Intro
I’ve been wanting to write this post for a long time.
I’ve always intuitively felt the whole copper “toxicity” narrative seemed a bit off in certain respects – especially the concept of “hidden” copper. Not that it doesn’t exist, but that we are trained to be hypervigilant about this when (I believe) this is likely much more rare.
The trainings I received in Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis provided a solid framework for understanding mineral dynamics, yet time and again, copper “toxicity” has been the place where I’ve been prompted most to question – and now update – the story of copper “toxicity” that’s been passed down to me as I examine it in light of my own independent research and experimentation with high-dose copper.
Copper is an incredibly important mineral for cognitive function, energy production within the cell, the breakdown of histamine, hormonal balance, and the connective-tissue integrity that we need in our bodies to have healthy blood vessels for optimal blood flow to the head (to name only a few). Copper plays a big role in methylation and also detoxification of environmental pollutants. It is critical for thyroid function and optimal bile flow, and the body has mechanisms to prevent the buildup of excess copper by way of bile flow. How then could copper be so dangerous? And is it?
Morley Robbins of the Root Cause Protocol (which emphasizes the importance of making copper bioavailable) says:
“It seems like we can’t live with Copper, and certainly can’t live without it . . . This alleged ‘demonic’ mineral drives 30+ enzymes that are incredibly essential to our day-to-day life . . . . Regrettably, we are being trained, like Circus Bears, to fear it, to shun it, to detox it from our bodies and our livers . . . . But please know that when it’s in a state of deficiency — as it is in most inhabitants on this Planet — it’s a metabolic crisis, as those enzymes noted above simply do NOT work.” (source)
In this series of posts I will be exploring various perspectives on copper and its potential negative effects or “toxicity”. I will be doing so in light of the bias that I have towards copper, as someone who has benefitted greatly from it and also experimented with higher doses of it. I will be examining claims of its toxicity in light of the perspective that clearly, copper is also an incredibly important mineral that we all need.
In part two I will do a deeper dive into my research into copper. But first, let’s review some of the diverse perspectives on the complex issue of the mineral copper and how it affects the body. Below I will highlight some of the louder voices in the community of mineral geeks I follow.
First, a Few Key Points
It’s important to outline the key points and issues around copper “toxicity” that are part of the copper toxic narrative, and the standard approach to addressing them. My general take on them in bold caps.
- Even the most ardent proponents of the copper toxicity worldview say that copper toxicity is actually copper deficiency. That’s because oxidized, biounavailable copper that is unbound to it’s transport protein, ceruloplasmin, cannot be utilized in copper-dependent enzyme processes. Instead, the story goes, oxidized, free copper can build up in the liver and brain. (I AGREE TO AN EXTENT BUT WOULD SUSPECT LIVER CHOLESTASIS AS A MORE LIKELY CULPRIT FOR COPPER BUILDUP.)
- As the story goes, unbound, biounavailable copper is especially damaging and toxic to the body, and therefore must be “dumped” before the person can recover their health. (PERHAPS YES, BUT I DON’T THINK THIS IS HAPPENING AS OFTEN AS MANY BELIEVE, AND THIS IS DIFFICULT TO CONFIRM WITH TESTS AS MOST PEOPLE DON’T WANT TO DO ORGAN BIOPSIES TO FIND OUT. THE DANGER OF ASSUMING HIDDEN COPPER THAT IS NOT SHOWING UP ON A TEST AND GETTING PEOPLE TO TRY TO DUMP HIDDEN COPPER WITH ANTAGONISTS CAN BE SIGNIFICANT.)
- Because some people even with low copper experience negative effects from taking copper, and because some people, if they take copper antagonists long enough, may suddenly “dump” copper from tissue stores (after much effort to do so), there is this concept of “hidden” copper toxicity. (WHILE THIS MAY BE POSSIBLE, I THINK IT IS RARE AND OTHER EXPLANATIONS MAY BE NEEDED, SUCH AS GENETIC FACTORS, NUTRITIONAL DEFICIENCIES, AND OTHER TOXICITIES THAT COULD MAKE SOMEONE REACTIVE TO COPPER.)
- Anyone showing up with an elevated HTMA level of copper is overtly copper “toxic”, and will benefit from taking minerals that lower copper. (MAYBE – UNLESS THE ELEVATED COPPER IS AN INTELLIGENT ADAPTIVE RESPONSE TO ANOTHER UNDERLYING PROBLEM LIKE AN INFECTION.)
- Regardless of whether someone is overtly copper toxic, has “hidden” copper toxicity, or has normal copper levels, everyone will benefit from making copper bioavailable. (I FULLY AGREE. THIS IS DONE WITH VITAMIN A, VITAMIN C, MAGNESIUM AND GLYCINE)
Do We Really Have an Epidemic of Copper “Toxicity”?
One reason why I cringe so much at the idea of copper toxicity is because copper is an essential nutrient. Copper is nourishing, and we can’t live without it. Nutritional elements that have negative effects at elevated levels are distinct from other toxins like heavy metals that displace nutrients and for which the body has no metabolic use.
By definition, for something to be toxic, it must act as a poison to the body, capable of causing serious debilitation or even death. Many substances, including water, can be technically “toxic” if taken at high enough levels. This obviously doesn’t mean the substance is inherently toxic just because it can kill at high enough levels.
The narrative around copper toxicity supports the idea that copper can poison people at very low doses, and therefore needs to be recognized as a very potent toxin. As an example, there are many women who report negative physical and emotional effects from being on the copper IUD.
One of my teachers, Rick Malter, PhD, is a big proponent of warning others about the dangers of copper and copper toxicity, especially the epidemic of copper toxicity being caused by hormonal birth control. I am personally also very critical of hormonal birth control, which I’ve written about here.
Rick Malter has collaborated with Rick Fisher on the Copper Toxic website, and made a film, to warn others about the negative and “toxic” effects of this mineral. The Copper Toxic website may be the best place to start to examine the narrative of copper toxicity that has gained so much prevalence in recent years:
CopperToxic.com says:
“Excess copper acts as an excitotoxin , and as the copper level builds up, the adrenals eventually weaken from over stimulation. This in turn leads to an eventual decline in the liver’s production of ceruloplasmin (a protein which binds to copper to make it bioavailable); and without adequate ceruloplasmin to bind to the copper, excess copper then gets stored in a bio-unavailable form in soft tissue – creating a deficiency condition. In other words, the more copper the body accumulates (toxicity), the more likely the eventual deficiency of bioavailable (usable) copper.” (Source)
CopperToxic.com lists the following copper toxicity symptoms:
- fatigue and exhaustion, adrenal depletion
- hypothyroid
- nausea
- racing mind (feeling wired but tired)
- panic attacks
- depression
- hair loss and/or whitening of hair
- brain fog / spaciness
- concentration and memory problems
- high anxiety
- irritability
- emotional numbing / apathy / despondence
- ruminating negative thoughts
- personality change
- loss of sex drive
- OCD and Relationship OCD (ROCD)
- withdrawal / isolation
- chocolate cravings
- anemia (similar to iron-deficiency anemia)
- allergies and mold sensitivity
- lowered immunity
- insomnia
- increased PMS
- constipation
- (manic) mood swings
- despair, hopelessness
Looking over the scientific citations on the cite, we see that much of the concept of copper toxicity being promoted here stems from the work of Dr. Carl Pfeiffer, but the website provides very little in the way of actual studies to back up its claims about the mechanisms of copper toxicity. While the idea that low levels of ceruloplasmin due to adrenal depletion or copper buildup is theoretically interesting, we have very little in the way of actual studies to confirm or deny that hypothesis (or if they do exist, the Copper Toxic site does not share them).
. . . or is Copper Toxicity Really Just Copper “Dysregulation”?
Morley Robbins uses the term copper “dys-regulation” rather than copper “toxicity”. In this interview with Wendy Myers, he says that copper dys-regulation occurs because of the way that copper causes deficiencies in zinc, ceruloplasmin, and iron. I’d certainly agree with that, but in part 2 of this blog I’ll share my thoughts on three other nutrients (one vitamin and two minerals) that copper depletes that I believe may be more responsible for its negative effects in some people.
The folks over at the Copper Toxicity website take issue with the term dys-regulation:
“Copper toxicity, as research has shown since the 1970s, is far more than just a dysregulation issue that can be ‘fixed’ by regulating ceruloplasmin. Our modern epidemic of copper toxicity is largely the result of ever increasing exposure to copper with each new generation over the past half century, a concept of paramount importance that is trivialized by using the term ‘dysregulation’. As the majority of people have a copper imbalance, copper toxicity should not be seen as a black or white ‘label’ that defines a person, but rather is a progression to varying degrees of accumulation along a continuum.” (source)
I prefer the term dys-homeostasis rather than toxicity when it comes to copper. I believe that it is an error to portray the mineral depletions that copper can cause as toxicity when in fact all minerals have dynamic relationships and could be considered toxic if you took into account the side-effects that occur when any mineral is taken without its cofactors in mind. I will share why copper may seem more toxic than others due to the way that unhealthy fluorides have been introduced into our food and water.
Or is Everyone Copper “Deficient”?
A man named Jason Hommel has forged the way for a close re-examination of the assumed truths of copper “toxicity.” Jason is the author of The Copper Revolution book, a compilation of scientific studies and commentary on copper. Jason firmly believes, and provides amble evidence to support his claim that EVERYONE is copper deficient.
Jason takes upwards of 70mg of copper a day. He has healed lifelong arthritis and other health issues taking copper alongside its necessary nutrient cofactors.
Jason’s wife has also healed longstanding health problems including Hashimotos thyroiditis using high-dose copper (eventhough others say that high copper is implicated in hypothyroidism, despite the fact that copper helps the body to convert T4 to T3).
It is very important to point out when we examine Jason’s perspectives on copper that he first started supplementing copper after doing a high-dose iodine protocol and taking many other minerals at the same time. Therefore, similar to how we can’t chalk all the problems of copper to the deficiencies it can cause in the absence of those cofactors, we need to keep in mind that the benefits Jason is promoting for copper exist in the context of him taking many other minerals with many other benefits alongside copper. The important dynamic relationship that copper has with iodine will be explored in part 2.
It becomes unclear exactly which benefits he describes as being attributable solely to copper, and even he will point out that the benefits are only to be had in concert with the other minerals. (To that extent, this article simply acts to reiterate the basic premise that while minerals are wonderful, they are health-promoting only when given with their dynamic relationships to other minerals in mind. Without that, they can cause damage.)
But back to Jason’s High Copper Revolution. My experimentation with higher-dose copper was prompted by Jason’s book, and I appreciate the amount of research and first-hand experience he has dabbling with this mineral. He has been on high-dose copper for over four years, mostly in the form of copper sulfate.
In Jason’s Copper Revoultion FB group, we see a lot of people getting incredible benefit from higher doses of copper, and also a number of them experiencing mental emotional issues along with depletions of energy or other symptoms, which are attributed to detox symptoms or deficiencies in the needed nutrient cofactors.
Jason and his high-copper proponents in the FB group fluctuate between open-minded dialogue on copper, and also often defensive and sometimes over-reactions to anyone who raises concerns about high-dose copper. Promoting copper is a spiritual obligation for Jason, and he attributes his use of high-dose copper with increased intellectual capacity, ie: “What my mature copper-fueled brain is able to do is see what was not said.”
Rightfully so, he criticizes scientific studies that fail to utilize higher amounts of copper to gain true insights into how copper may benefit a wide variety of conditions, from Alzheimer’s to Schizophrenia to Wilson’s disease.
Examining the Upper Tolerable Limit for Copper
The primary focus of Jason’s book in reference to copper’s supposed “toxicity” is an emphasis on how copper affects liver and kidney function, because those are the markers used by the FDA and European regulatory agencies to define an Upper Tolerable Limit, which they have set at 10 mg.
Jason points out that very, very high levels of copper ingestion (in the range of 20,000 mg a few times a week taken for four months) exist in the literature and did not result in death, liver toxicity or kidney problems – instead, the extremely high copper supplementation lead to what we would expect when copper lowers iron too much – anemia (whereas the right amount of copper in relation to iron helps to improve anemia).
Turns out, the 10 mg upper limit is based on ONE single case study that showed elevated liver enzymes in a single person on 10mg of copper (incidentally, the European regulatory agency also relies on this same single case study, indicating not a lot of study has gone into the issue of toxicity from the vantage point of liver and kidney function). This hardly constitutes proof that copper was the cause of the elevated liver enzymes in this one person, especially when we consider that no elevation of liver enzymes was detected in cases of deliberate copper ingestion at much higher doses.
The following points Jason makes regarding copper’s supposed toxicity are also salient:
“We know all the pain meds and many other prescription meds also cause liver problems, even at prescribed minimum one pill levels. Why can’t copper be “prescribed” at levels that “might cause liver problems” like pain meds and alcohol? What would those levels of copper be? 11 mg, 22 mg, or 1000 mg? See the lack of information and hypocrisy here? And what is the mechanism of action or process of function that copper would cause liver problems in the first place? Is it theoretical? Only applicable to sick people with liver problems? With gall bladder problems? How much more copper can people take if they have healthy livers? If they are not drinking alcohol and not taking and prescription or over the counter pain meds?” (Source)
Please link to this article of Jason’s for a more complete breakdown of the erroneous grounds upon which the 10mg upper limit is based.
Key Points from Jason’s Work
While I personally am not a proponent of copper supplementation in doses as high as what Jason promotes, nevertheless I very much appreciate the following key points that Jason makes in relationship to copper. These key points will become very relevant in the next post when we explore why copper may be more dys-regulating to some people than others.
- Everyone is copper deficient.
- Copper doesn’t just lower zinc, it also lowers niacin, iron, and vitamin C.
- Most people can’t become copper toxic very easily because the body has mechanisms to prevent over-ingesting or over-absorbing copper (copper induces nausea, and the body readily moves copper out of the body via bile and metallothionen enzymes). As Jason says, “Copper is flushed out of the liver (liver as a food is the food highest in copper) through the gallbaldder in the bile, so that should be functioning well if you are wanting to try high copper.”
- If copper were toxic at the levels released by a copper IUD, babies and pregnant mothers, who have many times more copper in their blood and bodies, would be experiencing copper toxicity symptoms. People like Jason who supplement with very large amounts of copper daily would also be experiencing those symptoms.
- There is evidence that some of the classical diseases associated with copper “toxicity” like Wilson’s Syndrome and Schizophrenia paradoxically may actually show benefit with added copper.
- Copper is a detoxifier and chelator. Some of the negative symptoms that people experience on copper may be attributable to the way that copper detoxifies the body.
- Most importantly, copper detoxifies fluoride (and also probably bromide). Jason points out that the so-called toxicity of water from copper pipes may more likely be caused by the caustic qualities of fluoridated water, which will leach copper from pipes more readily than non-flouridated water will. Is the problem the copper, or the fluoride?