Copper Imbalance – An American Epidemic

By Rebecca Steiner, Holistic Health Coach and Peptide Therapy Specialist

About Copper Imbalance:

Copper imbalance might be the biggest epidemic in our country, that nobody’s heard about. Copper is an essential mineral that is, without exaggeration, needed to live. Copper is required for ATP energy production, cell function, immune function, collagen formation, iron utilization, oxygen transportation, and much more.

Clearly the body needs copper to function. But copper must be functioning properly too. It must remain at just the right levels. It must not get too low, or too high, or lose its ability to move freely (becoming bio-unavailable). When copper gets out of balance it can lead to all sorts symptoms and disease processes, and yet it is often missed or misdiagnosed. The main reason for this is because copper imbalance rarely shows up in bloodwork, since it is mainly stored in tissues. Blood levels can look normal, even when there is copper deficiency or toxicity.

Symptoms:

Copper can act like a heavy metal, accumulating in tissues and organs and impairing their function. Many times, symptoms of copper dysregulation are related to systems of the body where copper is being stored. Common areas of copper storage are: the brain, liver, kidneys, and reproductive organs. So copper dysregulation may show up as depression, or headaches if it is accumulating in the brain, or endometriosis or infertility, if accumulating in the uterus. Copper dysregulation symptoms may also impact immune system and gastrointestinal function, or show up as iron deficiency, or B12 anemia.

Copper toxicity, insufficiency, and bio-unavailability can also cause:

• Acne

• Adrenal Fatigue

• Allergies

• Anemia

• Anorexia

• Anxiety

• Arthritis

• Asthma

• Attention Deficit Disorder

• Autism

• Autoimmune Disorders

• Behavioral Problems in Children

• Bipolar (Manic Depression)

• Brittle Nails or White Spots on Nails

• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

• Chronic Digestive Disorders: Acid Reflux, GERD, SIBO, Indigestion, Constipation, Diarrhea, Bloating, Nausea, Vomiting 

• Chronic Infections, Bacterial, Viral or Fungal

• Chronic Yeast Infections, Vaginitis, UTI’s or Chronic Candida Overgrowth

• Depression, Apathy

• Dry Skin or Hair

• Dysmenorrhea

• Early Aging

• Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome

• Estrogen Dominance, or Symptoms of Estrogen Dominance

• Feeling like you’re “Wired but Tired”

• Fibromyalgia

• Fluroquinolone Poisoning – both predisposing one to poisoning, and worsening of symptoms associated with the condition

• Food, Environmental, and Chemical Sensitivities 

• Gastritis

• Getting sick all the time/Never Getting Sick

• Hair loss

• Hoshimotos

• Hypertension

• Hypotension

• Hypothyroidism

• Hyperthyroidism

• Immune Dysregulation

• Infertility

• Insomnia

• Irregular Periods

• Learning Disabilities

• Loose Skin

• Lyme Disease – that persists despite treatment

• Mast Cell Activation Syndrome

• Memory Problems

• Mental and Mood Disorders

• Migraines, Headaches (primarily located at the front of the head and behind the eyes.)

• Miscarriage

• Mold Toxicity and Mold Sensitivity

• Neuralgia (nerve pain)

• Osteoporosis

• Parasites

• PCOS, Fibroids, Uterine Cysts, Endometriosis

• POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome)

• Poor Collagen Production

• PMS (bad cramps, mood swings, water retention)

• Racing thoughts that can lead to insomnia

• Schizophrenia

• Sciatica

• Worse hangover from alcohol or Alcohol Sensitivity

Not only is copper imbalance commonly misdiagnosed, it is also often missed because it is hidden by chronic illnesses like Lyme, mold toxicity, Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, candida, parasites, and EBV. Because copper plays such an important role in the immune system, if it is not functioning properly, we become more susceptible to chronic infections.

Causes:

But what causes copper imbalance? There can be many causes, but the two biggest are; modern agricultural practices and the increasing ubiquity of female birth control. The way that we grow food in this country depletes the soils over time. As the years go by fewer minerals and nutrients make it into our food. This includes grass, and grass-fed animals too. So, we get less copper, or less of other minerals and vitamins we need to keep copper in check. In addition, GMO’s, pesticides, and even “natural” pesticides like copper sulfate are detrimental to the delicate mineral balance of the body. Ultimately, we can end up with too little, or too much copper. When we get too much copper, it acts like estrogen in the body. Combine this with naturally occurring estrogen, and the growing number of young women prescribed hormonal (and copper) birth control, and you have a recipe for a copper toxicity epidemic.

Since women naturally have more estrogen, copper overload from birth control, or other sources, tips the scales, leading to hormonal imbalances like; estrogen dominance, acne, PMS, PCOS, endometriosis, infertility, and miscarriage.

Copper dysfunction in women should be suspected when the onset or worsening of symptoms coincides with puberty, early adulthood, or if symptoms increase around menses. It should also be considered in women with symptoms of copper toxicity who have used any form of birth control, at any point in life, including progestin and the copper IUD, which have been shown to elevate copper levels. That being said, men and boys can experience copper toxicity or deficiency too. One reason being that it can be passed from mom to baby in the womb. In young boys it often presents as behavioral problems, poor impulse control, learning disabilities, mental disorders, or developmental disabilities.   

Other sources of copper toxicity or dysregulation include:

·       Breast Milk

·       B Vitamin Insufficiency

·       Chronic Gastrointestinal Disorders

·       Copper Cookware and Dishes

·       Copper Piping in the Home

·       Fluorinated and Chlorinated Drinking and Bathing Water

·       Eating Disorders

·       Fluoride Used in Dental Procedures

·       Genetic Mutations

·       Gestational (transmission from mom to fetus)

·       Medications

·       Infant Formula

·       Lack of Vitamin A from Animal Sources in the Diet

·       Other Mineral Imbalances

·       Swimming Pools, Hot Tubs (treated with copper)

·       Supplementing with copper, zinc, vitamin C, and citrate, or using zinc sulfate sunscreen, without knowing your mineral levels

·       Vegetarian or Vegan Diets

·       Water Contamination

Testing and Treatment:

If you suspect you are suffering from copper dysfunction, it is extremely important to work with a practitioner who has experience in diagnosis and treatment.

As stated above, copper dysregulation is very difficult to find through blood work, so alternative forms of testing are needed, and in some cases, clinical diagnosis is required.

Treatment will be based on a person’s individual mineral balances, and symptoms, and usually consists of supplementing methodically with specific vitamins and minerals. It can take anywhere from 3-12 months, and in some cases up to 3 years, to correct copper imbalance. With proper diagnosis and treatment, health can be restored.

If you are interested in learning more about copper dysfunction or mineral balancing, please contact me: rebecca@bewellnaturalmedicine.net or schedule an appointment: https://SteinerHealthCoaching.as.me/?appointmentType=38500332

Infertility – Could it be Parasites?

By Sangita Pedro, ND

The digestive system is the foundation of human health. Digestion of food provides nutrients to build hormones, immunoglobulins, and neurotransmitters. It is also where the body rids itself of toxins, used hormones and excess cholesterol. 

Digestion requires more daily energy than any other system in the body, but it also absorbs the nutrients needed to keep the system running. It is a graceful, elegant system and when it is working well, we experience health and vitality. And when any part of the digestive system – stomach, intestines, liver, gallbladder or pancreas – becomes overburdened, we feel it, we just don’t always pay attention to it.

There are many ways in which our digestive system can become overburdened and many signs and symptoms that tell us what is happening. The most common burdens I see in my clinical practice are SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) yeast overgrowth and intestinal parasites.  Sometimes alone and sometimes all together!

Some early symptoms of these conditions include heartburn or reflux, tightness in the chest, coughing, runny nose, sneezing or skin flushing after eating, abdominal bloating, gas, constipation, loose stools or diarrhea. You don’t have to experience these symptoms all the time for there to be a problem. 

SIBO and yeast overgrowth (ie. Candida) are fairly well-known diagnoses, especially among patients with overt gastrointestinal symptoms but parasites are regarded as rare and only really a problem in developing nations.

There are many myths about parasites but the three I come across most frequently are:

1.     Parasites cause diarrhea and I am constipated so I can’t have parasites.

2.     I have never been outside the US so I can’t have parasites.

3.     Parasites make you lose weight, and I can’t lose weight so I can’t have parasites.

All false! It is true that some acute parasitic infections, like Giardia, cause diarrhea and weight loss but chronic infections more commonly cause constipation and weight gain. And although travel outside the US along with history of food poisoning increases the likelihood of parasites it is by no means necessary. Food poisoning happens in the US all the time and outbreaks of Giardia and Cryptosporidium happen in municipal water supplies every year in the US. 

So how are parasites linked to infertility?

Parasites eat your food, cause inflammation in the intestinal lining and decrease absorption of nutrients. This depletes you slowly, over many years, of the nutrients you need to build hormones. Low hormones make it difficult to conceive and maintain a pregnancy. 

Parasites, especially worms, excrete estrogen-like substances that block receptors and confuse our hormonal system. The toxins they excrete also impair the body’s ability to get rid of used estrogens properly. Those used estrogens are accidentally recycled, creating further imbalance in our hormonal system. 

Another reason parasites are quickly disregarded is they are very difficult to find on stools tests. 

Parasites adhere very tightly to the gut lining and therefore are not scraped off easily during bowel movements. They also have life cycles; periods of relative quiet when they are reproducing and periods of greater activity or growth which means you have to get lucky and collect a sample in a more active, plentiful stage. And last but not least, parasites are smart. They have learned to keep their population below the threshold of our innate immune system response. If their numbers get too high and break that threshold, our immune system will see them and kill them. 

If you are experiencing unexplained infertility or have in the past, you might have some unwanted travelers in your gut sapping you of your nutrients. Find a practitioner who understands parasites so you can take back your vitality and fertility!