Copper

MEDICAL RESEARCH: “Copper Deficiency in Infants with Active Celiac Disease.”

Editor’s note: In this case report of infants with severe malabsorption from celiac disease, the treating physicians found copper deficiencies based on blood studies that showed severe low copper levels and white blood cell count.  Treatment required copper supplementation in addition to the gluten-free diet.  Normally, in the last few months of gestation, an infant  stores a large amount of copper in their liver.  This storage must last about 6 months because infants must derive their nourishment from copper-poor milk.  This case report shows dramatically the terrible effect of malabsorption coupled with a naturally occurring huge demand for copper that could not be satisfied through digestion. Read More »

Copper Malabsorption in Untreated Celiac Disease Common

 

Editor’s note:  

In this study, researchers investigating the absorption of copper in untreated patients who had damage to their duodenum found anemia in 3 out of 10 of these patients that was due to copper deficiency.  They gave all the study subjects a solution of copper to drink that was equal to a daily dose then tested their blood level.  Read More »

Understanding Copper Deficiency in Celiac Disease

 

Copper usually receives little coverage, but this unpretentious nutrient deserves center stage.  It is time for a serious role review.

Here are two reasons: First, deficiency of this trace mineral can debilitate and threaten our lives, and second, deficiency develops with increased frequency in those of us with celiac disease, unlike the general population.

Copper plays a critical role in the formation of a variety of proteins and enzymes involved in functions that keep us alive. Consequently, many disorders caused by copper deficiency stem from failure to adequately produce or release copper proteins and enzymes. Read More »