Copper is a nuanced mineral much like iron. Both are extremely important for our overall health, but we need to be using them properly in order to keep a proper balance in our bodies. Both minerals rely heavily on a protein called Ceruloplasmin (Cp). Ceruloplasmin is what transports copper around the body. This is what I mean when I say “bioavailable copper.” When copper is in this form, it is able to help with many important functions in the body:
When our bodies are not able to convert copper into Ceruloplasmin, it is considered biounavailable. This means it’s not in the usable form that allows it to perform all its essential functions I listed above. This presents two issues:
You can think about bioavailable copper or Ceruloplasmin as a copper ion that has been turned on and can now carry out its many important functions. What is responsible for how we make Ceruloplasmin? Cp is made in the liver and is stimulated by our thyroid and adrenals. T3, our active thyroid hormone, stimulates the liver to make Cp. Our adrenals also secrete a hormone called DHEA during the stress response. DHEA stimulates our liver to make Cp as well. This means we need well-functioning thyroid and adrenal glands in order to make Ceruloplasmin AKA bioavailable copper in the body. On top of this, we also need adequate vitamin A and vitamin C. Vitamin A takes copper and loads it into Ceruloplasmin. Vitamin C helps activate the cytochrome oxidase enzyme and supports our liver’s production of Ceruloplasmin.
How can we support a healthy thyroid and adrenal glands? Going back to the basics and eating enough food, balancing our meals, and making sure we get enough protein will be key. Protein is important for keeping blood sugar stable, which helps take stress off of your adrenals. These steps can seem very simple, but they are probably two things that I see people breeze over and what prevents them from feeling their best longterm. It can take time to figure out how much food is enough for you and how to consistently eat balanced meals. Not only can it take time to understand these things, it also takes time to implement habits longterm. I talk about how to know if you’re eating enough in this IG post.
One popular supplement that can make it difficult to increase Ceruloplasmin and support optimal copper levels is vitamin D. Excessive Vitamin D can actually deplete our liver stores of retinol (active for of vitamin A) in the liver. Remember, we need vitamin A to shuttle copper into Ceruloplasmin, so a decrease in this liver retinol will lead to a decrease in Ceruloplasmin production. This can lead to both copper deficiency-like symptoms (fatigue, anemia, high cholesterol, etc.) but also lead to copper getting out of balance since it’s staying stored and not being used properly. In the next section, we will focus on how this imbalance in copper can trickle down and impact the rest of our health.
One supplement that has been shown to improve how our livers metabolize copper is taurine. Taurine does a lot of cool things, but one thing it does it support bile acid production and flow. This is important for balancing copper for two reasons:
Poor bile production and flow will impact both estrogen and copper levels, not to mention our digestion and ability to absorb fats.
What Is Taurine? Taurine is a sulfur-containing amino acid that can be found in animal foods. Taurine is important for the following:
Taurine is a conditionally essential amino acid meaning that our bodies can make the amounts we need on a normal basis, but our needs increase under times of stress or illness. You can find taurine in all animal foods but it’s found in higher amounts in scallops, tuna, tilapia, turkey, octopus, chicken, seaweed, and beef. Taurine supplements can also be helpful for those that have high levels of biounavailable copper or need support with bile production and flow. You always want to talk with your doctor to see if a supplement is a good fit for you and go slow. Most people start at 250mg and slowly increase to 1-2g per day. Taurine can be relaxing, so a lot of my clients like taking it before bed. Thorne and Klaire Labs are both great brands. If you are in my Master Your Minerals course you can get these on Fullscript for a discounted price (although they are already very inexpensive).
When we have excess copper that is not in its usable form (Ceruloplasmin), it can actually lead to chronic stress and inflammation in the body and have a negative impact on many of systems. The first big impact that excess biounavailable copper will have is inflammation and estrogen dominance. As estrogen increases, this often drives of cortisol as well, which will deplete magnesium, potassium, sodium, and zinc. This then exhausts our adrenals and eventually deficiencies in those minerals and high levels of cortisol will lead to thyroid dysfunction as well. Calcium levels tend to increase at this stage if you are looking at a hair mineral test. This high calcium blocks the ability of thyroid hormone to get into the cell. As our adrenals become exhausted, we make less Ceruloplasmin. Remember at the beginning of this newsletter when I talked about how important our adrenals are for bioavailable copper? Well excess copper can also negatively impact those adrenals. The last big step is that iron can get out of balance because we aren’t making enough Ceruloplasmin in order to fuel the iron recycling system. This can lead to more inflammation, gut issues, and hormonal concerns.
As you can see, copper is essential for making energy and supports our metabolism, but we want to make sure we can actually use it. This is why I don’t recommend blindly taking copper supplements. Most people need to focus on vitamins A and C and support their thyroid in order to use the copper they already have.
I have a great podcast episode that dives even deeper into copper which you can find here if you want to learn more!
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