The Essential Mineral Your Immune System is Craving

I’m Brandon Wilson. I am constantly working toward improving my mind, body, and spirit using various ancient techniques and cutting-edge biohacking tools and devices. I want to be healthy, but not at the expense of being happy. This simple idea is what it means to be wellthy.

First time reading? Let’s get you in the club.

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It’s that time of the year in the Northern Hemisphere when people are more likely to get sick. Don’t forget the rule of three sneezes. If someone sneezes once, it's no big deal. If someone sneezes twice, now you’re on notice. You might raise an eyebrow and start to plan an exit strategy. If someone sneezes three times in rapid succession, it’s time to head for the hills. After all, you might end up with Everyone’s Favorite Virus™️.

One of the essential trace minerals that doesn’t get enough attention is copper. What do you think of when you hear the word copper? Copper pipes, pennies (although modern pennies are about 98% zinc and 2% copper), and maybe that last Moscow Mule you had. You may not have given much thought to copper, but it’s worth paying more attention, considering how essential it is for many body functions.

Medicinal use of copper dates back hundreds of years. The Edwin Smith Papyrus, an ancient Egyptian medical text from 1600 B.C., contains one of the earliest references to copper health applications.¹ The Greek physician and “Father of Modern Medicine” Hippocrates mentioned copper in writings from the 4th century B.C.² In ancient India, drinking water was stored in copper vessels to balance the body’s doshas and improve immunity, digestion, and overall health. Traditional Chinese Medicine incorporated copper into preparations for detoxification and to combat infections. For centuries, copper bracelets and amulets have been worn to relieve joint pain and arthritis-related inflammation. Clearly, copper must play a vital role in our biology.

Copper’s Role in the Body

• Essential cofactor for enzymes involved in immune system function

• Necessary for producing T-cells and phagocytes

• Modulates cytokine production to prevent excess inflammation

• Protects against allergies and histamine intolerance

• Supports iron mobilization and oxygen delivery to tissues

• Contributes to the integrity of the skin and mucous membranes

• Antimicrobial—can kill bacteria, viruses, and fungi

• Copper ions bind to the tripeptide glycine, histidine, and lysine to form GHK-Cu. This peptide has a host of anti-aging benefits, not least of which is stimulating stem cells.³

Per the National Institutes of Health, the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for adults is 900 mcg of copper daily.⁴ While I did not find evidence of a widespread copper deficiency across populations, some groups should pay attention to copper intake. One study of 200 adults and children with Celiac disease found that 15% of participants had a copper deficiency.⁵ A common cause of copper deficiency is consuming too much zinc; excess zinc depletes copper from the body. Zinc is in most multivitamin and mineral supplements and virtually all immune-supporting supplements. The established upper limit for zinc is 40 mg daily for adults.

Signs of Copper Deficiency

• Poor wound healing

• Reduced resistance to infection

• Reduced energy

• Brain fog

• Low libido

• Iron malabsorption, which could lead to anemia

• Osteoporosis

• Decreased skin pigmentation

• Hair thinning or graying

Tips for Maintaining Adequate Copper Intake

Best food sources for copper

• Shellfish such as oysters, crab, and lobster

• Beef liver

• Shiitake mushrooms

• Potatoes

• Avocados

• Dark chocolate

• Nuts and seeds, particularly sunflower and sesame seeds, cashews, and almonds

• Legumes such as white, pinto, and garbanzo beans and sprouted lentils

• Leafy greens

Copper Supplements

• Sovereign Copper liquid supplement - Bioactive Copper I and Copper II.

• Bulletproof Zinc + Copper

• Mitolife Zinc Plus Copper

• MitoSynergy Cunermuspir - Anti-aging version of copper bound to niacin that increases blood flow.

I hope you now have an appreciation for copper and its many health benefits. The human body is a marvelous machine, and your best defense against pathogens is to ensure you have a robust immune system.

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The Daily Habit is where I share my habits related to the fundamentals: sleep, diet, physical activity, mindfulness, and stress management.

Consider adding a copper tongue scraper to your oral hygiene routine. I prefer to use mine in the morning to scrape off that white coating of bacteria before brushing.

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I start every morning with a glass of filtered, structured water with BEAM minerals. This is the best mineral supplement on the market, in my opinion. They even have formulations for dogs and cats and a cheaper pill form of the liquid supplement. I provided more details in a previous newsletter. Go to the BEAM minerals website and use code BRANDON51920 to save 20%.

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Last week’s answer

Be Wellthy Club entrants: Scott S., Ariel E., Scott L., Renata B.

Raffle prizes are for Be Wellthy Club Members only. Club members can email bewellthy@substack.com with the correct answer to each week’s brain training and be entered into a monthly raffle to win one of two prize packages every month. I do respond to every email.

This week:

When you curtail a word, you remove the last letter and still have a valid word. You will be given clues for the two words, the longer word first.
Example: Begin -> Heavenly body
Answer: The words are Start and Star.

1. Pebbles, rock fragments -> Tomb; serious
2. Prearranged fight with weapons -> Payable on demand; owed
3. Experience emotion; touch -> Fixed charge
4. Implement used for a job -> Also; excessively
5. Standard of perfection -> Mental concept; thought
6. Speech pattern with long vowels -> To sketch
7. Artist's tripod -> Freedom from hardship
8. Pale tint of colour -> Glue; a soft malleable mixture

See the answer.

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Since it’s the season of sicky sick (and some people are still worried about Everyone’s Favorite Virus™️), it’s an excellent time to focus on bolstering the immune system. Three years ago, I wrote about three supplements (Vitamin C, Zinc, and Vitamin D) crucial for immune support.

Keep your loved ones informed with the most up-to-date information about wellness by sharing this newsletter.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Smith_Papyrus

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocrates

3. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6073405/

4. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Copper-HealthProfessional/#en19

5. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21865972/