PRACTITIONER VOICE
The Problem with Copper
Part 1
Jon Gamble | BA ND ADHom
Abstract
Copper excess is the most common toxic picture seen in practice due to environmental , iatrogenic and genetic reasons . This article discusses the clinical consequences of copper excess . Part 2 will present cases of copper excess manifesting in mental health conditions .
A benign and essential trace element , copper in excess is also the most common toxic element that I see in practice . Why do I call it both a benign and toxic element in the same sentence ? This question contains a key to understanding the complexity of many chronic diseases .
First , we will look at the benefits of adequate dietary copper . Second , we will look at what happens if copper absorption , retention and excretion are dysfunctional : this leads to copper excess and can be a precursor to chronic disease .
Copper as a nutrient
Essential functions of copper include :
• Cardiovascular health
• Vital for ATP ( cellular energy ) production , especially Cytochrome c oxidase functions
• With zinc and manganese , copper combines to form zinc-superoxide dismutase , an important anti-oxidant
• Adequate iron uptake into the cells
• Connective tissue and myelin formation
• Enzyme pathways of serotonin , histamine and dopamine , as well as synthesis of epinephrine and norepinephrine
• Melanin formation
• Immune function - T cell function - low copper can be seen in neutropaenia .
Copper as a toxin
I am devoting a lot of space to discussion of copper toxicity because , in my experience , true copper deficiency is uncommon , whereas copper-toxic symptoms are common .
In my opinion , copper toxicity is becoming a primary underlying , sustaining cause of chronic disease in the modern age . This is a bold statement but please read on . Children may be affected by high levels of copper which they acquire from their parents , and their parents before them . Each new generation can inherit the copper burden and , when combined with zinc deficiency , they can accumulate a level of copper greater than that of the previous generation . This means that disease symptoms can appear earlier in the lives of children and , unless that high copper is recognised and removed , it promotes passing the copper burden on to the next generation . Think of it as a ‘ toxic miasm ’, in homeopathic terminology . Writing in the 1970s , Carl Pfeiffer described copper as the ‘ fourth heavy metal intoxicant ’. 1 This is a prescient description .
Why high copper levels ?
Copper is used in pesticides , wood preservatives and other industrial applications . But one probable cause of the growing prevalence of copper toxicity is water fluoridation . We know that fluoride may draw out the copper found in water pipes . 2 We also know fluoride is a highly reactive electron scavenger , attacking living tissue , interfering with calcium and phosphorus deposition . 3
My reason for considering fluoride as the most likely issue in copper accumulation is the increasing levels of copper I have found in patient test results over the last three generations since the 1970s , when fluoride was introduced into the
144 | vol29 | no3 | JATMS