Dr. Paul C. Eck established Analytic Research Laboratories, Inc. (ARL) in 1974 after devoting most of his adult life to evaluating major research studies in biochemistry, physiology, pathology, nutrition, and psychology. To correctly interpret a tissue mineral analysis, Dr. Eck combined a number of modern physiological and biochemical concepts including:

• the stages of stress discovered by Dr. Hans Selye
• sympathetic and parasympathetic balancing as taught by Dr. Melvin Page
• oxidation types as taught by Dr. George Watson
• mineral balancing as taught by Dr. William Albrecht and others

No other laboratory uses all these concepts to help understand the significance of tissue mineral levels, ratios, and metabolic patterns. Dr. Eck pioneered many innovations in the study of trace mineral deficiencies and excesses and their relationship to various dysfunctions associated with disease. Dr. Eck was regarded as an authority on balancing body chemistry through hair tissue mineral analysis.

Under Dr. Eck's direction, ARL was the first hair tissue mineral analysis laboratory to:

• Integrate the factors of stress, oxidation types, relationships, homeostatic states, and natural healing principles into the science of hair tissue mineral analysis interpretation.
• Recognize the importance of mineral ratios. As a result, their interpretations focus of mineral relationships and their effects on health.
• Determine oxidation rates using hair tissue mineral analysis.
• Identify and correlate more than 30 metabolic trends for illnesses using hair tissue mineral analysis.
• Produce interpretations that measure mineral levels and ratios against an ideal standard of health rather than an average range used by other laboratories within the field of hair tissue mineral analysis.

ARL uses technologically advanced testing instruments, including the Perkin Elm Mass Spectrometer.

The lab uses strict quality control procedures. These include known controls, which are tested at the beginning, middle, and end of every batch to insure accuracy of the results. ARL automatically retests any reading that is out of a normally expected range, provided enough hair is available for a second sample.

A final note: Dr. Akin believes ARL provides the best customer service!