Blog — Bromine

Heavy metal exposure can have detrimental effects on a child's development and overall health. However, with the advent of Heavy Metals Testing Kits, parents now have a convenient and accurate method to assess heavy metal levels in their children's bodies. These testing kits utilize dried blood spots and dried urine spots, offering a comprehensive solution to evaluate exposure to a range of toxic heavy metals. In this article, we will explore the benefits of heavy metals testing for children, focusing on the 14 essential elements tested through the Heavy Metals Testing (Comprehensive Toxic and Essential Elements) Profile. Detection of Toxic...

By Dr Kate Placzek, ZRT Laboratory Influenced by our environment, we are constantly being exposed to elements, whether nutritional or toxic. They are a big contribution to the yin yang dualism of health and disease.  With heavy metals, contamination is so extensive nowadays that it is no longer a question of whether exposure took place, but rather what the level of exposure was or continues to be. Toxicity from low levels of exposure can lead to a wide array of neurological disturbances and can be much more insidious in presentation than acute toxicity, which is, in contrast, rather obvious in...

Bromine should be recognised as the 28th essential element for all species, from fruit flies to humans, in according to researchers at Vanderbilt University. Study results were published 2014 in Cell, and demonstrate that without bromine, collagen type IV molecules will not bond together properly to form the structural proteins of connective tissues, leading to disrupted tissue development.   This figure demonstrates bromines role as a co-factor in formation of collagen IV crosslinks:  Image Source: McCall S, Cummings C, Bhave G, Vanacore R, Page-MCaw A, Hudson B. Bromine is an essential trace element for assembly of collagen IV scaffolds in...

Urine, serum, plasma, whole blood, red blood cells, feces, hair, fingernails … the list goes on. How do you decide what biological sample(s) to use for element analysis? Can results be compared to scientific literature or do they have clinical significance? Is it possible for values to be elevated or low in one sample type and normal in another? Do test results indicate recent intake, body burden, acute toxicity, chronic toxicity, deficiency, or homeostatic regulation? These are just some of the questions facing a testing laboratory when they want to develop and validate essential and toxic element profiles that will...