Copper is one of the indispensable metal elements for human health. These elements, such as amino acids, fatty acids and vitamins, are necessary for human metabolism. It is worth noting that the human body itself cannot produce copper, so the human diet must provide enough copper to ensure normal copper intake.
How much copper is there in the human body?
The copper content of adults is about per kilogram of body weight 1.4-2. 1 mg. Therefore, a healthy person weighing 60 kg should contain about 0. 1 g copper. Although this amount is small, it is essential to maintain human health.
What is the function of copper in human body?
Copper in human body combines with some protein to produce enzymes, which can be used as a catalyst to help realize a series of functions of human body. Some enzymes provide energy for biochemical reactions in vivo, while others participate in the formation and transformation of skin pigments. Other enzymes can help to form cross-linking between collagen and elastin, thus maintaining or repairing the connection between cells and tissues. This is especially important for the heart and arteries. The results show that copper deficiency is an important factor leading to coronary heart disease.
Do we have enough copper?
Until recently, the general view was that most people could get a proper amount of copper. However, the latest research shows that this is not the case. For example, Britain and the United States have analyzed the metal content of many typical catering recipes. The survey results show that only 25% of the daily copper intake of American residents has reached the level that the Food and Nutrition Committee of the National Academy of Sciences considers appropriate. The typical American daily diet can only provide half of this level, while many industrialized countries only provide 40% of this recommended standard. In Britain, the current recommended value of copper intake is 0.4 mg/day (1-3-year-old baby) to 1.2 mg/day (adult). In addition, the latest research also believes that the nutritional structure of catering with copper content below 1mg/ day is not suitable for adults.
Is there too much copper in human body?
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Management Committee tend to recommend that the average copper intake of adult males should not exceed12mg/day, and that of adult females should not exceed10mg/day. This standard is based on the study of a group of people in a specific population. The above values are considered to be suitable for everyone's intake, and biochemical data show that people have the least response. Excessive copper retention in Indian children with chronic interstitial liver disease or some hereditary diseases (such as Wilson's disease) is caused by liver function damage, which often leads to fatal consequences. The symptoms of acute copper poisoning are nausea, vomiting, abdominal and muscle pain. Excessive copper in the body can be eliminated by using special chelating agents or taking large doses of zinc.
Which foods contain more copper?
Many foods are rich in copper. These foods include drupes (especially Brazil nuts and cashews), seeds (especially sunflower seeds), chickpeas, livers and oysters. Common foods such as cereals, meat and fish generally contain copper. As long as the diet is balanced, it can provide 50% of people's daily copper intake. For British residents, they also get copper supplements from drinking water, because drinking water pipes are copper pipes, and a small amount of copper directly enters the water. However, for most areas, the copper content in drinking water is not enough to fully provide the daily copper intake of human body. In particular, many drinking water filters claim to filter out metal elements, including copper, which is an indispensable basic element for human body. This is not necessarily a good thing.
Application of copper in medicine
As a medicine, copper has a history of thousands of years, and its applications include treating chest trauma and purifying drinking water. In recent years, studies have pointed out that copper can effectively help inhibit inflammation of arthritis and other diseases. The development of copper-containing drugs for anti-ulcer and anti-inflammation is under way, and they can be used in radiation medicine and the treatment of spasms and epilepsy. At present, there is not enough epidemiological evidence to prove that copper can prevent arthritis, but many clinical trials have proved that the use of copper bracelets can indeed alleviate arthritis.
Is copper poisonous?
People will be poisoned if they accidentally drink copper nitrate or copper sulfate solution. Therefore, attention should be paid to these plans when they are placed. Besides, copper rarely causes trouble. These solutions, as well as organic salts of copper, are emetics. Occasionally, if you take a large dose by mistake, you will generally spit it out. There are few cases of chronic poisoning caused by excessive copper in human body, and only a few examples are that liver diseases lead to excessive retention of copper in human body. Healthy people's livers excrete extremely energetic copper. Therefore, there are no cases of chronic copper poisoning.
Copper and human health
Copper is one of the special trace elements indispensable to human health. In order to ensure some normal functions of human body, people's daily diet structure must provide enough copper. The normal development and growth of animals and plants also need to obtain a certain amount of copper, which is very beneficial for human beings to obtain copper through the food chain. Copper exists in a variety of foods. Generally speaking, a scientific and reasonable diet can provide people with the copper they need every day without extra supplement. However, it should be pointed out that changes in diet structure, such as when some people restrict certain foods for medical reasons, may lead to insufficient copper intake.