How does the body get rid of excess copper?

Normally, your liver gets rid of extra copper by sending it out in bile. Bile is the digestive juice your liver makes. It carries toxins and waste out of your body through your GI tract (gastrointestinal tract).

How is copper excreted?

Most ingested copper is excreted via the bile; a very small fraction is excreted in urine. When intestinal or liver cells are overloaded with copper, metallothioneins, a class of low molecular-weight cysteine-rich proteins, are induced and sequester copper in a nontoxic form.

What are the symptoms of too much copper in the body?

Consuming even relatively small amounts of copper may cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Large amounts, usually consumed by people intending to commit suicide, can damage the kidneys, inhibit urine production, and cause anemia due to the rupture of red blood cells (hemolytic anemia) and even death.

What causes high copper levels?

You can get too much copper from dietary supplements or from drinking contaminated water. You can also get too much copper from being around fungicides that have copper sulfate. You can also have too much copper if you have a condition that stops the body from getting rid of copper.

What is copper chelation?

Copper chelators are a class of drugs used to treat an inherited disorder known as “Wilson’s disease,” a rare genetic metabolic disorder that causes an excess accumulation of copper in some parts of the body, particularly in the liver. These excess amounts of copper damage the organs which are affected.

Is copper excreted in urine?

It is suggested that only part of the serum non-caeruloplasmin copper is available for excretion into urine.

What causes copper in urine?

In a healthy body, the liver filters out excess copper and releases it through urine. With Wilson’s disease, the liver cannot remove the extra copper properly. The extra copper then builds up in organs such as the brain, liver, and eyes. Early diagnosis is crucial for stopping the progression of Wilson’s disease.

How do you check copper levels in your body?

Typically, a total blood copper test is ordered along with a ceruloplasmin level. If the results from these tests are abnormal or unclear, then they may be followed by a 24-hour urine copper test to measure copper elimination and/or a copper test performed on a liver biopsy to evaluate copper storage in the liver.

What blocks the absorption of copper?

Ascorbic acid is known to inhibit the absorption of copper.

Does alcohol deplete copper?

Excessive alcohol consumption can cause zinc and copper co-deficiency.