Some nutrients are well known in the main- stream these days. What people don’t realize is how the ones that they’re familiar with can actually be depleting the ones that they aren’t. For instance, zinc became an exclusively well- known, needed nutrient during the Covid pandemic, which can actually deplete copper.

Copper is needed for processing (and getting rid of) the histamine in your body that leads to allergies including reactions to different foods. I started reacting to random foods a couple years ago and after looking into it thoroughly, I found I was likely copper deficient. I found out when you’re taking a lot of zinc, this can throw off your copper sufficiency– even if you are ingesting enough. Little did I know my diet and supplements together weren’t supplying enough on their own– yet they were consistently supplying more zinc than I needed, not even counting the additional 50 mg (more than you need in one day!) zinc supplement I took.

Come to find out, you need copper for proper utilization of iron, which I also had issues with and found I needed to supplement with despite regularly getting enough. In addition, copper can be responsible for supplying enough neutrophils to arm the response against illness. Perhaps not so coincidentally, I’d been battling illness like never before in the last year.

Further discovering the necessity of copper, I recalled that taking chlorophyll in my water years seemed to prompt a major mood boost. It was calming and made me happy. I didn’t know if it could be related, but it was enough to stick out prominently in my memory. I’d declined to keep taking it after noticing the high copper content listed under “chlorophyllins” on the back, since hearing from prominent, and trusted figures in the nutrition field that copper is commonly toxic, dangerous, and should actively be reduced. In fact, I believed you shouldn’t even take zinc supplements that have copper in them (claiming to “balance the zinc out”) because actually, copper is one of those substances lurking in what we consume, waiting to cause harm.

Come to find out only recently, that copper is needed to make dopamine, the happy, energy- inducing and motivating brain chemical which I actually took a supplement to support called tyrosine for the last couple of years. While it can be helpful for people, I was generally getting enough in my diet so it shouldn’t have necessarily been required. No wonder I needed it considering my lower copper levels, only as a result of active avoidance of copper.

Copper is also needed for collagen production, anti- aging and tinting the skin and hair with melanin– therefore even shown capable of reversing grey hair. What really sounded the copper alarm for me, thankfully, was the emergence of one of these. Being me, knowing I’d heard it’s reversible and there had to be a deeper cause, I soon found copper to be the missing link. This confirmed my need to look further into copper.

I’d been seeing it mentioned in the recently discovered pro- metabolic nutrition community— curious to me initially because of how dangerous I’d been taught it can be.

What people aren’t aware of is we also need copper for immune cells like neutrophils– a vital part of the immune system. As can be the complication with health advice gone mainstream, now this greater population could be at risk of copper/ zinc imbalance.

Copper’s ability to support collagen makes it important in protecting in brain aneurism (a sign of late- stage deficiency), and earlier signs including more wrinkles, varicose veins, and hemorrhoids.
It’s also needed for proper nerve function so those having numbness, tingling or nerve pain may benefit if deficient. Deficiency can also cause hyperlipidemia or high blood lipids, increasing risk of Myocardial Infarction (heart attack) because it’s needed in a critical step for metabolizing fat.

People on the carnivore diet, or even those who eat a lot of red meat (high in zinc) without being informed of the importance of copper can be running an ongoing deficiency.
This is why I recommend getting an idea of your daily nutrient intake, and finding a balanced multivitamin that addresses the inevitable “holes” in your diet. You can go to cronometer.com to put in what you eat and find out the nutrients you’re missing. I understand that might be triggering to some with a history of restriction. There are still ways to can get an idea of your nutrient intake based on symptoms, which is something I do with every client.
Shiitake mushrooms, cacao, liquid chlorophyll, spirulina, liver, oysters and other shellfish are excellent sources of copper.

You’re welcome to book an appointment with me for 1:1 guidance to help you get to the root of your symptoms.