Earlier this week I began discussing minerals in our body. I thought I’d focus here on one of the most commonly out of balance ones I see, I have to admit I have quite an obsession with it due to its very interesting effects on the body – it’s copper. Copper is essential to healthy nerve and brain function, in fact very low tissue levels are common in Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease. It promotes healthy nerve function due to its role in the production of the myelin sheath which insulates and protects the nerve fibres, the brain needs copper to produce the neurotransmitter dopamine. I’m seeing quite a bit of elevated copper levels in the clinic – common sources of excess body copper are brown hair dyes, copper pipes (usually in older houses), fungicides sprayed onto our fruit and vege’s and it’s also added to many livestock feeds and then bioaccumulates as it progresses up the food chain. Severe viral infections like hepatitis and mononucleosis (glandular fever) can lead to tissue levels of copper increasing quite substantially. Some of the many manifestations of excess copper are PMS, frontal headaches, depression, fatigue, hypothyroidism, gout, Hodgkin’s disease, osteoporosis, insomnia, hyperactivity, hyperglycaemia and even allergies. Excess copper will also lower your zinc level which subsequently depresses immune function, many enzymes and tissue healing. Conversely low copper levels decrease your HDL cholesterol and increase the LDL cholesterol which is the opposite of what we want for heart health. Balancing your mineral levels is not as simple as taking a multi-vitamin/mineral off the shop shelf, every person is different and their mineral levels will also be unique to them. This is one of the reasons I have some clients tested to determine their mineral profiles so that we can prescribe the correct balance of nutrients for their body, not a “quick fix” from a store that may actually further increase imbalances.
Posted on: Fri, 28 Jun 2013 09:38:16 +0000
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