Minerals
Coffee Masks Copper Deficiency & The New Multi
Coffee can temporarily mask copper deficiency, but long-term health requires proper nutrient intake rather than relying on stimulation.
Minerals
Coffee can temporarily mask copper deficiency, but long-term health requires proper nutrient intake rather than relying on stimulation.
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There are people who need their daily cups of coffee just to function normally. Ever notice that? The truth is: if you only function in the mornings «with coffee», you have a problem. If you only function with coffee, period, you have a problem. Then you should ask yourself whether something else might be wrong.
Because (coffee-)addiction is one thing. Physiological need is another. Let's think about Dr. Klevay. He was (or is?) the copper researcher in the world. Fifty years ago, he showed that you can massively increase cholesterol levels in rats by depriving the poor animals of copper. And that's why he's upset. He's upset that when looking at cardiovascular disease, so much focus goes on the roles of cholesterol, fats, even sugar – but not on micronutrient deficiencies, such as copper deficiency. According to [source no longer available]:
«Klevay recently published a paper showing the anatomical, chemical, and physiological similarities between copper-deficient animals and humans with heart disease. High cholesterol and glucose intolerance are known predictors of heart disease (and he showed in a 1984 paper that people with copper deficiency respond to elevated cholesterol levels, and in a 1986 paper that they respond with elevated glucose levels to a deficiency).»
He thus not only showed that copper deficiency raises blood sugar and cholesterol, but also impressively proved that copper deficiency leads to complex cardiovascular phenomena that closely resemble our cardiovascular diseases.
So why do we write this? Simple: Klevay believes that suboptimal copper intake is an epidemic of Western nations – and Switzerland is no exception – where diets tend to be copper-poor. He believes most people need much more copper in their food. And so we come to our topic. Because copper deficiency can very well be «masked» by coffee. Not really, of course, but it feels that way. We show you this across four points.
Okay, okay. Now you have our attention. Of course, that's a bit sensationalized. But: we all have certain peptides circulating in our blood that, for example, have calming and pain-relieving effects. Right now, especially. Because it feels so good, people inject heroin and so on. Same effect, just many times stronger. What hardly anyone knows: copper is the critical bottleneck in the formation of these substances because it's part of an enzyme that makes these «drug»-peptides. And what nobody knows, but everyone feels: [source no longer available]. Meaning: if your body lacks copper, fewer such drug-peptides are formed. Coffee seems to partially compensate for this. Aha.
It does, really. Coffee raises noradrenaline. That's a «good» stress hormone, a so-called catecholamine. It makes us fly. In World War II, that and several other such substances were increased with the help of Pervitin (methamphetamine) and company. Then soldiers could literally fly through the air for hours. Nicotine and caffeine are also our «favorite drugs» for this reason – because they give us «energy» in this way, or actually do. And again, nobody knows: copper is part of the enzyme responsible for noradrenaline formation. Little copper in the body = little noradrenaline in the body = less «energy». Here again: coffee compensates.
Yes. Iron is the most valuable, but at the same time most toxic element in the body. Without iron there's no life. And iron literally gives us life by being part of an enormous abundance of incredibly important enzymes. But: it's almost impossible to get too little iron from food. Well, unless you're vegan – then it's almost the norm. For everyone else it quickly becomes toxic. So much so that no one notices. Except perhaps that you «rust» a little (iron creates free radicals), have a bit less energy (iron inhibits mitochondrial function), and insulin doesn't work well (iron causes insulin resistance). Here's the point: copper protects against all these effects because copper, as part of various «ferroxidases», keeps iron mobile and «disarms» it. Coffee and caffeine do this too. [source no longer available], which locks away iron. Coffee compensates here too.
The substances in coffee crank up mitochondrial function. Pretty much all plant compounds can do that. Plus, coffee raises fatty acid and sugar concentration in the blood, so the cell gets more substrates to burn. All of this initially improves the cell's bioenergetics. We don't want to talk about the long-term effects right now. Moreover: coffee, as an adenosine receptor antagonist, directly inhibits the effect of «tiredness». That's how coffee makes «energy». Copper, on the other hand, is part of the mitochondrial respiratory chain. If the cell has too little copper, its energy content drops. This is why copper deficiency causes extreme energy deficiency. Secondarily also because iron overload occurs (see point 3). Coffee compensates for that.
The body is clever. It does what it can. If you don't give it copper and instead get it used to coffee, it will try to manage the problems with coffee's effects. Better than nothing (= no copper). But far from optimal. You should therefore always keep an eye on whether your own coffee consumption is somehow... just a nice stimulation or whether there's an also relevant physiological factor behind it – for example, a micronutrient deficiency.
