Page 38 - Winter2008

rise. When copper drops, iron increases. If zinc with chronic fatigue often wake up tired because
rises, copper goes down. If iron rises, chromium they don’t really ever rest.
goes up. There is a constant and complex dance We also use up tryptophan in these situations,
of minerals going on in the body, and the body as tryptophan is needed for seratonin production.
very specifically retains and releases minerals in Seratonin is used up under stress. You can’t re-
order to control certain body functions. place your tryptophan by eating turkey when it
When we retain copper, this makes sodium is being used up so quickly. What this tells me
rise. Sodium is required to produce aldosterone, is that the body is not designed to be constantly
the adrenal cortex hormone that causes sodium under stress. We are meant to spend time sitting in
retention and high blood pressure when produced a hammock somewhere, or weaving a basket!
in excess. An increase in aldosterone is a defense
against stress—you need that high aldosterone MENTAL DISTURBANCES
production during a fight-or-flight state, when Loss of zinc and magnesium along with re-
you are trying to guard yourself in some way tention of copper temporarily serve the body and
against a threat. When aldosterone increases, improve the adrenal’s response to stress. But with
the body retains copper and releases magnesium, unrelenting stress or extreme catastrophic stress,
which is a calming mineral that slows you down. these imbalances can start working against you.
That is why a lot of people use it to sleep or to The copper toxicity reduces the ability to cope
relieve muscle cramping. So if you are going into with normal everyday stress; it impairs adrenal
fight or flight, your body drops the magnesium function. A lot of adrenal activity requires zinc,
very quickly. It is the first thing to go, because which copper impairs. The result is a slowdown
the body is trying to rev up. Increased aldosterone of your whole metabolism.
production will also cause a drop in zinc, which And your body knows when this happens,
allows the copper to be retained and the sodium knows that you are not up to the challenge, not
Loss of zinc to go up. able to respond to stress properly. This is enough
and The increase in copper is stimulating, it gets to make you feel anxious. You might feel fearful

magnesium you going, which is just what you need in the about taking on certain things because you know
short term. But chronic unremitting stress never you are not up to it. This is the beginning of the
along with gives you time to recover, you never get to ad- mental disturbances that go with copper toxic-
retention of dress your biochemical imbalance, you never ity. You know that you are exhausted. You may
copper have that down time to excrete the excess copper be playing a lot of tricks to keep going. When
now.
presented with certain situations, you may panic
temporarily qWhen your adrenal glands are in great shape, or feel very nervous. Eventually, as you become
serve the you can excrete excess copper whenever you exhausted, you may become apathetic and de-
body and need to. But when your adrenal glands are just pressed and no longer desire to take on much of
hanging on by their fingernails, just barely able anything. So you build your little shell and get
improve the to mount a stress reponse, you have an excess behind it.

adrenal’s of stimulating copper. It becomes very hard to But initially you will tend to overreact,
response to go to sleep and the mind races. You think, think, everything is an emergency. “Oh no! I have to
think, worry, worry, worry, and all of that makes go buy food. . . Oh no! I have to go to the bank
stress. it worse. You are always worn out. In fact, people today.” Everything is a big deal. With a lot of

COD LIVER OIL: PART OF THE TREATMENT PLAN

Cod liver oil is almost always part of my treatment plan—the exceptions would be in a cases where digestion is so
imparied that the patient cannot tolerate the oils in cod liver oil
Cod liver oil provides vitamin A, needed for the production of adrenal hormones; and vitamin D, which works
synergistically with vitamin A.
I find that cod liver oil is especially helpful for chronic pain due to inflammation. For some people, it relieves pain
within one or two days after beginning with a dose of two teaspoons per day. It is also very important for treating obesity,
heart conditions, skin problems, constipation and mental problems.
38 Wise Traditions WINTER 2008