If you’re high in estrogen you’ll be high in copper because anything that raises estrogen also raises copper in the body. Unfortunately, in this day and age, we are overly prone to becoming copper toxic.
Copper also has a very powerful influence on mood, behaviour, and personality. Mood and thoughts are largely influenced by neurotransmitter proteins in the brain, and copper is necessary for the action of amine oxidases: enzymes that influence the metabolism of neurotransmitter proteins. If you suffer with anxiety, depression, OCD, ADHD, or any kind of neurological disorder PLEASE CHECK YOUR MINERALS and see what your copper and zinc are doing. This could change your life.
Also, if you’ve ever had postpartum depression or anxiety this is a sure sign that you’re copper toxic and you need to detox copper and bring yourself back into balance. This was me, and I only wish I knew this before I suffered after both my pregnancies.
Other symptoms that you may have excess copper in your body include:
- “Adrenal fatigue” (read more about why copper plays a role in this, here)
- All hypothyroid symptoms
- All estrogen dominance symptoms, (such as PMS, sore boobs, mood swings, cramps, etc)
- Fungal infections of all kinds, including candida
- Anaemia
- White spots on fingernails
- Poor wound healing
Things that increase copper include:
- The Birth Control Pill
- The copper IUD – this is a direct source of copper! No, it's not safe for most ladies.
- Being a vegan or vegetarian – these foods are very high in copper
- Unfiltered water, copper pipes and copper cookware
- Being pregnant – copper rises in pregnancy and zinc often falls – in fact post-pregnancy is a very zinc deficient state for most women
- Dental amalgams
- Certain medications
- Stress, adrenal insufficiency, liver congestion – these things further increase the retention of copper in body
You also have to look at things that deplete zinc in the body because copper and zinc need to be in the right ratio and having too much of one will reduce the other.
Here's what will deplete zinc:
- Stress
- Glyphosate
- Sugar, alcohol and coffee
- Vegan / vegetarian diets (zinc is very hard to absorb on these diets due to the phytic acid that’s in plant foods)
- Poor digestion / poor HCL, (zinc is required to make HCL and HCL is required to absorb zinc)
Blood testing copper vs. hair testing
Copper levels in the blood can remain “normal” even when you’re high in copper. Blood copper will only appear high during the mobilization of copper, (such as a copper detox) or on-going exposure such as an IUD. The real problem is in the cells and TISSUES, hence why a Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis is the only way to properly assess for copper toxicity.
I hope you found this information helpful. Most of the women I see in practice have copper toxicity. If you think this is something you may be suffering with then I encourage you to join my 8-week program: The Hormone Balance Solution. Click here to find out more about this program, which includes functional lab testing.
