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Cardiovascular health and circulation
Copper is heavily involved in the production of hemoglobin. It is also involved in the production of colagen, the protein responsible for the integrity of bones, cartilage, skin tendons and elastin, a major component of large blood vessels.
Copper is essential to life. Plants growing in soil containing too little copper fail to thrive and animals that graze on plants that have too little copper, or laboratory animals fed diets restricted in copper become ill and may die, usually of damage to the heart and blood vessels. Copper's importance to human health is obvious from the severe health consequences in malnourished infants supported only on cows' milk (which is low in copper); in patients receiving intravenous feeding with copper inadvertently omitted; and in people who have a hereditary inability to absorb and metabolize copper. Fortunately, such severe deficiency is rare among people today because we eat such a varied diet but some researchers and health professionals hold that mild copper deficiency is common and may contribute to diseases of aging, such as coronary heart disease.
The biochemical defects of copper deficiency are widespread, affecting functions of the cardiovascular, nervous and immune systems, as well as the lung, thyroid, pancreas and kidney. However the cardiovascular system -- heart, blood and blood vessels -- seem to be particularly vulnerable to copper deficiency. In studies many aspects of the function of the heart and circulation have been adversely affected. For instance copper-deficient diets alter the heart's electrical rhythm and this impairs the heart's ability to pump blood. Further, studies with laboratory animals indicate that hearts don't contract as strongly during copper deficiency, further reducing their pumping ability. Also, recent studies indicate that copper deficiency reduces the ability of the heart to use energy, which may contribute to reduced heart function.
Dosage: A 10 drop serving supplies 3 mg of Copper. A convenient 1.67 fl oz. (50ml) bottle provides a 110 day supply.
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