Page 39 - Winter2008

my patients I have to say, “Pretend you are on hormones and constantly going into hypoglycemia, which can result in
vacation.” Instead say, “If I feel like it, I’ll go get depression, irritability, mood swings, poor concentration, poor memory,
some food,” because inside there is a constant dizziness, fatigue, sleepiness and many more unpleasant effects. A lot of
sense of urgency. Automatically if anything has people don’t realize they are hypoglycemics, but if their problems tend to
to be done, it’s a big deal. It keeps you in that start an hour or two after they’ve eaten, that is always a clue.
revved-up state, always overreacting to every Depending on the severity of the toxicity and the susceptibility of the
little life event. person, copper can affect the mind very strongly. Initially copper toxicity
And you are probably using many stimulants may make a person active, productive and creative. But eventually such
to keep you going, which has you on edge too. feelings will be undermined by lack of energy. Then we see people who
You are not calm, cool and collected. I very often have a million ideas and are always making lists, but who do not have the
recommend that people with this problem slow energy to follow through. This leads to chronic frustration followed by
down— no fast walking, don’t drive fast, go be- depression.
low the speed limit. You have to send your body After a while the combination of over-activity of the mind with lack of
a signal that this is no big deal, there is no rush. accomplishment can make people quite nutty. They tip over the edge into
If you don’t do it today, you can do it tomorrow. obsessiveness, compulsiveness, phobias and all kinds of fixations because
You have to take yourself away from the edge of the mind is so intense and it has to go somewhere. In extreme cases, people
the cliff because otherwise you will go over the become psychotic. But most people tend towards mood swings, PMS and
edge into full adrenal burnout. When everything weird episodes that they cannot explain. “I don’t know why I did that or
is a big deal, your body gets into a vicious circle said that.” They lose control briefly and then pull themselves together.
of constant stress leading to loss of zinc and They may have ways of managing copper toxicity to keep a lid on inside,
magnesium and retention of copper. but they are a lot nuttier than anybody thinks they are. They just don’t let
The other thing that happens with excess it show. They may look very calm but they aren’t.
copper and adrenal exhaustion is hypoglycemia Copper increases the electrical potential of the neuron, probably
and blood sugar swings. Low adrenal output because of the enhanced movement of sodium. This leads to over-pro-
results in low production of glucocortocoids, duction of the activating neurotransmitters—dopamine, norepinephrine,
cortisol and cortisone, which play a role in epinephrine, serotonin—leading to anxiety, racing mind and insomnia.
maintaining proper blood sugar levels. So when Researchers Pfeiffer and Goldstein demonstrated that brain waves exhibit
production is low, you are underproducing those an equivalent central nervous stimulation from either 5 mg of copper or

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT ZINC

• Zinc is rapidly lost under stress.
• Zinc is essential for protein synthesis. Low zinc status leads to problems with hormone production, healing and
growth.
• Zinc is rapidly used up after injury or surgery as it is needed for protein synthesis.
• Because they are growing so rapidly, teenagers are very prone to zinc deficiencies.
• Zinc deficiency affects the immune system. Zinc kills a lot of viruses on contact. Those deficient in zinc may be sus-
ceptible to viruses.
• Zinc is a sedative and calming mineral for the mind. GABA, which is an inhibitory calming neurotransmitter, is zinc
dependent.
• The body needs zinc to build protein so the skin and nails very often reveal zinc status. Stretch marks are always a sign
of low zinc, at least at the time when they were formed.
• Zinc is essential for production of adrenal cortical hormones, especially aldosterone and cortisol.
• Zinc is critical for normal appetite, smell and taste. A sign of zinc deficiency is lack of appetite in the morning, or even
nausea.
• When zinc is low and copper is high, the body will dump copper with consumption of meat, a high-zinc food. For
some vegetarians, the copper dump can be so strong, they literally throw up any meat they try to eat. People in this
situation will first need to lower their copper levels before they can eat meat. Then they will need to begin with very
small amounts of white chicken meat and only very gradually introduce red meat.
• The ideal ratio of copper to zinc is 1:8 in favor of zinc.
• Some plant foods contain zinc, but when they do, it is usually accompanied by a lot of copper. Animal foods are the
only good source.

WINTER 2008 Wise Traditions 39