Iron Deficiency and Anemia: Is Excessive Copper and Cadmium the Cause?

The World Health Organization states in their position paper of 1993 to 2005 that iron deficiency is the most common and widespread nutritional disorder in the world. It is believed to affect over 300 million pre-school and school-aged children. The reasons for this are multiple and the subject of hundreds of ongoing tests. In this blog I'll explain how excessive copper and cadmium are two likely suspects that might be the root cause of much of this problem for both adults and children.

Dr. Mercola explains in his article of September 12, 2013 that "the use of copper piping in home construction in the US started in the early 1960s. By 1970, it was almost exclusively the material of choice for water piping, and it's now estimated that 98 percent of all homes built after 1970 have copper pipes."

He continues by stating that "water with pH below 6.5 can corrode copper pipes. This breakdown of the pipes not only introduces high levels of copper into your tap water, but also causes pitting, or "pinhole" leaks, which can allow other contaminants into the pipe and the water passing through it. The copper in drinking water is inorganic and your body processes it very differently than the copper you consume through the food you eat, making it far more toxic. Increasing research now shows that when excess copper accumulates in your body, it interacts abnormally with the beta amyloid protein in the brain, which oxidizes and destroys your body's nerve cells."

Copper excess in the body is extremely common and damaging. Water intake is one form of exposure with the other most significant being exposure to chemicals such as plastics, pesticides and petroleum products that mimic estrogen. Copper creates an iron deficiency in several ways.

1. Copper is an antagonist to zinc and zinc is needed to make stomach acid. Stomach acid is required to charge iron with a two-plus charge which it needs to be absorbed. High copper therefore equals low iron absorption.

2. Copper blocks the ability of iron to move through the intestinal track and into the blood stream. Think of this like a bouncer stopping someone from entering a night club.

3. Copper blocks molybdenum and the molybdenum is required for proper iron storage.

4. Once iron is in the cells, copper blocks the effect of iron. This is most notable in the mitochondria as this illustration from Textbook of Nutritional Medicine by Igor Tabrizian points out. Note that copper is needed for the pathway to proceed but in excess blocks most of the steps.

Cadmium is also a very toxic and damaging metal and it has no positive function in the body. A study in Environmental Health called "Blood cadmium is elevated in iron deficient U.S. children: a cross-sectional study" states "non-occupationally exposed adults and children are exposed to cadmium largely through the diet, with secondary exposures occurring from cigarette smoking or second-hand tobacco smoke, house dust, and industrial emissions. Recent reports have also found that children may be exposed to Cd in toys and jewellery.

The study concluded that "in U.S. children aged 3–19 years, odds of iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia increased with blood Cd, a biomarker of recent Cd exposure." More research certainly needs to be conducted in this area to determine the extent of the problem and the mechanisms.

Now before you go thinking that this is not affecting you consider the following hair analysis. Here you can see that in two very young children there is an alarming level of cadmium(the middle reading). The first chart is a one year old and the second a two year old. Where did it come from? The answer is placenta transfer. In my opinion the main reason we are seeing cadmium in our children is all too often the result of direct transfer. It was there from birth!

This hopefully emphases the great need for ALL of us to detox and ensure that we have our body in balance. We need to be assessing our deficiencies, excesses, imbalances and toxins regularly to ensure our own health and the health of our children.

While not having all the answers to anemia and iron deficiency I can tell you that when a person undergoes a hair mineral analysis and follow the recommendations most of the cases resolve. Copper and Cadmium are simply two examples of how toxins or excess can create iron problems.

For more information or to have a hair tissue mineral analysis performed please visit www.lifestyleintegration.com.au