Copper: Essential Nutrient (Part 3 of 3)
By Ruth Danzeisen, PhD, DABT
Hemocyanin
All humans need iron for healthy red blood cells. It is an integral part of hemoglobin, and carries oxygen around our bodies, literally helping our organs and muscles to “breathe”.
Other species, however, use a different metal for this job. Crustaceans, which include crabs, lobsters, crayfish, and shrimp, use copper to bind and transport oxygen. Their “hemoglobin” is called hemocyanin, and their blood is not red, but greenish in color.
Your favorite crustaceans are not the only ones who use copper as an oxygen carrier; so does that famous extr
aterrestrial, Mr. Spock. Being half-Human and half-Vulcan, the USS Enterprise’s first officer uses both hemoglobin (the iron carrier) and hemocyanin (the copper carrier) to breathe, and like earth’s crustaceans, he has green blood.
Remember, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences recommends that we humans get at least 1 mg of copper per day, by eating seafood, legumes, nuts, or chocolate.
Live long and prosper!
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