Copper deficiency is extremely rare. In this case, you can find out in which cases this can still happen and how you can best eat to prevent a deficiency.
Copper deficiency: This is how you cover your copper needs
Copper is one of the Trace elements and as such is essential for the functioning of our body. It is particularly involved in cellular respiration and iron absorption. However, the tiniest amount of copper is enough for our body. Excessive amounts of the trace element can in extreme cases lead to copper poisoning, which can severely damage our organs.
According to the German Society for Nutrition should be teenagers and adults about 1 to 1.5 milligrams Consume copper per day through food. This value is usually reached quickly because copper is found in many different foods.
Offal and shellfish and crustaceans such as lobster and oysters are particularly typical copper sources. If you fall back on these products, you should if possible Organic goods and in the case of mussels, pay attention to the ASC seal in order to ensure that Animal Welfare and support sustainable production. Because mainly offal very high in cholesterol and contain primarily the harmful LDL cholesterol, you should also only consume it in moderation.
However, you can also easily cover your needs with purely vegetable food. Foods containing copper in particular are, for example:
- Cocoa and dark chocolate
- nuts and cores
- Whole grain
- legumes (lenses, Peas, beans, in particular Soybeans)
- green leafy vegetables like Kale
- Bananas
Breakfast already covers 100 grams of wholegrain oatmeal, 10 grams of pure (sugar-free) cocoa, 15g Hazelnuts and something soy milk your daily needs.
How does copper deficiency arise?
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A copper deficiency is coming extremely rare and usually only through certain diseases triggered, for example, by intestinal diseases, kidney damage, copper storage disease “Wilson’s disease” or a congenital copper uptake disorder, the so-called “Menkes syndrome”.
Malnutrition also favors copper deficiency. Let’s take excessive amounts of the trace element in the long term zinc our body can no longer absorb the copper from the intestine. Even if we eat a copper-rich diet, the trace element simply does not arrive in the body.
However, we cannot ingest such high amounts of zinc from food alone. In this case, high-dose zinc supplements are dangerous. Therefore, you should not think about zinc and only under medical supervision supplement.
Copper deficiency: possible consequences and symptoms
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Since doctors do not check the copper levels in the blood as part of the routine blood test, a possible copper deficiency can go unnoticed for a long time. So it expresses itself more in a subsequent iron deficiency, since the body cannot absorb iron without the appropriate copper dose. You can find out more about iron deficiency and its symptoms here: Iron and iron deficiency: symptoms, supplements and nutrition tips
Other possible consequences and symptoms of chronic copper deficiency are:
- a weakened immune system
- decreased bone density
- Liver disease
- Pigment disorders on skin and hair
- increased cholesterol
- Anemia
As I said, the likelihood that as a healthy person you eat too little copper with a balanced diet is extremely low. Therefore, copper preparations are usually not useful and may even favor copper poisoning. On the other hand, if you regularly eat whole grain cereals, nuts, bananas, beans, etc., you don’t have to worry about your copper balance.
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