To Your Health

Q. In the past I have read about the danger of getting too much copper from the diet or other sources, but now I hear that Americans might not be getting enough. How do we know if we're getting the right amount?

A. Copper is an essential trace mineral that is needed for a wide variety of body functions. Copper is used to:

• absorb and utilize iron (synthesis of the hemoglobin molecule begins around a copper atom, which is later replaced by an iron atom),

• make adenosine triphosphate (the universal cellular energy source),

• synthesize certain hormones (norepinephrine is probably the most important),

• synthesize collagen (the "glue" that holds our bodies together),

• form part of superoxide dismutase (a critically important antioxidant),

• synthesize melanin (the skin pigment that protects us from sunburn),

• produce beneficial effects on bone density,

• maintain proper blood cholesterol levels.

Unfortunately, while we can't live without copper, it has the smallest safety factor of the trace minerals. Problems can occur if you get as little as twice as much as you need. The 10th edition of the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) replaced the RDA for copper with an amount it considers a "safe and adequate daily intake," which it estimates as 1.5 to 3 mg per day. Severe copper deficiency is rare, found primarily in premature infants, but borderline copper deficiency may be common since many Americans consume only about half of the safe and adequate amount.

The symptoms of copper deficiency include loss of color in the hair and skin (due to decreased synthesis of melanin), anemia, fatigue, kinky hair, low body temperature, breakdown of connective tissue, various cardiovascular problems, nervous-system disorders, and increased susceptibility to infection.

More critical than the intake of copper may be the balance between copper and zinc. Many symptoms of copper excess are also symptoms of zinc deficiency and vice versa. People using zinc supplements, including the zinc found in multiple vitamin/mineral supplements, are advised to take about 2 mg of copper per day. This amount is often found in good multiple vitamin/mineral formulas, but the most common form (copper oxide) is poorly absorbed and so other forms are preferable.

Copper toxicity does occur and toxicity has been reported in individuals who live in houses that have copper water pipes and where drinking water is acidic, apparently from copper leaching into the drinking water. If this is your situation, you may not need a copper supplement even if you use zinc supplements.

The body takes advantage of copper's toxicity to combat infection. Inflammation mounted by the body in response to infection raises serum copper to inhibit bacterial growth. Unfortunately, when the inflammation is not due to an infection, which tends to last only a few days, but instead results from arthritis or another disease, which may go on for years, the elevated copper can be lost through increased excretion and body stores may be depleted. This may explain the experience of some people who claim that a copper bracelet helped their arthritis.

A hair mineral analysis may help you walk the tightrope between copper deficiency and excess. Body reserves of both copper and zinc are reflected in this test, as well as some other important trace minerals.