PRACTITIONER VOICE municipal water supply across Australia . Over those three generations , the levels of copper evident in Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis in my inter-family patient selection have mushroomed . Fluoridation of the water supply may thus be my best guess . Many countries add fluoride to their municipal water . However , continental Europe , very sensibly in my opinion , does not .
All about genes
Apart from environmental considerations , many of which can only remain theories pending population studies , genes have a role in copper toxicity . This is particularly the case with patients who have kryptopyrroluria ( KPU ), an inherited enzyme defect which prevents the absorption , and accumulation , of zinc , manganese , magnesium and vitamin B6 . If these nutrients are not bio-available , copper is unable to be adequately excreted . Copper accumulates , particularly in the liver , resulting in biliary tree blockage . Biliary tree blockage causes a variant of Irritable Bowel Syndrome ( IBS ) where there is nausea , flatulence and constipation alternating with diarrhoea . This type of IBS is common in females . In my opinion , high levels of copper also affect mood , and are neurotoxic , resulting in tics , fasciculations and spasms of the muscles .
Depression and anxiety can also result , particularly in females . In boys , I have observed high copper as a major cause of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Syndrome , Obsessive Compulsive Disorders , and other lower-level Spectrum Disorders .
Since I have been in practice for over 30 years , I have seen three generations of families , and have consequently arranged three generations of mineral testing . I have observed that trans-generational copper toxicity is a definite phenomenon . Inherited copper excess can pass from grandparent to grandchild and miss the intermediate generation . It can be found in cousins of the patient . One sibling may inherit high copper , the other may not . Often it is the first-born child who inherits the copper . Occasionally it is the second or third child .
Some patients do not show high copper when I first test , either with Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis or with Oligoscan ( which uses spectrophotometry to assess levels of minerals and heavy metals ). But after a couple of months of taking zinc supplements , the true copper picture becomes evident on subsequent test results . The zinc , being a copper antagonist , ‘ flushes out ’ the true picture of underlying copper burden .
Wilson ’ s Disease
A serious genetic disease in which copper causes structural damage to the liver is Wilson ’ s Disease , affecting 1 in 30,000 people . 4 Large amounts of copper are deposited in the liver and other tissues . However , the copper toxicity referred to in this chapter is not a discussion of Wilson ’ s Disease . I am confining myself to the discussion of functional disease as a result of copper excess . No structural damage occurs in non-Wilson ’ s copper toxicity , and the cases discussed in this chapter do not have Wilson ’ s Disease . Although no structural damage occurs in copper toxicity , if this toxic accumulation continues without intervention , fatty liver and eventually liver cirrhosis may occur .
Why does copper become toxic if it ’ s a micronutrient for humans ?
Traces of copper are a normal and essential finding in human tissue . Excess amounts are toxic . One method the body uses to keep copper at correct levels is to chelate it with zinc , which is copper ’ s natural antagonist . Without zinc , copper accumulates . zinc also stops the bioaccumulation of other toxic elements , especially cadmium and mercury , which are the two elements which you definitely do not want accumulating in your cells .
Up to 30 percent of Australians are low in zinc . This is because the Australian soil is notoriously low in this essential mineral . 5
Copper and oestrogen
Now add oestrogen to the high copper picture and the problem is more complex . The symptoms may start , as in Susan ' s case ( below ), when the girl commences her menstruation , but more commonly when she is given the oral contraceptive pill ( OCP ) . The OCP may be prescribed for period pain management , acne or contraception . In my opinion , this will be the next phase of the underlying toxicity caused by the meeting of copper with exogenous ( externally derived ) oestrogens . I have observed many women describing the onset of their Irritable Bowel Syndrome as shortly after they started taking the OCP ( despite their doctor ’ s assurance that it has no link to the gut ).
Xenoestrogens
It would be simple if the OCP were the only cause of exogenous oestrogen . Unfortunately it is not . We also have the xenoestrogens , some of which are found in the substances below . ‘ Xenoestrogen ’ refers to chemicals , whether synthetic or naturally occurring , which exert an oestrogenic influence upon human tissue , both males and females .
• Pesticide residues found in fruit and vegetables
• Personal care products ( e . g ., those containing parabens )
• Food-grade plastics containing Bisphenol-A ( BPA ) because this leaches from the plastic into the food .
Let us have a brief look at the research on just one of these xenoestrogens . Many food-grade plastic containers contain BPA , now acknowledged as a human carcinogen in men as well as women . 6 It is also one of the causes of precocious puberty , with girls developing breast tissue and pubic hair much earlier . One woman phoned my clinic to say her baby was growing pubic hair , which stopped once she ceased using her plastic baby bottle and changed to a non-BPA version . Fortunately , in late 2010 , the baby bottle manufacturers in Australia all signed up to a government-fostered industry initiative to stop using BPA in
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