs" of the body, and for good reason! They’re essentially the energy system that keeps everything running.

I asked my husband, who’s a mechanic, to explain the role of spark plugs in a car. He put it simply: “Without spark plugs, the car can’t start or go anywhere. Bad spark plugs means big problems.”

The same is true for our bodies. Minerals make things go. They act as co-factors, facilitators, inhibitors, and even structural components of many enzymes. In other words, nothing in the body can function properly without the right balance of minerals. They're essential for nearly every process in the body; including hormone production, detoxification, muscle relaxation and contraction, creating energy, neurotransmitter function, and even fertility.

So what causes mineral deficiencies and imbalances in the first place?

our depleted soil; our food doesn’t contain as much minerals as it did years ago when our parents were growing up
stress of all kinds; whether its emotional or physical (childbirth, poor sleep, gut infections, mold exposure, Lyme, etc.)
medications (and even supplements)

The beauty of balancing minerals is that it focuses on the terrain of the body. When your terrain is healthy and strong, it becomes more resilient to stress and gives your body the energy to detox on its own. This is why minerals are foundational to your health!

What Can You Learn From a HTMA Test?

1. Macrominerals Status

These are the body’s foundational minerals.

Calcium (Ca) – Bone health, cell signaling, stress patterns, nervous system balance. High or low levels may reflect sluggish metabolism, stress, or imbalanced thyroid/parathyroid activity.
Magnesium (Mg) – Calming mineral, muscle/nerve function, sleep, detoxification. Low levels are very common and may reflect chronic stress.
Sodium (Na) – Adrenal function, energy levels, inflammation. Low sodium often signals chronic stress or burnout; high sodium may indicate acute stress or infection.
Potassium (K) – Intracellular hydration, thyroid function, insulin sensitivity. Low K often points to adrenal fatigue or slow metabolism.
Phosphorus (P) – Protein digestion and cellular energy. Low phosphorus may signal poor protein intake or absorption.

2. Trace Minerals Status

These are vital cofactors for hundreds of enzyme functions.

Zinc (Zn) – Immune function, skin health, mental clarity. Often low due to stress, poor diet, or copper imbalance.
Copper (Cu) – Needed in small amounts for energy and neurotransmitter function, but excess is common and often related to estrogen dominance or sluggish liver detox.
Iron (Fe) – Energy production and oxygen transport. HTMA looks at stored iron, not active iron (which is better seen in blood). This is one marker that would be better looked at via blood.
Manganese, Chromium, Selenium – Support detoxification, blood sugar balance, thyroid health, and antioxidant defense.

3. Mineral Ratios

Ratios are the most important section on this test because minerals don’t work alone so the ratios reveal more than individual mineral levels.

Ca/P – “Autonomic Ratio”. Reflects your metabolic type (fast vs slow). High = slow metabolism; low = fast.
Na/K – "Vitality ratio." Reflects stress response, adrenal function, and inflammation. Low = burnout; high = acute stress.
Ca/K - “Thyroid ratio”. Reflects the activity of thyroid hormone at the cellular level, not just what's in the blood. It gives clues about how well thyroid hormones are getting into the cells and being used. High = sluggish thyroid; low = excessive thyroid activity.
Zn/Cu – “Hormone/Mental Health ratio”. Reflects mood, mental health, and immune health. Imbalances can point to emotional instability or hormone issues. This ratio is key with many children.
Na/Mg – “Adrenal ratio”. Adrenal reserves; high = stress response, low = adrenal exhaustion.
Ca/Mg – “Blood sugar ratio”. Muscle tension vs relaxation, blood sugar stability.
Fe/Cu - “Oxidative stress/Infection ratio”. Reflects the balance between pro-oxidants and antioxidants. Copper and iron both play roles in oxygen transport, energy production, and immune function, but imbalances can cause oxidative stress or microbial overgrowth.

4. Toxic Heavy Metals

These are stored in tissues and may not show in blood.

Elevated levels indicate exposure or the body's inability to detox efficiently.
Hidden (low) levels can sometimes indicate poor detox ability or metals trapped in tissue.
Patterns like low minerals + low metals may show poor detox capacity and need for rebuilding before detoxing.

5. Additional Patterns, Trends, and Clues

Burnout pattern – Low sodium and potassium, especially with low adrenal ratios.
Slow oxidizer – High calcium and magnesium, low sodium and potassium.
Fast oxidizer – Opposite pattern: low Ca/Mg, high Na/K.
Copper toxicity pattern – Elevated calcium, low potassium, high copper, or hidden copper.
Four low pattern – All 4 macro minerals low (Ca, Mg, Na, K); suggests deep adrenal exhaustion and poor energy production.

A Peek Into A Sample HTMA

Simply put, what you can learn from an HTMA is:

What is going on in your body at a cellular level; shows what the body has used and is excreting
Mineral ratios
Toxic elements
Metabolic rate (burning through minerals too fast/too slow & what’s effecting energy)
Stage of stress & stress levels
Insight into adrenal & thyroid activity
Insight into blood sugar patterns
Insight into digestive function
Insight into detox capabilities
& more!

Who Should Run an HTMA?

If you….

suffer from low energy and fatigue
have gut issues such as constipation, diarrhea, and bloating
have blood sugar handling issues
feel tired after meals
feel nauseous after eating protein
experience symptoms around our menstrual cycle
want to see how your body s responding to stress
want to see how your body is eliminating heavy metals
ran other labs and they came back “normal” but you still don’t feel well
are on a hamster wheel of “detoxing” only to feel bad again over and over again
are wanting to boost your health during preconception, pregnancy, and postpartum
want insight into your child’s behavior or sleep patterns
want to optimize both you and your family’s health

Ready to Get to the Root of Your Symptoms?

If you’re tired of guessing and want a personalized plan that actually makes sense for your body, I’d love to support you. HTMA testing is a powerful first step to optimizing the terrain of your body which sets the foundation for further healing.

Click here to fill out my application and let’s see if we’re a good fit to work together.

HTMA Explained: What It Is and How It Can Help You Feel Better