Copper overload/zinc deficiency

I've been reading about how the body can become overloaded with copper, and depleted of zinc (the two should be in balance), through a combination of the following ways:

1. Through consumption and bathing in water supplied via copper pipes
2. Through a diet high in copper and low in zinc
3. Through a diet high in zinc antagonists

1. There is not much we can do about high copper water, probably, other than water filters for drinking water.

2. Some foods high in copper are:

Chocolate
Nuts
Seeds
Shellfish
Organ meats
Plant proteins, eg. soya
Tea

There are others, but I can't remember them!

Foods high in zinc that should be included in the diet are:

Meat, such as beef (the highest), chicken, turkey and lamb
Eggs

Foods that are not high in either copper or zinc, so are fine to eat are:

Vegetables
Fish (other than shellfish)

3. Some foods that are zinc antagonists are:

Whole grains - ie the flour is higher in zinc in the first place, but then the phytic acid prevents us from absorbing it. It is better to have refined flour than whole grain.
Coffee
Sugar

Again, this is from memory, so there will be others.

Diet-wise, the obvious way in which people can become overloaded with copper and deficient in zinc is through a vegetarian or vegan diet. Vegetarians should therefore ensure that they supplement with zinc.

Others way in which people can become overloaded with copper are through:

1. Frequent swimming in chlorine
2. Copper IUDs (obviously women only!)
3. Ingesting pesticides

Oh thanks so much for that - interesting.

When I was tested by the Kinselogist I was low on Magnesium and Zinc - so I have been taking them both for a while now.

Do you know if you can have a mineral blood test done?

The diet is something to think about - I never eat beef, wheat or drink tea. But do eat a lot of veg and coffee.....

Oh the only other point - Is I have to take the zinc at another time of day to the magnesium as it can stop the mag being absorbed....

I had a mineral test years ago, which showed I was very low in magnesium. I was fairly low in zinc, but copper levels weren't tested. From what I've read, blood tests aren't a reliable way of testing for copper overload, as it sits in the tissues rather than in the blood (because the blood keeps itself as clear and well functioning as possible and shifts any excess elsewhere). For a similar reason, blood serum levels of magnesium are rarely low - it pulls in what it needs from the cells, so the red cell level is the one that is often low in magnesium.

As I understand it, you can have hair mineral analysis done, which shows up things like copper toxicity, but it's controversial - some think it accurate, some don't. They only test the hair that is closest to the head, so it's newer.

Yeah, it's hard to fit all the minerals in separately, isn't it?! I think that is where I went wrong in the past though - taking things together that competed.

Just to resurrect my old thread, I have finally found a way of taking zinc that my stomach will put up with. Taking zinc orally gives me awful stomach pain.

Anyway, I've been using it transdermally via a foot bath, for about a month now. I have definitely seen some improvement in my TMJ symptoms and also my migraines. I'm unclear at the moment whether the improvement in the migraines is due to the TMJ being less symptomatic (and therefore a trigger), or for some other reason, eg the copper overload I mentioned at the start of the thread.

So anyway, it's early days, but I feel some level of optimism at the moment!

To update on this again, I went downhill, as I stopped being able to get hold of the zinc footbath!

But I've now found an ionic zinc which my stomach does seem to be able to tolerate, as long as I take it with loads of food and some coconut oil. I've only been taking it a week, but my head has already improved a bit, so I'm thrilled.

Another update on this:

After an initial improvement, I started to feel absolutely terrible. I think the reason for that is that the zinc shifted, and therefore released, some copper into my bloodstream which had to be processed. My migraines and TMJ problem were absolutely awful, and the melasma pigmentation on my face looked way worse. Oh and I also developed really sore and unsightly peeling lips. So much so that I didn't really want to go out of the house, even if I'd have felt well enough.

I did a bit of reading about how to help shift the copper, and have been taking apple pectin powder in (so far) fairly small amounts, with a view to building it up. Ever since I started doing this, I started to feel a bit better again - basically the way I had when I'd first started on the zinc. Phew.

So, it's still early days, and I'm still at a low dose of both the zinc and the apple pectin, but I aim to increase gradually and hopefully see more benefits.