Wilson's Disease: An Allergy to Copper
When a purchase or referral is made from an advertisement on this website a commission or referral payment is made to Lorelei Cohen.
Metals are not something which our body usually needs but copper is one of the few metals which our body does require to maintain optimum health.
Like all the other little components that come together to give our life balance, the key to good health lies in never having too much, or too little of this essential metal within us. Copper (cu) is one of the basic metal elements within our environment and it is an essential element for human immune system health. As with most substances which we ingest things can go wrong and initiate an allergy. Copper allergies are not common but they do occur. Copper is one of a few metals required by the human body. It is present in most plants and animals so a proper balance of this metal is essential for maintaining the good health of these living systems. When copper is ingested it travels mainly through the blood. It is absorbed within the gut then transported from there to the liver where it is released into bile. From there it can be excreted from the body. While in the body copper plays a key role in the absorption of nutrients and electron transference. The human body does not synthesize copper so it must be replenished within the human system on a regular basis. This is the reasoning why it is so vitally important for us to insure that we have sufficient amounts of this essential element in our diets. Elements from Copper Cookware Can Enter Into Food and Liquid as They Cook
Copper, also known as the basic element Cu, is a metal which aids the body in absorbing the vitamins and minerals such as zinc and iron into it. It also aides in the functioning of biological enzymes, electron transfers, and the formulation of red blood cells within the body. Copper is as essential to our overall health as are the other vitamins and minerals we consume.
Just as it is important to have an adequate supply of copper in our body so too is it important to not have an excess of this metal to prevent an allergic reaction from occurring. Too much copper will cause a severe imbalance of vitamins into the body. An insufficient absorption of folic acid, zinc, vitamin C and other important vitamins and minerals may occur. The metal settles in the liver and as the toxic effect increases the overabundance of copper will move into other key organs within the body. Disability and eventually death can occur. Thirty grams of copper sulphate is sufficient to be a potentially lethal dose in humans. Sources of copper are multivitamins, water from copper pipes, cooking with copper cookware, drugs which may cause the liver to store copper, and foods such as cashew and brazil nuts, poppy seeds, sunflower seeds, organ meats, liver, oysters, chick peas, wheat, corn, soybeans, and chocolate. Symptoms of an Intolerance
Symptoms of an allergy or poisoning may include green hair discolouration, metallic taste, nausea, circulatory problems, chills, convulsions, anemia, headaches, bloody or blue in colour diarrhea, fever, liver failure, arthritic symptoms, muscle aches, difficulty urinating, yellow eyes, yellow skin, or vomiting.
Copper poisoning usually occurs from a gradual buildup within the body of this metal which slowly poisons the living system. A toxic intolerance to copper is extremely rare. If you do believe that you are suffering from a reaction this form of toxicity can be determined by a hair mineral analysis. A study of thirty-seven patients who had used copper Inter Uterine Devices (IUD), and who showed negative health symptoms, were tested for allergies to copper, nickel and cobalt. Four of these individuals were found to be allergic to nickel, one to cobalt, and none to copper. This study shed light on the fact that it is generally an intolerance to other elements, or components, rather than copper which are more likely to be the cause of health problems in individuals. Wilson's Disease
The chief cause of an intolerance to copper is Wilson's disease which is an inherited illness. Those individuals who suffer from Wilson's disease are not able to secrete copper from their body so the metal stays within the liver. If left untreated this will cause deadly liver and brain damage to develop.
Other copper allergies are very rare but when they do happen it is for basically the same reasons as other food allergies occur. What cause allergies to copper to occur is basically either too much or too little copper in the body. Generally allergies to copper occur when too much copper is ingested, or when the body has problems excreting this metal, and this causes metal poisoning to occur. If you are suffering from the symptoms of an allergy then you should be seriously looking into removing the offending substance or food product from your lifestyle. |
Hi I'm Lorelei. I hope you enjoy your visit to my site.
Related Articles
|
