Aneurysms, herniated discs, hemorrhoids, high cholesterol, and emphysema are among the most destructive, painful, and numerous diseases in our society. Slipped or herniated discs are estimated to cost 200 billion dollars directly and indirectly each year in the USA alone [futuremedicine.com/doi/pdf/... ]. Four to six of 100 Americans autopsied died of a ruptured aneurysm. 3.6 to 6 percent of those examined had non ruptured brain aneurysms [Renkel]. Each year, 16,000 Americans die due to a ruptured aortic aneurysm. Of the 200,000 strokes that occur each year in the USA, 20% are aneurysms in the brain. I suspect that copper deficiency status is the most important parameter affecting them. For instance, aneurysms are produced in turkeys by depleting copper [Guenther]. Copper deficiency causes blood vessels to become weak and is probably the chief cause of hemorrhoids and varicose veins. Restoring copper during those diseases is imperative.
Therefore increasing copper intake should have a dramatic effect on our collective health. Copper should always be made adequate even when an operation is in order.
That copper is below optimum in a large number of people is virtually certain from current evidence. Polish people are said to average 30% below the RDR (recommended daily requirement) from food [Pietruska] and 70% of Japanese are below the MDR (minimum daily requirement) [Otsuki]. Keep in mind that the MDR is designated too low to start with, as is the RDR. Young adult American women average 1.16 mg per day [Murphy] and men about 1.5. The difference between the sexes is no doubt primarily due to women eating less food than men. People in Belgium average 1.5 +/- 0.4 mg per day [springerlink.com/content/m5... ]. Adolescent males, both incarcerated and free, are below the RDA [Gans] which has been set at 2.0 but should be at least 3.0. Porto Rican school lunches are below the federal RDR [Preston]. Hemodialysis patients have low copper and zinc serum levels [Komindr]. Even so, a full blown copper deficiency takes several months to develop in people with an injured digestive system, much longer than for zinc [nphp.gov.au/enhealth/counci... (p68)]. This is because the liver stores large amounts of copper. People vary considerably in their genetic makeup, and there are several dozen enzymes and hormones containing or affecting copper, so it should not be surprising that the symptoms of the diseases above should vary greatly or that "spontaneous" remissions are possible. When you further consider that other nutrients and circumstances also vary enormously, at least for those eating processed food, it is not safe to assume that copper is not deficient because all the symptoms are not present. Any symptom should trigger consideration of increased intake from some source. Emphysema [Soskel], premature gray hair [Wu], blood clotting [Milne 1896], slow healing bone breaks [Dolwet], diabetes enhancement [Cohen 1982] and anemia are such symptoms. The median layer of the blood vessel (where the elastin is) is thinner from a deficiency but its elastin copper content is the same as normal men. The overall thickness is not different [Senapati, et al]. Elastin is about as flexible as a rubber band and can stretch to two times its length [Carnes 1977]. The 39 or more different kinds of collagen are about 1000 times stiffer. A healthy artery requires about 1000 mm of mercury or 10 times the normal mean blood pressure in order to rupture [Shadwick]. Therefore keeping strength of arteries up would seem to be even more important than keeping blood pressure down so far as arteries are concerned, although not necessarily so far as kidney glomeruli are concerned. However a copper deficiency coupled with high sodium (or high chloride?) causes disruption of the glomeruli basement membrane resulting in acute kidney failure [Moore].
Copper nutrition is very important in herniated discs, hemorrhoids and aneurisms because copper is essential for lysyl oxidase, which enzyme cross links the elastin tissue. Cross linking is especially crucial for elastin tissue because elastin gets all of its strength from cross linking. The strength of collagen is not as badly affected because of the long length of collagen molecules. However inadequately cross linked collagen is subject to creep.
The articles starting at; charles_w.tripod.com/copper... would be useful to you, especially copper from food in charles_w.tripod.com/copper... . You may see the references in these articles in charles_w.tripod.com/copper... . There is also a copper and zinc table at; members.tripod.com/~charles... expressed as weight per calorie, the most useful designation.
There are many less lost time accidents in copper producing industries. I am convinced that this is because of copper's role as part of the enzyme that cross links connective tissue. So, copper nutrition is important for anyone considering or preventing accidental injury or even treating it after the fact.
A copper deficiency also produces high cholesterol [Klevay 1978] [Reiser]. Copper supplements would be infinitely superior to and safer than statin drugs [health-heart.org/causes.htm ] [thincs.org/unpublic.htm ] for lowering cholesterol or eating low cholesterol food [Couzin]. However adding copper without zinc can actually make that situation worse [Festa]. Copper is also essential for an adequate immune system [Prohaska 1981] [Percival]. Premature babies can have too little copper. However babies should be supplemented with extreme care because they can not excrete copper, which is excreted with the bile in adults. This care includes not making formula out of water from copper pipes.
Copper combined with aspirin has been shown to enhance aspirin’s anti inflammatory action against inflammation caused by some poisons [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/176... ].
REFERENCES For references see [ charles_w.tripod.com/copper... ].
Sincerely, Charles Weber isoptera@att.net
PS Dr. Rastmanesh, a nutritionist from Iran, would like to secure a
position in an English speaking university because of religious or
political problems. He has an impressive CV. If you know of an opening
I will send you his CV. It would be a travesty to leave that fine scientist in
that criminal country after he got rid of rheumatoid arthritis for us.
Statins in the press
I have FH and am in a quandary regarding diet following recent revelation that there's no link between high cholesterol & heart disease?!
