Page 37 - Winter2008

getting copper constantly. Almost everything you called copper head tends to be very emotional,
eat has some copper in it. A lot of really popular very intense, often very creative. Such individuals
foods like coffee, chocolate, avocado, soy, shell- are prone to crash and burn because their over-
fish like shrimp and lobster, and certain beans and active mind is being supported by a very fatigued
nuts like pecans are pretty high in copper. body.
This isn’t a problem with good liver, gall Copper toxicity is a major factor in irritable
bladder and especially adrenal function. If adre- bowel syndrome because copper is excreted
nal function is strong, we just mobilize that cop- through the bile and certain things will cause you
per and excrete it through the bile. Unfortunately, to suddenly dump copper. If you have been build-
the way we live these days, that is not what is ing up copper, anything that causes an increase
happening. Most people are not able to get rid in your metabolic rate will cause a copper dump
of the excess copper. How many people have and it comes out through the bile. If you are cop-
impaired liver function, congested gallbladder per toxic and suddenly under a lot of stress, this
or adrenal fatigue? Probably the majority these may bring on an irritable bowel episode because
days. suddenly excess copper is moving through your
If adrenal function becomes impaired, the bowels and irritating them.
copper builds up in the liver, brain, joints and The tendency of copper to build up in the
lungs. When this happens, you see very spe- body is similar to iron, which is another essential
cific problems, including mental problems, liver nutrient that is also a heavy metal. They’re both
problems and detoxification problems. Phase II highly electrical, very conductive metals that
liver impairment is often made worse by copper produce a lot of free radical activity and have to
toxicity, if not actually caused by it. be bound by special proteins, such as ceruloplas- Copper is
You also see a lot of copper toxicity with min and metallothioine. The production of these stimulating to
asthma and breathing problems, including em- proteins is controlled by the adrenal glands, and
physema. Copper also tends to build up in the they are produced in the liver. If the adrenals are the brain,
joints, leading to arthritis. Chronic skin problems not functioning properly and the liver is impaired, causing it to
are also an indication of copper toxicity. possibly from copper buildup, you will not pro- produce high
Vegetarian diets are very high in copper duce these binding proteins, so copper remains
because the vegetable foods are a great source in free form. That makes it a toxic and reactive levels of the
of this mineral. Since vegetarians don’t eat meat, free-radical generator capable of causing a lot of activating
and possibly not even eggs, they are not getting damage. neuro-
enough zinc, which is the natural antagonist to When this happens, the body starts to seques-
copper. Zinc naturally balances copper and keeps ter it. It tries to stash it somewhere so it will do transmitters,
it from building up in the tissues. If you are not less damage. Thus, while you may be building up like serotonin,
eating much in the way of meat and eggs, you a lot of copper in your body, you may also have norepinephrine,
will develop copper problems. the symptoms of copper deficiency because the
Excess copper interferes with energy pro- copper is bio-unavailable. The copper is not in epinephrine
duction at the cellular level. It impairs various a usable form so you will have both deficiency and
energy pathways in the cell so it contributes to symptoms and symptoms of toxicity. dopamine.
the very fatigue that tends to make you retain cop- When copper accumulates under stress,
per, leading to a vicious circle. Once this pattern when you go into a fight-or-flight condition, your This is why
gets going, it is totally self-reinforcing and very adrenals are on line and ready to go. This is a you will see
difficult to break, even by adding zinc-rich foods short-term mechanism that is beneficial. It helps copper toxicity
back into the diet. the body cope with stress, at least initially.
Copper is stimulating to the brain, causing The body has an intricate system of checks in manic states
it to produce high levels of the activating neu- and balances which operate through the mineral like paranoid
rotransmitters, like serotonin, norepinephrine, levels and ratios. If you are deficient in one miner- schizophrenia
epinephrine and dopamine. This is why you will al, another mineral accumulates and can become
see copper toxicity in manic states like paranoid excessive. For example, when sodium and potas- and bi-polar
schizophrenia and bi-polar disorder. The so- sium levels go down, calcium and magnesium disorder.

WINTER 2008 Wise Traditions 37