Copper increases your energy level by helping in effective iron absorption. It also helps the color of your hair and skin by making the amino acid tyrosine usable so it can work as a pigmenting factor. Copper is essential for your body's use of vitamin C. It also is vital for transforming your body's iron into hemoglobin. Too little and too much copper have a negative effect on your immune system, making you more prone to infections. Your thyroid gland must have just the right balance of copper to properly secrete hormones.

Other Benefits:

• In proper balance with zinc, helps protect your heart by keeping HDL, or good cholesterol, high.
• May extend life by protecting against heart disease.
• Helps keep tissues oxygen-rich.

Possible Signs of Deficiency:

• Anemia with weakness
• Labored breathing
• Skin sores
• Puffiness or swelling around ankles and wrists
• Skin problems, including eczema
• Frequent infections and fatigue
• Loss of bone mass, and osteoporosis
• Dietary levels are often far below the minimal RDA levels
• Chronic deficiencies may contribute to higher cancer rate, increased cell damage and aging, and even a shorter lifespan.
• Pregnant women need supplements because their bodies can't retain copper as well as they should.
• Frequent miscarriages early in pregnancy may be due to very low copper levels.

Sources:

• Calf and beef liver
• Dried beans
• Peas
• Shrimp
• Oysters and most seafood
• Whole wheat
• Prunes
• Margarine
• Dark chocolate
• Nuts
• Fruits
• Many other unprocessed foods

RDA: None

Optimal Level: Dietary sources

Maximum: 75 mg

Signs of Toxicity:

• High levels of copper have been detected in the blood of victims of several kinds of malignancy, including tumors of: the;
  • Digestive system,
  • Lung,
  • Breast,
  • Hodgkin's disease,
  • Systemic cancers like:
    • Leukemia
    • Lymphoma
    • Multiple Myeloma
• Researchers don't know if it is a cause or a consequence.