Copper

Optimal Result: 4 - 11.4 ug/g creat.

Sources:

Legumes, mushrooms, chocolate, nuts and seeds, shellfish and liver are high in copper all greater than 2.4 µg per gram.

Food, water and air (via combustion and fossil fuels and agriculture) are sources of copper.

Copper pipes and fixtures in household plumbing may allow copper to leak into water.

Absorption factors:

Copper absorption occurs in the upper small intestine and compared to other elements, has a relatively high absorption rate at 55 to 75%. Copper levels in the body are homeostatically maintained by copper absorption from the intestine and copper released by the liver into bile to provide protection from copper deficiency and toxicity.

Most copper is excreted in bile/feces, and a small amount excreted in urine. Urinary copper declines only when dietary copper intake is very low. A 24 hour urinary copper provides a screening for suspected cases off toxicity or copper deficiency anemia. Correlation was seen in Wilson's disease using first morning or 24 hour urine. Grains contain phytates that may inhibit copper absorption in the intestines.

Intestinal iron absorption is a copper-dependent process. Iron, vitamin C, zinc, lead poisoning, hemachromatosis, excessive soft drink ingestion, bariatric surgery and zinc containing denture creams adversely affect copper bioavailability.

Cadmium exposure may result in increased urine excretion of copper due to possible renal tubular damage.

Increased molybdenum intake may elevate urinary copper excretion. Serum and 24 – hour urine copper excretion were similar in long-term copper IUD users as in a control group that did not have an IUD.

Biochemical actions:

Copper is a cofactor for more than 20 enzymes, particularly those involved in cellular, respiration and energy, metabolism, neurotransmitter and hormone biosynthesis, iron, metabolism, gene, transcription, melanin formation, and antioxidant defense. Copper is also involved in blood, coagulation and blood pressure control, myelination and connective tissue cross-linking.

Ceruloplasmin carries the predominance of copper in the blood, so alterations in blood copper, likely reflect the amount of circulating ceruloplasmin. Plasma copper and ceruloplasmin can increase during an acute phase response to infection and inflammation, pregnancy, and other hormonal perturbations, some carcinogenic phenotypes, and smoking. Plasma copper may be elevated in the states, while tissue copper could be low. Low plasma, copper indicates physiological impairment.

Symptoms of imbalance:

Copper deficiency is associated with osteoporosis, hypochromic, microcytic, anemia, impaired cholesterol and glucose metabolism, cardiovascular disease, connective tissue abnormalities, CNS disorders, and impaired immune function. Reductions in plasma copper and ceruloplasmin activity are noted in severely copper deficient individuals.

Copper toxicity is rare due to adequate homeostatic control, however, an upper tolerable intake level of 10 mg per day has been established. Wilson's disease is an inherited disease that results from decreased biliary copper excretion due to biliary atresia or biliary cirrhosis. Signs and symptoms include jaundice and abnormal LFTs, ascites, Kayser-Fleischer rings and neurological and psychiatric symptoms.

Copper dyshomeostasis involving either deficiency or excess, has been implicated in Alzheimer's disease and cognitive decline.

What does it mean if your Copper result is too low?

Copper deficiency is associated with osteoporosis, hypochromic, microcytic, anemia, impaired cholesterol and glucose metabolism, cardiovascular disease, connective tissue abnormalities, CNS disorders, and impaired immune function. Reductions in plasma copper and ceruloplasmin activity are noted in severely copper deficient individuals.

Copper dyshomeostasis involving either deficiency or excess, has been implicated in Alzheimer's disease and cognitive decline.

What does it mean if your Copper result is too high?

Copper toxicity is rare due to adequate homeostatic control, however, an upper tolerable intake level of 10 mg per day has been established. Wilson's disease is an inherited disease that results from decreased biliary copper excretion due to biliary atresia or biliary cirrhosis. Signs and symptoms include jaundice and abnormal LFTs, ascites, Kayser-Fleischer rings and neurological and psychiatric symptoms.

Copper dyshomeostasis involving either deficiency or excess, has been implicated in Alzheimer's disease and cognitive decline.

10 000+ happy customers
100% satisfaction
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ customer support

Understand blood, stool, and urine medical results from all your laboratories.

Upload Your Personal Results

Upload Personal Results

For professional account plans go here

for professional account plans go here

Monthly plan

Annual plan

Own it for life

  • Subscription
  • Data entry service included

    Data entry service

    Our exclusive data entry service is a convenient way to get your results into your private dashboard. Simply attach an image or a file of your lab test results, and one of our qualified data entry team members will add the results for you. We support all sorts of files, whether PDFs, JPGs, or Excel. This service is excellent whether you have a lot of reports to upload or are too busy to do the data entry yourself.

  • Instant interpretation
  • Use free data entry form

    Free data entry form

    We strive to make the data entry process easy for you. Whether by offering dozens of templates to choose from that pre-populate the most popular laboratory panels or by giving you instant feedback on the entered values. Our data entry forms are an easy, fast, and convenient way to enter the reports yourself. There is no limit on how many lab reports you can upload.

  • 4000+ biomarkers explained
  • Nutrition recommendations
  • Cancel anytime

Complete

$15 /month

billed every month

  • monthly
  • $15 per report
  • ✓ Instant interpretations
  • ✓ 4000+ biomarkers explained
  • ✓ Nutrition recommendations
  • ✓ Free data entry form
  • ✓ Unlimited data
  • ✓ $15 data entry service
  • ✓ Cancel anytime

Most popular

Data entry included

Advanced

$79 /year

$6.60/month billed annually

  • yearly
  • 5 reports free
  • ✓ Instant interpretations
  • ✓ 4000+ biomarkers explained
  • ✓ Nutrition recommendations
  • ✓ We enter 5 reports for you
  • ✓ Yearly subscription
  • ✓ Cancel anytime

Data entry included

Unlimited

$250 /once

own it for life

  • pay once
  • 10 reports free
  • ✓ Instant interpretations
  • ✓ 4000+ biomarkers explained
  • ✓ Nutrition recommendations
  • ✓ We enter 10 reports for you
  • ✓ No subscription
  • ✓ Dedicated support
  • ✓ Unlimited access

Are You a Health Professional?

Get started with our professional plan

Welcome to Healthmatters Pro.

Save time on interpreting lab results with the largest database of biomarkers online. In-depth research on any test at your fingertips, all stored and tracked in one place. Learn more

Pro Monthly Plus

for health professionals

  • ✓ Track multiple clients results
  • ✓ No setup fees
  • ✓ No hidden costs
  • ✓ Instant interpretations
  • ✓ 4000+ biomarkers explained
  • ✓ Includes data entry service
  • ✓ Personal training and support
  • ✓ Cancel anytime

$75 per month

Use promo code to save 10% off any plan.


We implement proven measures to keep your data safe.

At HealthMatters, we're committed to maintaining the security and confidentiality of your personal information. We've put industry-leading security standards in place to help protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of the information under our control. We use procedural, physical, and electronic security methods designed to prevent unauthorized people from getting access to this information. Our internal code of conduct adds additional privacy protection. All data is backed up multiple times a day and encrypted using SSL certificates. See our Privacy Policy for more details.