Things to know about copper metabolism disorders

Have you heard of copper metabolism disorder? It is a genetic disorder in which the body is unable to get rid of excess copper and it accumulates in the body, causing danger to our health.

Under normal health conditions, the liver filters excess copper and passes it into bile - a fluid secreted by the liver, which functions to detoxify the body through the digestive tract.

If the body has a copper metabolism disorder, the liver will not filter copper and it will accumulate in various organs of the body. Too much copper in the body can cause a life-threatening situation in the long run.

What causes copper metabolism disorders?

Copper metabolism disorder is caused by an autosomal recessive gene mutation. In this disorder, a child inherits the gene mutation from each parent and has a 25 percent chance of developing the disorder.

If only one parent has the mutated gene, the children will not have the disease but may inherit one mutated copy.

Foods to avoid when suffering from copper metabolism disorders

When you have a copper metabolism disorder, you need to be careful when consuming copper-rich foods, because copper can be transported to the liver and your overall health will be threatened. Below are 5 copper-rich foods that people with copper metabolism disorders absolutely should not eat.

Nuts:Nuts like peanuts, cashews, almonds… are a healthy food choice under normal health conditions; but if you have a copper metabolism disorder then you should avoid using them, because 100 grams of mixed nuts have 1.9 mg of copper.

Shellfish:Shellfish such as crab, lobster, squid... have high copper content (100 grams of cooked lobster has nearly 2 grams of copper) and this is extremely bad for people with copper metabolism disorders.

Red meat:Red meat such as lamb, pork or beef is also not a good choice for people with copper metabolism disorders because of its high copper content. About 30 grams of cooked beef has about 4 mg of copper.

Mushroom:100 grams of mushrooms contain 0.4-0.5 mg of copper, so people with copper metabolism disorders should limit eating this food, or better yet, not eat it at all.

Chocolate:In addition to cocoa, chocolate also has a high copper content and is therefore not recommended for people with copper metabolism disorders. Just 85 grams of chocolate has about 0.75mg of copper, while a healthy person is recommended to consume only 80% of this amount.

Things to note

Avoid drinking water high in copper. Choose demineralized and distilled water, which contains only about 1 mg of copper per liter.

Avoid alcohol as people with copper metabolism disorders already have a bad liver. Alcohol consumption will make this condition worse.

Avoid using copper utensils for cooking.

Consult a qualified nutritionist to help control copper levels in your diet.

According to Labor