Health benefits of copper
Human body cannot synthesize copper, that’s why it is important to make copper available to human body. It is a metallic element and it is necessary for the human health. In a human body there is present 1.4-2.1 mg of copper /kg of body weight. Most of the copper is present in liver, heart, brain, kidney and skeletal muscles.
Copper provides energy for most of the biochemical reactions.it pools with certain proteins which act as catalyst to perform different body functions. It is also helpful in making of collagen n elastin and preservations and sustaining connective tissues.
In case of copper deficiency you may suffer from osteoporosis, anemia, joint pain, low immunity and no absorption of iron in body. Alternatively an excess of copper in body may also be poisonous and it may cause diarrhea, vomiting, depression, hypertension, insomnia, cramps and other disorders. Although acute and chronic copper poisoning incident are rare. You have to give your hair sample at lab to check the copper level in the body.
Top 15 copper rich foods
1. Herbs and spices
There are different herbs and spices in which you can get significant amount of copper. There use in your daily routine can help your body to get rid of copper deficiency. Spices which are good source of copper includes celery seeds, cloves, cumin, saffron, spearmint, coriander leaf, mustard, chili powder, dill, mace, curry powder and onion powder. Some dried herbs like tarragon, thyme, marjoram and chervil also have some sort of copper in it. In chart the presence of copper per 100g of source is given.
Source Copper in 100g
Celery seed 1.4 mg
Cumin 0.9 mg
Chili powder 0.4 mg
Mustard 0.4 mg
Saffron 0.3 mg
Onion powder 0.2 mg
Coriander leaf 0.2 mg
Spearmint 0.2 mg
2. Sun dried tomatoes
Sun dried tomatoes are very well known for the copper content in it. They also provide human body iron and potassium with the copper. In 100g of sun dried tomatoes there are present 1.4 mg of copper. You can have them in pizza, sauces, salads and in different delicious recipes.
Useful information. Since the margin between the requirement and the level of toxicity of this essential mineral is very narrow; a word about excess of it in the diet is useful as well. Copper tubing used in hot water supplies is know to be a dangerous source. In such systems, drinking hot water should be eliminated due to v. high levels of copper contamination. Thanks.