Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A Preliminary Study of a Peruvian Diet Using Dietary Analysis and Hair Mineral Content as Indicators

  • Published:
Biological Trace Element Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Observations among former American residents living long-term in Peru suggested that hair health improved while in Peru. To determine if a Peruvian diet correlates with hair composition, dietary intake of nutrients and mineral content of hair were measured among Peruvian and matched US residents. Selected foods from Peru were also analyzed for mineral and antioxidant content and compared with equivalent foods available in the USA. Statistically significant differences between Peruvian and US residents’ hair were found for sodium (decreased in Peru, p = 0.007) and vanadium (decreased in Peru, p = 0.03). Differences in hair composition between residencies may be explained by lower dietary sodium and vanadium intake among Peruvian residents or by lower concentrations of these minerals in Peruvian drinking water. Many significant mineral differences were also identified between Peruvian foods and their US equivalents. Although no statistically significant correlations between dietary intake and hair mineral content were found, results indicate that a Peruvian diet contributes differently to hair composition than a US diet. More research is needed to elucidate the link between a Peruvian diet and specific aspects of hair health.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Klevay LM, Christopherson DM, Shuler TR (2004) Hair as a biopsy material: trace element data on one man over two decades. Eur J Clin Nutr 58:1359–1364

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Kintz P, Tracqui A, Mangin P (1992) Detection of drugs in human hair for clinical and forensic applications. Int J Legal Med 105:1–4

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Bencko V (1995) Use of human hair as a biomarker in the assessment of exposure to pollutants in occupational and environmental settings. Toxicology 101:29–39

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Phan K, Sthiannopkao S, Kim KW, Wong MH, Sao V, Hashim JH, Mohamed Yasin MS, Aljunid SM (2010) Health risk assessment of inorganic arsenic intake of Cambodia residents through groundwater drinking pathway. Water Res 44:5777–5788

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Sela H, Karpas Z, Zoriy M, Pickhardt C, Becker JS (2007) Biomonitoring of hair samples by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Int J Mass Spectrom 261:199–207

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Johnstone MA, Albert DM (2002) Prostaglandin-induced hair growth. Surv Ophthalmol 47:S185–S202

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Gellein K, Lierhagen S, Brevik PS, Teigen M, Kaur P, Singh T, Flaten TP, Syversen T (2008) Trace element profiles in single strands of human hair determined by HR-ICP-MS. Biol Trace Elem Res 123:250–260

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Chojnacka K, Zielinska A, Michalak I, Gorecki H (2010) The effect of dietary habits on mineral composition of human scalp hair. Environ Toxicol Pharmacol 30:188–194

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Suliburska J (2011) A comparison of levels of select minerals in scalp hair samples with estimated dietary intakes of these minerals in women of reproductive age. Biol Trace Elem Res 144:77–85

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Semalty M, Semalty A, Joshi GP, Rawat MSM (2011) Hair growth and rejuvenation: an overview. J Dermatol Treat 22:123–132

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Takahashi T, Kamiya T, Yokoo Y (1998) Proanthocyanidins from grape seeds promote proliferation of mouse hair follicle cells in vitro and convert hair cycle in vivo. Acta Derm Venereol (Stockh) 78:428–432

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Semalty M (2011) Correlation in hair growth and antioxidant activity of some Himalayan medical plants. J Glob Pharma Technol 3:1–6

    Google Scholar 

  13. Taylor A (1986) Usefulness of measurements of trace elements in hair. Ann Clin Biochem 23:364–378

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. National Institutes of Health, Applied Research Program, National Cancer Institute (2010) Diet History Questionnaire II, Web Version. http://riskfactor.cancer.gov/dhq2/webquest/. Accessed 14 May 2013

  15. National Cancer Institute, Applied Research Program (2010) DHQ Nutrient Database, dhq2.database.062510.csv. http://riskfactor.cancer.gov/dhq2/database/nutrient.html. Accessed 14 May 2013

  16. National Cancer Institute, Applied Research Program (2012) Diet*Calc Analysis Program, Version 1.5.1. http://riskfactor.cancer.gov/dhq2/dietcalc/. Accessed 14 May 2013

  17. Kempson IM, Lombi E (2011) Hair analysis as a biomonitor for toxicology, disease and health status. Chem Soc Rev 40:3915–3940

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Ryabukhin YS (1978) Activation analysis of hair as an indicator of contamination of man by environmental trace element pollutants. International Atomic Energy Agency, Report no. IAEA/RL/50, Vienna

  19. Zaichick S, Zaichick V (2010) The effect of age and gender on 37 chemical element contents in scalp hair of healthy humans. Biol Trace Elem Res 134:41–54

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. American Association of Cereal Chemists (2000) Approved methods of the American Association of Cereal Chemists, 10th edn. American Association of Cereal Chemists, St. Paul

    Google Scholar 

  21. Johnson CM, Ulrich A (1959) Analytical methods for use in plant analysis. Calif Agric Exp Stn Bull 766:30–33

    Google Scholar 

  22. Wu X, Beecher GR, Holden JM, Haytowitz DB, Gebhardt SE, Prior RL (2004) Lipophilic and hydrophilic antioxidant capacities of common foods in the United States. J Agric Food Chem 52:4026–4037

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Davalos A, Gomez-Cordoves C, Bartolome B (2004) Extending applicability of the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC-fluorescein) assay. J Agric Food Chem 52:48–54

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Ariyama K, Aoyama Y, Mochizuki A, Homura Y, Kadokura M, Yasui A (2007) Determination of the geographic origin of onions between three main production areas in Japan and other countries by mineral composition. J Agric Food Chem 55:347–354

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Anderson KA, Magnuson BA, Tschirgi ML, Smith B (1999) Determining the geographic origin of potatoes with trace metal analysis using statistical and neural network classifiers. J Agric Food Chem 47:1568–1575

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Granato D, Katayama FCU, Castro IA (2012) Characterization of red wines from South America based on sensory properties and antioxidant activity. J Sci Food Agric 92:526–533

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Halvorsen B, Holte K, Myhrstad MCW, Barikmo I, Hvattum E, Remberg SF, Wold AB, Haffner K, Baugerod H, Andersen LF, Moskaug JO, Jacobs DR, Blomhoff R (2002) A systematic screening of total antioxidants in dietary plants. J Nutr 132:461–471

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Creason JP, Hinners TA, Bumgarner JE, Pinkerton C (1975) Trace elements in hair, as related to exposure in metropolitan New York. Clin Chem 21:603–612

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Azoulay A, Garzon P, Eisenberg MJ (2001) Comparison of the mineral content of tap water and bottled waters. J Gen Intern Med 16:168–175

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Kuyucak N, Chavez J, Castillo JR, Ruiz J (2003) Technical Feasibility Studies and Uses of Treated Acid Mine Drainage at Kingsmill Tunnel, Peru. Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Acid Rock Drainage, Cairns, Queensland, Australia, July 12–18

Download references

Acknowledgments

The funding for this study was gratefully provided by Fisher Company (Salt Lake City, UT, USA), whose owner spent some time in Peru and made the initial observations. The authors thank the Environmental Analytical Laboratory at Brigham Young University for carrying out the mineral analysis of hair and food samples.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Science, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, 84602, USA

    Daniel J. Tueller & Tory L. Parker

  2. Department of Statistics, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, 84602, USA

    Dennis L. Eggett

Authors
  1. Daniel J. Tueller
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Dennis L. Eggett
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Tory L. Parker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tory L. Parker.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Tueller, D.J., Eggett, D.L. & Parker, T.L. A Preliminary Study of a Peruvian Diet Using Dietary Analysis and Hair Mineral Content as Indicators. Biol Trace Elem Res 155, 161–168 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-013-9774-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-013-9774-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation