Benefits of Copper

Since primeval times, Copper (Cu) has played a vital role in ensuring the healthy existence of man. It is one of the nine (9) minerals that are acknowledged as necessary nutrients for man, and it is a key player in several physiological processes in mostly all human tissues.

Do you know copper has numerous health benefits? Yes! There are quite a number of ways copper can benefit you.

Some of the benefits include:

1. Helps form Collagen
2. Improve wound healing
3. Anti-inflammatory use of Copper
4. Formation of Red blood cells
5. Antimicrobial use of Copper

1. Helps form Collagen:

You must have heard from different sources that collagen is the most copious protein in the human body. Well, if you haven’t, now you know! Collagen is a crucial infrastructure for the skin, available in skin blood, cartilage, ligaments, bones, and muscles. It may also interest you to know that the human body produces collagen on a steady basis, but this rate reduces according to one’s age. However, the good news is; copper helps form collagen, therefore making it possible for you to stay forever young.

Copper is fundamental in the production of collagen, which has been said to be the groundwork of healthy skin, connective tissues (like the tissues found in joints) and bones.

Collagen is an intricate fibrous protein and the most abundant protein (National Centre for Biotechnology Information). Several collagen molecules bond to form long, thin strands referred to as ‘fibrils.’ A support structure is formed by these strands when they join together that helps your skin stay resilient with stretching, permitting you to get in shape.

Summarily, what collagen does is to keep you youthful, make your skin firm, and keep you glowing, and this is one of the benefits of copper.

2. Improve wound healing:

Copper helps to improve the well-being of the skin since including wound healing. This is possible because copper possesses two (2) major components that make it an exceptional and dynamic element which is used in skin products. In simple words, this informs us that copper can serve medicinal purposes. To achieve this, copper oxide has been introduced into polymeric products (for example; nylon and polyester). These copper oxide particles
also feature in products like socks, for the cure and prevention of foot infection such as fungal infections; in pillowcases, which helps to lessen wrinkles and wound dressing that reduce contamination and boost wound healing.

This progress over the years has made copper be considered as one of the most effective nutrients for improving the rate of wound healing. Copper strengthens the organs of the body; as a result, giving a man a better overall defense, moreover, the consumption of copper-rich food such as liver, dark chocolate, sesame seed, and oyster can better engage the immune system, resulting in speedier response to illness and injury.

3. Anti-inflammatory use of Copper:

The anti-inflammatory role of copper also features as one of the notable benefits of copper.

It is noteworthy to mention that Ceruloplasmin act as an acute reactive protein to stress and trauma conditions; as a result, high copper concentrations have been found in reaction to inflammation, infections and a number of chronic diseases such as arthritis. Serum copper levels are higher than normal in varied inflammatory disease in humans (Lewis, 1984). The higher levels of ceruloplasmin are responsible for the increased serum copper in the previous conditions. Moreover, the anti-inflammatory results of copper, therefore, become evident in humans (Lewis, 1984).

In other words, Copper has anti-inflammatory feature and has revealed a benefit for reducing Alzheimer’s disease and heart diseases, serving as a relief from inflamed joints.

Distinctly and for the record, the biochemical action of Copper complexes with
non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) has been studied (Weder et al., 2002), showing enhanced anti-inflammatory activities as well as reduced side effects.

4. Formation of Red blood-cells:

In the human body, copper is a part of the many metalloenzymes which supports in the formation of heme molecule, which later produces Haemoglobin, which is the main functional component of red blood cells. Therefore it is important to avoid severe copper deficiency within the body system. This is because a more severe copper deficiency can cause anemia (instigated by deficiency in red blood cells) from the absence of iron mobilization in the body for red blood cell production. Largely, the function of copper in metabolism is to support in energy creation, iron metabolic rate, and as a compound for enzymes.

The bottom line is that copper also helps in the production of red blood cells, which aids the process, ensuring smooth carriage of oxygen throughout the body system and boost one’s immunity.

5. Antimicrobial use of Copper:

To conclude, Copper possesses powerful anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties that can easily constrain the tumor of supergerms like fungi and other detrimental bacterial strains.

As a matter of fact, for over 10years, the anti-microbial use of copper has been tested experimentally at different levels in the healthcare environment, and it has recorded success. Also, It has been proved beyond a reasonable doubt that ordinarily storing water for about eight (8) hours in a copper jug can make the water safe to drink. In the same light, the transmission of infections has been reduced to the barest minimum through the installation of anti-microbial copper in hospital intensive care divisions and civic buildings as a substitute for stainless steel. Reports of hospital trials employing copper alloy touch surfaces revealed that the overall numbers of viable bacteria recovered were 66-99% lower than those secluded from their control equivalents (Caser et al., 2010; Mikolay et al., 2010). Furthermore, regarding food consumption, since the food production and process can be unceasingly confronted by microbe that can cause decay of food and disease outburst among consumers, Copper blends could be helpful for improved food safety by reducing the microbial load in the food production and processing environment, also, copper containing sanitizers and bug repellent can be used in food production and health environs.

The point is, copper has an indispensable role in you staying healthy, and it is advisable to integrate copper into your diet and life.

Say no to Copper deficiency!

References

Caser, A. et al., 2010. Role of Copper in reducing hospital environment contamination. J Hosp Inf, Volume 74, pp. 72-77.
Lewis, A. J., 1984. The role of copper in inflammatory disorders. Agents and Actions, Volume 55-6, pp. 513-519.
Mikolay, A. et al., 2010. Survival of bacterial on metallic copper surfaces in a hospital trial. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol, Volume 87, pp. 1875-1879.
Weder, J. E., Dillon, C. T. & Hambley, 2002. Copper complexes of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: an opportunity yet to be realized. Coordination Chemistry Reviews, 232(1-3), pp. 95-126.