- Hair samples can be collected easily and painlessly
using non-invasive techniques.
- Hair is less susceptible to the homeostatic mechanisms
that quickly affect trace element levels in the blood. It is therefore
a more reliable indicator of nutritional status or imbalance.
- Concentrations of most elements in the hair are
up to ten times higher than levels found in blood and other tissues.
- Trace element levels found in hair tissue represent
time-weighted exposure (providing a record of past and present nutritional
status) making it more useful for epidemiological and nutritional
studies.
- Hair is the tissue of choice for determining toxic
metal exposure by the US Environmental Protection and it is used for
this purpose worldwide.
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