I recently recorded a webinar with my friend Clark about copper toxicity.
Many, many people out there are confused about copper. This is creating an epidemic of what we call “copper toxicity.” You can watch the webinar here:
This is all part of a series of webinars we’re creating for our course on hair tissue mineral analysis. Join the waiting list here and learn more about the course here.
Copper toxicity is one of the reasons I see such great results with LifeWave X39 (and other) patches. If you’ve got a testimonial about these patches, please share it here and if you’re ready to find out they can help you, watch my most recent webinar about the patches with Renita Brannan. If you’d like to join my LifeWave team to learn more about how they can help you, you can get started with a silver pack here (I recommend starting with 3 months of the X39 patch). You can also sign up for exclusive zoom calls with Renita Brannan and I by filling out this form.
Zinc and copper compete with and antagonize one another.
You can develop copper deficiency from excess zinc, and you can (theoretically) develop zinc deficiency from excess copper (although I have never seen such a case report).
For the record, I have seen very, very few blood copper levels below the reference range. They are typically in metabolically broken individuals, particularly those who have had gastric bypass surgery (which is a terrible procedure that I would never, ever recommend).
Why do I start with this observation?
Because blood copper and zinc levels are poor metrics for copper and zinc dynamics within the body. The blood is the last place for mineral levels to become deranged, which means that if you find low copper or zinc levels in the blood, chances are levels in tissues are extremely low.
Judging nutritional status by blood levels of nutrients is a lot like judging net-worth based on the balance of your checking account. A millionaire and a billionaire could have a the same amount of money in their checking account, but they have a thousand-fold difference in their net-worth.
That's why I prefer hair tissue mineral analysis to blood work at this point in my practice.
So how much copper and zinc do you need for optimal health? How much is optimal in our modern world, where heavy metals, forever chemicals, and EMF are a fact of life.
The answer is, "it depends."
Anyone giving you blind recommendations on how much of these minerals to dose someone on has not measured enough levels or treated enough patients with these minerals.
How much copper and zinc should you get in your daily diet?
There are many, many variables that affect the answer to this question.
You'll find that most people are getting between 0.5 and 4 mg of copper in their diet.
Most people are getting between 5 and 50 mg of zinc in their diet.
This is, of course, only if the information we're given by the USDA (and other players) is true. I am not so sure about that.
The ratio of copper to zinc in the diet tends to be between 1:5 and 1:20.
This ratio will give rise to a wide range of blood copper and zinc levels. For example, a woman consuming 2 mg of zinc might be consuming 8 mg of zinc, and she might have a blood copper level of 130 and a blood zinc level of 75.
I would give this woman an extra 15 to 30 mg per day of zinc at least, and I would expect her to see massive improvements in energy, mood, sleep, and performance.
A man who is lifting heavy weights and eating enormous amounts of zinc-rich red meat to fuel muscle growth might consume only 1 mg of copper and up to 50 mg of zinc a day. They might have a blood copper level of 60 and they might have a zinc level of 100.
I would tell this man to add some copper-rich foods to their diet, with a goal of increasing their daily dietary copper intake to about 4 mg. They don't need a copper supplement.
What I would prefer to see from these two cases is a hair-tissue mineral analysis.
Why? Because you'll find that levels in the blood are grossly misleading. Levels in the hair are misleading to the untrained practitioner, who naturally presume that hair levels reflect total-body levels (the same as making the assumption the your checking account reflects your net worth).
What would you look for in the hair?
You would look for ratios of minerals and you would look for heavy metals in the hair that are altering the dynamics of these two minerals.
For example, it's common to see normal zinc levels in the serum and low levels in the hair.
It's also common to see low levels of copper in the hair, in the presence of high levels of copper in the blood. Typically in a case where you see high copper levels in the blood and low levels in the hair, you're likely to see high levels of copper emerge in the hair.
What is happening in this case? Why is the copper low in the hair and then high?
This is the concept of a "poor eliminator." You'll often see massive eliminations of heavy metals along with copper in these cases (often in women, who tend to eat more copper and less zinc than men, and who tend to hang onto copper due to high estrogen levels).
What's a poor eliminator? It's someone who isn't eliminating heavy metals and excess minerals well. You'll know these people by the way their heavy metal levels sky rocket once you get them on the right protocol for them.
Clark Engelbert and I will be discussing how heavy metals are causing many chronic diseases, and particularly the concept of a poor eliminator, in an upcoming webinar. Set a reminder here.
The thing about poor eliminators is that once they start eliminating, you'll see them eliminate not only toxic heavy metals, but minerals like copper.
What does this mean?
As we restore the body's capacity to detoxify itself, we see copper come out of tissues and therefore we see levels rise in the hair.
This is part of why people feel so much better as they detoxify from excess copper.
And this is why I'm not surprised to see people getting so much better with the LifeWave patches that put copper to work in the body the way it is supposed to work.
Here's a typical story you'll hear about copper toxicity. This was submitted to me anonymously and unsolicited via my website:
I would like to tell you that I had synergistic toxicity from Mercury (sea food) and copper (a copper IUD) and my health was ruined. It took me years to learn how I developed an immune disorder until I learned what had caused it and that were the toxic exposures. I went to see a so-called hormone replacement therapist and when I mentioned that I had been poisoned by copper from a copper IUD, she said that she hadn’t heard of that happening and that many of her patients were using copper IUDs. When I first went to get it, I was suspicious about it and I asked the doctor who was installing it in me, if it could cause a dangerous build up of copper in my system still and he said, "no."
The reality is, I don't think most people actually need to eliminate copper as much as they need to harness its power. You'll actually find that our food has decined in copper content by double-digit percentages. People a hundred years ago may well have had copper intakes two or three times ours. However, they got it from food, with an abundance of B vitamins, and they didn't have things like copper IUDs, copper piping, or an estrogen-laden environment.
This is why I’m not surprised to get feedback from LifeWave customers like this:
I’ve seen too many miracles to count! But the X39 patch on the top of my spine has helped with body tremors (which my neurologist thinks might be Myasthenia Gravis.) I’ve also successfully used them numerous times for migraines, swelling of the ankles after traveling, reduce swelling around a bump/contusion on my tibia, for energy to stay awake on long road trips. Just to name a few! My sister uses them to help her symptoms from Multiple Sclerosis and swears by X39 on her spine.
Or this one:
I have noticed a huge difference in the level of pain and in my ability to sleep while using them! If I can’t sleep from the pain I will use the ice waves on the bottom of my feet and on my lower back and have almost instant pain relief. And if I have insomnia I use a combo of three patches aeon, alavida, and silent nights and can finally sleep!
But what about the people who say we need more copper?
Let’s just say the devil is in the details. That’s why Clark and I had a whole webinar on the topic.
You're going to hear a lot of things out there about copper.
Most of these people never measure copper levels and they don't see patients much, if at all.
Take it from me. Harnessing copper with the LifeWave patches and balancing minerals with proper HTMA interpretation are two of the best things I have to recommend.
Sign up for my HTMA course +coaching waitlist here to learn more about HTMA testing and interpretation.
Order LifeWave patches at wholesale prices here. If you're interested in distributing LifeWave patches, fill out this survey and I will send you exclusive invites to zoom calls with myself and Renita Brannan where we’ll talk more about the benefits of and how to use this new technology.
Until next time, be well,
Dr. Stillman