coppertalk

By Ruth Danzeisen, PhD, DABT

Most people know that copper “runs our lives” by conducting electricity and heat. But did you know that copper occurs naturally in our bodies as a life-sustaining essential nutrient?

Every body needs copper for blood vessel formation for a healthy heart, for stabilizing the connective tissue, which binds one part of the body to another, and for healthy bones and teeth. Copper is also needed for brain development and for effective communication between nerve cells in the brain.

In fact, copper is so important to our health that the absence of it can cause death. This is the case in a rare genetic disorder called Menkes disease: Menkes patients cannot absorb copper from food into their bodies, and sadly they die before they reach toddler age. There is no treatment for Menkes disease at this time, and research is underway to find a way to supply copper to these patients effectively.

Most people, however, can absorb copper, which is plentiful in a variety of the foods we eat every day, such as shellfish, nuts, legumes, mushrooms, barley, cooked tomato products, liver, and even chocolate.

Copper.org has further reading on copper in human health.

Ruth Danzeisen, Phd, DABT, is a toxicologist and microbiologist, and the assistant program director of the Health and Health Environment Program of the International Copper Association.