The unexpected toxicity behind top health issues
We all know too much of a good thing can turn bad. Well this is the case with one of the most common issues I’m seeing with the Oligoscan Mineral and Heavy Metal tests.
Copper Toxicity.
Copper is essential for many roles in the body. A few of the main functions copper is involved are:
making connective tissue
maintaining energy levels
healthy function of our brain and nervous system
production of melanin by the skin
transporting iron in the body
creating digestive enzymes and supporting digestive health
an important player in the immune system
The good thing is we need micro amounts and its pretty abundant in our foods. The problem is there are some very common things that can cause your copper levels to become toxic. These include:
Copper pipes are leached from the fluoride in the water
Copper IUD
Chlorinated swimming pools (the fungicide commonly used contains copper)
These things give us excess exposure to copper. Then add in a congested liver and gallbladder and excess estrogen and copper toxicity starts to become a major issue. This is because copper and estrogen will stick together like glue in the liver. If the liver biliary system is congested then they will not be excreted easily, creating more estrogen dominance, copper toxicity and furthering the liver and gallbladder congestion. It becomes a vicious cycle. (don’t worry, there’s plenty we can do about it)
Some of the symptoms of Copper Toxicity include:
Neurological: tics, restless limbs, restless sleep, headaches, epilepsy, schizophrenia
Cognitive and Emotional: Anxiety, depression, poor concentration (ADHD), obsessive compulsive tendencies (OCD)
Infection: susceptibility to viruses, yeast infections, fungal infections
“Allergies” or sensitivity, both to airborne and food triggers
Irritable bowel Syndrome, particularly in young women taking the Oral Contraceptive Pill, with constipation, pale stools, nausea, aggravation from fats and spices. Since copper is largely excreted via the biliary system, copper excess congests the biliary tree resulting in inadequate bile release. Inadequate bile causes these symptoms diagnosed as ‘Irritable bowel syndrome’.
Hormonal: Premenstrual Syndrome with headaches, depression, premenstrual fluid retention.
Endocrine: undermines thyroid function resulting in possible hypothyroidism.
Hepatotoxic: in its worse scenario, high levels of copper cause Wilson’s Disease. Beneath this pathology, copper hepatotoxicity is one of the causes of fatty liver, impaired gallbladder function (owing to gall sludge), with consequent symptoms of nausea, cholecystitis and constipation alternating with diarrhoea. Gallbladder sludge is not evident on standard abdominal ultrasound.
The great thing is that we can address this issue and we’ve seen great success with balancing out the copper levels.
To find out where your copper levels are at I highly recommend the Oligoscan Mineral and Heavy Metal Scan to see where your tissue levels are at. It will alos show us your Zinc tissue levels as well. Zinc is a key player with Copper and Copper Toxicity can cause dysregulation with Zinc.
If you’re not ready to get tested yet, you can start doing some of the foundational work first. I’ve created this guide to help get you started with the basics steps for health and some supplements you can start with to address gut and liver health. These are the two foundational organs to balance to address any health issue. Check out my Foundations of Health Guide here!