FAT, FRUSTRATED, FORTY, AND FEMALE: ZINC DEFICIENCY AND COPPER TOXICITY
Minerals and other micronutrients aren't often brought into a discussion on weight loss, but they certainly should be. Nutritional balance between the micronutrients is the single most important factor in restoring and building health. Maintaining ideal weight is just one aspect of being healthy, but deficiencies or toxicities in one or more nutrients will make it difficult to meet your weight goals.
There are two minerals that both oppose and complement the actions of each another. When they are unbalanced, as they often are in women, the result can be impaired weight control. These two minerals are copper and zinc.
We don't discuss copper very often, and yet copper toxicity, particularly when accompanied by zinc deficiency, can significantly alter a woman's ability to maintain her weight. Nutritionists encounter many clients, particularly women and children, with inadequate levels of zinc and excessive levels of copper.
Copper performs many important functions in the body, such as taking part in certain immune functions and building strong arteries. The problem is not copper itself; the problem is excess copper in relation to zinc. Food is perfectly balanced between these two minerals in about an 8:1 ratio. If diet were our only source of copper, the balance between these minerals would probably not be an issue.
Unfortunately, we're getting copper from other sources. Copper is added to animal feeds and sprayed on vegetables and grains to help prevent fungal and algae growth. Copper pipes are now used in most newer homes. Copper is used in many dental appliances, and sometimes in swimming pools to purify the water. Many women have been fitted with copper IUDs for birth control purposes. Commonly used prescription medications, like certain sedatives, tranquilizers, and psychotropics such as Thorazine, Librium, Tofranil, and Miltown, to name a few, can contribute to copper toxicity. Deficiencies in other important nutrients, such as the  complex and iron, also lead to elevated levels of copper.
Much of this excess copper would be excreted out of the body if the diet were adequate in zinc. Over the past several decades, dietary patterns and soil conditions have dropped zinc consumption down to less than half of what it should be. Many young women and children consume virtually no zinc at all in their diets, leaving them particularly vulnerable to copper toxicity.
Copper toxicity is known to suppress thyroid function in susceptible individuals through a number of mechanisms, but primarily by influencing two other critical hormones: insulin and estrogen.
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