Aug 10, 2007
Copper Blues
Lots of people take multivitamins, mineral supplements, and a vast range of antioxidants? But, do they improve your health and wellbeing above and beyond what you could achieve with a well-balanced diet, plenty of fresh air and exercise? In some instances, the jury is still out, although recent evidence suggests that deliberately taking super doses of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) will not, despite the proclamations of the late, great Linus Pauling, protect you from the ravages of the common cold.
There is also the issue of contraindications, not only are some fat-soluble vitamins and minerals toxic at high dose because they can accumulate in the body, there are some supplements and so-called natural tonics, that can interfere with prescription medicines. It is not a good idea, for instance to take the purported natural antidepressant St John’s wort with prescribes serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) used in treating depression. Why this is so remains unclear and becomes an especially problematic puzzle to solve given the increasing evidence that the active ingredient in SJW, hypericin, does not in fact inhibit the reuptake of serotonin in the brain anyway!
Now, researchers in Italy have demonstrated that copper, an essential element in our bodies, interferes with our natural internal antioxidants and those many people ingest in the form of over-the-counter health boosters.
Chemists Luigi Campanella and Maria Costanza of the University
of Rome La Sapienza and colleague Marcelo Enrique Conti in the Development Studies Research Centre (SPES) have used an electrical technique known as cyclic voltammetry, to investigate the oxidising and reducing behaviour of antioxidants in the presence of copper ions. Their results, published recently in the International Journal of Environment and Health (2007, 1, 328-340) could make worrying reading for anyone popping health pills on a regular basis.
Copper ions have antioxidant activity. Indeed, copper is an essential nutrient for humans because it works in the regulation of antioxidant enzymes to protect out tissues from highly reactive oxygen free radicals that would otherwise tear apart the biomolecules from which our cells are composed. However, the electrical tests also suggest that the presence of copper is a double-edged sword, because it can also promote the kind of oxidising reactions that cause such damage. “the final effect [of taking supplemental copper] may not be as positive as expected,” the researchers say, and may also be associated with “the risk of toxic secondary effects.”
If oxidants and antioxidants are not balanced, then our cells are exposed to harmful oxidative stress, biochemical damage, and ultimately cell death. There are numerous protective agents, including superoxidodismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx), catalase enzymes and transferrin, ferrithin and ceruloplasmin (these bond to iron and copper ions as the activating metals of radical reactions) and the secondary ones such as all the molecules, including antioxidant vitamins, that are able to stop the reactions started by free radicals. When these agents are overwhelmed, cell damage ensues, and this plays an important role in the beginning of diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer and degenerative diseases.
The team points out that further studies are needed to verify the results of their electrical tests at the clinical level. What seems to emerge from the present laboratory study is that copper ions sometimes act as antioxidants and sometimes as pro-oxidants. “These conclusions disagree with the current theories that copper ions show only antioxidant action,” the researchers say.
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July 16th, 2009 at 3:53 am
Oh, and you want real information about this David Bradley? You won’t find it in PubMed.
Check http://www.orthomed.org
All the information you need is in there.
I’ll break it down for you…
In certain individuals, heme synthesis is faulty. A molecule is produced commonly referred to as a kryptopyyrole. This molecule has an affinity for b6, then zinc. After attaching to both, it forms a schiff base and is filtered through the kidney’s and excreted via urine. This molecule can be tested and used to be called the “mauve factor”.
Copper and zinc are antagonistic to each other. When one is high the other tends to be low. Since pyroluria leads to low zinc levels, copper accumulated and over time is overloaded in the tissues. Copper is known to be great for creating antioxidant enzymes, but when the levels become to high, they become pro-oxidant and inflame the tissues. This constant inflammation, plus the lack of zinc to normalize hormone levels, brings about instability. Not only that, over time copper not only accumulates in the liver, it starts to accumulate in the brain. Copper makes the mind race. Extreme anxiety, depression, insomnia, fierce anger, etc..end up resulting.
Check out this link as well..
http://www.drlwilson.com/articles/copper_toxicity_syndrome.htm
This will give you a rough idea…
As for the trials. They have been done decades ago and were simply not picked up…suppressed. If the medical establishment were to admit that serious mental disturbances were caused by metabolic imbalances that could be treated via nutrient therapy alone, the pharmaceutical industry would suffer. Seeing as the pharmaceutical industry lines the pockets of the medical associations, I think you can see why so few people know about this still to this day.
The information is out there, but not so easy to find as a simple pubmed search. I really need to do a better job of cataloging what I’ve researched for others.
Peace…
July 16th, 2009 at 3:35 am
I’ve got the “fiery temper” of pyroluria. I take about 10 grams of sodium ascorbate (vitamin-c) as well. Not only this, I need at least 100mg p5p, 200mg b6 daily 66mg zinc and many others. This is not going overboard when you have this metabolic disorder to such the severity as I do. Trust me, or do the research, the information is there. DO NOT take these doses if you don’t have pyroluria. They aren’t toxic, but you will over time cause more imbalances…
Without the nutrients I am bound to go nuts, and die a short-lived life. With them, I am as healthy, if not more so, than most individuals around. ALL REDHEADS should check for this, but it can be found in other hair types to. I’m dark drown with red hues. Normal hair copper reference range was 10-28, my level was 210!
August 20th, 2007 at 8:57 am
Trisha – Thank you. It is important to realize that stuffing trace elements and vitamins into one’s body is not necessarily going to improve one’s health.
Joe – You say I don’t know much about nutrients? Could you perhaps point readers to the controlled trials that demonstrate the connection between excess copper and anger, and while you’re at it, perhaps you could show us the research that demonstrates having red hairy makes one fiery!
Crash – I think the benefits of a hot toddy are more to do with the numbing effect of the alcohol rather than the marginal amount of vitamin C one imbibes with such a drink.
August 16th, 2007 at 11:57 am
So, health warnings on alcohol and vitamin c is not a solution for colds… Then why does a hot toddy make you feel so much better?!
August 13th, 2007 at 4:22 pm
I see you don’t know much about nutrients. Excess copper causes anger. You treat it with zinc. There is a biologic condition, called pyroluria, where the body excretes zinc and B-6. It is the source of the “fiery temper” of redheads. When zinc is excreted there is excess copper in the body.
There is little selenium in our soil because of acid rain. It is essential to prevent SIDS and heart attacks. It is also a prevention for prostate cancer.
Vitamin C does work, but you need to take more than 10 grams a day. Animals make in in the liver or the kidneys, and on a weight basis, they make about 15 grams for a person who weighs 180 pounds.
August 11th, 2007 at 10:39 pm
Some people go so overboard with taking vitamins and supplements without really understanding what they are doing. Its good when people try to get the message out to be careful about what and how much of this stuff they take.