Copper – who knew it could be so important in mental health?

Copper…we think of a bright shiny orangey-brown metal, pipes under the sink, copper gone green on an old church spire. It conducts really well, which is why pans and kettles are often made from copper. As well as all this, copper is an essential micro mineral – we need it for lots of functions in the body. For example, did you now that copper is key in iron metabolism – we need it to convert iron to the form that can be transported round in the blood (Fe3+). Sometimes, when a person is diagnosed as anaemic, starts taking iron but doesn’t feel better, it can be a copper problem.

Copper is also responsible for a gazillion other functions including energy production, making connective tissues, ….so it’s certainly not a “bad guy”…but when levels start to go up, resulting in hypercupremia (break the words up …it just means high copper), things can go wrong. This is a very, very top level and brief look at copper.

Copper levels seem to be rising in many people. One of the reasons

thought to be behind this is a switch towards more plant-based diets and away from animal foods. I am not for a minute slamming this way of eating. But (and this is a sweeping generalisation) plant foods tend to be higher in copper. Zinc, which is in many ways yang to copper’s yin, tends to be found predominantly in animal foods, especially meat and seafood. So a diet predominantly based around plants with no meat or seafood is going to tend to push up copper.

In most people, copper is kept in a strict range in the blood being bound up by certain proteins, including ceruloplasmin. BUT in some people, who have a genetic inability to regulate this metal, Cu levels can get out of hand.

This is important in terms of what goes on in our brains. Copper is hugely important in the synthesis of neurotransmitters – for example, it is a cofactor (“work buddy”) which helps in the conversion of dopamine to noradrenaline. People with high copper tend very strongly to have lowered levels of dopamine, the “reward” neurotransmitter, and very high levels of noradrenaline. Dr Walsh, who has kept a huge database of patients who have come for treatment for mental health conditions, states that “copper overload was present in most cases of hyperactivity, learning disability, postpartum depression, autism and paranoid schizophrenia”[1]. He has had huge success in balancing nutrients in order to bring about better mental health.

Where this gets a bit more spicy and interesting is that copper is hugely tied up with female hormones. Copper tends to rise when oestrogen does; there is also a tendency for copper to become dysregulated in women on birth control pills and hormone replacement therapy. Copper also plays a role in post-partum depression – here’s another Dr Walsh quote: “Most women experience mild depressive symptoms soon after childbirth, and 10-20% will experience a full-blown depressive episode. Normal pregnancies involve greatly increased levels of oestrogens and copper in blood. During the nine months of a normal pregnancy, serum copper typically doubles…This additional copper enables rapid development of blood vessels (angiogenesis) needed for normal growth of the foetus. Normally, copper and oestrogen levels begin to drop within 24 hours of delivery, It appears that post-partum depression women have  genetic or acquired inability to eliminate excess copper”[2]. Many women report onset of depression after giving birth, for many int continues for years and is exceptionally debilitating.

Remember earlier, how we talked about zinc being yang to copper’s yin? We often find that zinc levels are low in people where copper is high. Back to Dr Walsh: “A primary natural mechanism for removal of excess copper involves binding to metallothionein (MT) proteins in the liver, followed by excretion via the bile duct. The genetic expression (production) of MT proteins is dependent on zinc, and this trace metal is usually depleted in high copper persons”. Again, Dr Walsh and his colleagues have had lots of success in using nutrients to get states such as high copper, and the symptoms that go hand in hand with it, under control.

So think on it…did you go on the birth control pill and find yourself

depressed? Did you suffer from post-natal depression, and have been struggling with low mood on and off for years since? Do you know someone like this? Might be worth looking at copper. As always, if this had awoken some interest, please do book a discovery call to chat through here.

Time to put the (non-copper) kettle on.

Marie

[1] “Nutrient Power: Heal Your Biochemistry and Heal Your Brain”, William J Walsh, pg. 18

[2] “Nutrient Power: Heal Your Biochemistry and Heal Your Brain”, William J Walsh, pg. 82