Copper is an interesting mineral that, like many other minerals, is both necessary for the body but can also become toxic. What is it that governs that the body can handle copper so that any excess is excreted and that copper can be used correctly in the body?
The function of the liver is very important for the handling of copper in the body, both for the production of the copper enzymes and for the excretion of excess. Supporting the liver's job is fundamental to optimizing copper handling.
Some of copper's important functions take place via enzymes that regulate our energy production, blood regeneration, turnover of signaling substances and iron handling.
The body's stock of copper is found in the highest amount in the liver and brain, but also in the kidneys, heart, pancreas, spleen and several other organs.
Examples of copper-dependent substances in the body :
- Albumin - a transport protein.
- Superoxide dismutase - protects against oxidative damage in the cells.
- Elastin - an extracellular protein that, among other things, keeps vessel walls elastic.
- Cytochrome c oxidase - an enzyme in the respiratory chain in the mitochondria.
- Dopamine B hydrolase.
- Tyrosinase - pigments the skin. Converts the amino acid tyrosine to melanin.
- Monoamine oxidase - important for the nervous system.
Ceruloplasmin is an enzyme with several important tasks, including:
- function as transport protein for copper
- be a factor in blood formation
- act as an antioxidant that protects iron from being stored in harmful forms.
Perhaps a little less known is copper's role in the turnover of our neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine and adrenaline.
Copper is required for cholesterol management and flexible vessels
At the right copper levels, more of the good cholesterol HDL is formed. LDL decreases with the right levels of copper and thus protects against the formation of inflammatory plaques in the blood vessels. New cholesterol is required for bile salts to form. The bile salts dissolve and ensure that toxins and excess hormones can leave the body. The bile salts are also important for us to be able to break down fat in food.
Measuring copper
When comparing different types of tissue samples, hair mineral analyzes of copper have been shown to correlate well with copper levels in the liver.
Copper imbalances
Since copper is required for the formation of red blood cells , copper deficiency is seen in:
- reduced blood formation
- inhibited absorption of iron
- iron accumulation in the tissues - the body stores iron as the hemoglobin cannot use it properly. This often happens in inflammatory and rheumatic conditions
- iron deficiency anemia.
Hair mineral analysis studies almost always show copper deficiency in people with Parkinson's or MS. Copper deficiency can affect the central nervous system, where the metabolism of dopamine, among other things, requires copper.
In the case of bacterial infections, the body moves iron away from the blood to other tissues, as a defense as iron is food for bacteria. Copper is simultaneously mobilized from tissues to the blood to participate in the body's defense against the infection.
Here we see the difference in measuring in blood compared to hair. A hair mineral analysis reflects the tissue levels which - especially in chronic or long-term bacterial infections - drop. If one were to measure the blood at the same time, a relatively high copper value would be seen instead (before it also eventually drops).
In the case of viral infections, there seems to be an opposite pattern compared to bacterial infection for the movement of copper in the body.
Excess copper is often seen in fungal infections such as candida.
Copper and bone formation
Collagen is the substance that binds bone tissue together. For the body to be able to form collagen and use it in bones and for mineralization, a number of copper-dependent enzymes are required. Copper is also required to keep ligaments and discs in the back healthy. But an excess of copper could interfere with bone formation.
Which foods contain easily absorbable copper ?
Beef liver from healthy grass-fed animals is in a class of its own. It doesn't take large amounts to get good bioavailable copper via beef or other liver. At the same time, you get substances that work together for healthy iron handling and for the immune system, such as real vitamin A and active B vitamins. Other copper-rich foods include seafood, avocados, nuts and cocoa.
How do you counteract an excessively high copper level in the body's tissues? Zinc is a so-called antagonist, an opponent, to copper. Eating foods rich in zinc can balance or prevent excessive copper levels. Oysters, beef and offal (contain both copper and zinc) are rich in zinc.
Remember not to take (especially synthetic) supplements of individual minerals for an extended period of time without measuring the levels or seeking the help of a certified nutritional therapist or a therapist experienced in hair mineral analysis.
