"Hi Gary,
I just want to bring you to date with my health. Following my last HTMA report at the end of 2020, which showed either a bacterial or parasite infection, because of my poor copper/iron ratio you tasked me with finding out what the root cause was. A visit to my dentist ruled out oral infection, and so there was just the gut. So I requested to do a microbiome stool test. Nothing quite prepared me for what we discovered, a dominant pathogenic bacterial infection of one strain that was devastating my gut and gut diversity. My good gut bugs didn't stand a chance and they and all my good organic food and fermented foods were being devoured by Enterococcus faecium. I start a 6 week protocol to annihilate him and repair my gut and re-populate it with good gut bugs. I also have to see a psychologist as they link these bacteria to emotional disease. I need to learn tools to improve in this area. I wanted to thank you for revealing to me I had an out-of-control infection, otherwise I would never have known. I will let you know how i get on in 2-3 month's time. Hopefully, my copper/iron will improve, as will my potassium/sodium. In health, Beth"
(reproduced with permission).
(Note: this is an essay by Gary Moller, reflecting upon what he has observed when applying the HTMA in the Clinic, including the unique patterns on the HTMA that are often common to a specific health condition. This is not to diagnose a health problem, nor are there any treatment recommendations. The intention here is to help guide nutrition and lifestyle support).
Gary:
Here are Beth's first and second Hair Tissue Mineral Analyses (HTMA).
Note that copper is lower than iron, now look at the repeat test below.
There are several pleasing improvements in Beth's second HTMA, but not completely. I have always said the repeat HTMA is the most valuable one because it shows where to focus our attention. In Beth's case, the new focus of attention is the increase in iron relative to copper, plus her symptoms which match a gut infection.
When a person has a bacterial or parasitic infection, the body sequesters iron in tissue storage. This appears as high iron relative to copper. Blood tests may show an abnormality in the way iron is being used. This is a kind of "Scorched Earth" strategy; by depriving the invading organism of life-giving iron, the invader is less able to thrive and reproduce. However, if the infection (invasion) drags on, things bog down to be akin to WWI trench warfare. It ultimately wears down the host.
Mangy Horse Syndrome
The infections are typically gum disease, an infected tooth, chronic sinusitis, ulcers of the gut, intestinal worms, intestinal and blood-borne infections, protozoa such as Giardia and urinary tract infections. These festering invasions lock your immune system into a never-ending low-level battle for survival. These can be at the root of conditions such as chronic fatigue, depression, anxiety, brain fog, arthritis, osteoporosis, aches and pains, night sweats, bad skin, boils, psoriasis, weak hair, skin and nails, hair loss, gut pain, IBS, allergies, liver, thyroid and adrenal conditions.
I playfully name this cluster of ailments "Mangy Horse Syndrome" because it is a familiar HTMA pattern in race horses that have lost condition!
Iron, when in excess, is highly inflammatory. As we sequester it in response to an infection, it builds up in organs such as the liver and also in joint cartilage; hence the extreme fatigue and stiff, sore joints. Sore fetlocks with mangy horses.
Nasty bacteria and protozoa can adversely affect one's mental health. Read some of these:
and:
Horses with chronic infections may present as highly strung, nervous wrecks. People are typically the same.
Thank you for sharing, Beth.