Dangerous in Wilson’s disease
Copper can be found in coins, musical instruments and the overhead wires of trains. But did you know that it is also in food? Your body needs just a little bit. If you have Wilson’s disease, it will actually affect you.
Like chromium and zinc, copper is a so-called trace element. Trace elements are minerals, but minerals of which you only need a very small amount. Copper plays a role in the formation of connective tissue, bones and pigment. In addition, it is important for a good immune system, energy, blood clotting and oxygen transport through the body.
Vegetables, fruit, cocoa, grain products, organ meats, sea fish, shellfish and nuts all contain copper.
Copper deficiency
Adults need 1.5 milligrams of copper daily, pregnant women a little more. There is actually no copper deficiency in the Netherlands. The risk of deficiency is greater in newborn and preterm infants and children who have been malnourished. And if you take in more iron, zinc and vitamin C than is in the normal diet, your body absorbs less good copper.
With a severe copper deficiency, you can suffer from anemia and osteoporosis. The immune system also works less well.
Maximum dose
According to the Health Council, the maximum safe dose for adults is 5 milligrams of copper per day. The chance that you ingest too much copper through food is small. The liver ensures that superfluous copper is excreted.
The cause of an excess of copper is usually contamination of foodstuffs. Excessive copper can lead to irritated intestinal and mucous membranes, making you nauseous, vomiting or diarrhoea.
Wilson’s disease
People who have Wilson’s disease do get sick from copper. In this hereditary metabolic disease, the removal of copper does not work properly. They lack an enzyme that causes the copper to accumulate in the liver and, at a later stage, also in the brain. This can lead to all kinds of complaints that have to do with the liver and/or the brain. For example, jaundice, liver inflammation, anemia, liver cirrhosis, muscle cramps, speech difficulties, behavioral changes and so on. One of the most striking features of copper storage disease is a brown-green ring in the cornea of the eyes.
If you have Wilson’s disease, you should not eat copper-rich foods and you will also need medications that help to eliminate copper. If the liver is irreparably damaged, you may even need a liver transplant.
