🟤 Copper
A trace metal that helps iron work and builds the fibers that hold you together.
🔬 The science, kept simple
You need only a pinch of copper, but that pinch does a lot: it helps your body absorb and move iron, powers the enzyme that cross-links collagen and elastin in skin, blood vessels, and bone, feeds the energy furnaces in every cell, and supplies part of the pigment in hair. Copper and zinc compete for absorption, so a heavy zinc supplement habit can quietly starve copper.
Why you need it: Iron that actually gets used, strong connective tissue and blood vessels, healthy nerves, and normal hair and skin pigment.
Daily target: About 900 mcg a day for adults.
📖 In Scripture
'A land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass' (Deuteronomy 8:9). The copper alloy of Scripture's laver and altar came from the same earth that stocks our nuts, seeds, and greens with it.
🥇 Best food sources, ranked
- Shiitake mushrooms ... about 650 mcg per half cup, cooked
- Cashews ... about 620 mcg per ounce
- Sesame seeds and tahini ... about 400 mcg per tablespoon
- Sunflower seeds ... about 520 mcg per ounce
- Lentils ... about 500 mcg per cup, cooked
- Chickpeas ... about 580 mcg per cup, cooked
- Avocado ... about 380 mcg per avocado
- Spinach ... about 310 mcg per cup, cooked
Figures are approximate, in the style of USDA FoodData Central; real foods vary with soil, variety, and cooking.
⚖️ Worth knowing
Deficiency is rare but shows up in people who take a lot of zinc or have had bariatric surgery. Excess from food is almost unheard of; copper supplements and copper-pipe water in some homes are the usual sources of too much.
Matters most for
Educational information, not medical advice. Talk with your doctor before supplements, especially with kidney, thyroid, or heart conditions or in pregnancy.