Reading a single number
One figure on the page, several different causes behind it
The most common mistake is treating a mineral value as a simple measure of how much is in the body. It is a sum, and the parts pull in both directions.
From the interpretive system directly: when reading a hair mineral analysis it is critical to realise that some or many of the values are a combination, or a sum, of several factors.
That single sentence dissolves most of the confusion people bring to a report. A number is not a quantity of a mineral sitting somewhere. It is the net result of several processes happening at once.
Causes that elevate a hair mineral reading include:
Look at the fourth one. A number can be high because the body is actively getting rid of something. High is not automatically bad, and that is the single most useful idea on this page.
Causes that reduce a hair mineral reading include:
Again the same lesson in reverse: a mineral can read low while plenty of it is present, held somewhere the hair does not report.
Stress. Diet and lifestyle. Drugs and herbs. Subtle biochemical phenomena. Illness, infection and trauma. Each of these can raise or lower a reading depending on the person and the moment.
Which is the honest reason a report is interpreted rather than simply read, and why the ratios carry more weight than any individual figure. The laboratory position stands: determining deficiencies and excesses matters, but the relationship between the nutrients matters more.
The question I get most often is "is this number good or bad", and the honest answer is nearly always "it depends what is behind it".
What I look at is the direction of travel. A figure that is high because something is being cleared behaves differently over two tests than one that is high because it is accumulating. One page cannot tell them apart. Two usually can.
Not necessarily. Active elimination of a mineral is one of the listed causes of an elevated reading, so a high figure can reflect the body moving something out.
Reduced readings have several listed causes, including minerals retained in enzyme binding sites or organs, a poor eliminator pattern, and high or biounavailable copper.
Alongside the other minerals and, above all, the ratios. The laboratory position is that the relationship between nutrients matters more than any single level.
A full report gives every mineral alongside the ratios they belong to, which is the only way a single figure can be read honestly.
Published 2026-08-30 · Updated 2026-08-30
By Eileen Durfee — Practitioner, NBS (Nutritional Balancing Science), NASM-CPT; wellness educator, inventor and author.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Hair tissue mineral analysis is a screening test and is not diagnostic; anything medical belongs with your own licensed provider. Wellness Shopping Online is operated by Nuco Enterprise Solutions LLC.
