Demi: Copper poisoning: water from copper pipes (especially when the ph is low), birth control pills increase estrogen levels thereby increasing copper levels, poor liver function (causes low hormone breakdown, high estrogen, high copper), being a swimmer (copper functions as a fungicide and is added to pools and jacuzzies), copper IUD's, high calcium intake from suppliments and milk products, amalgamfillings with copper, a taste for lots of sugar (excretes zinc, increases copper retention), copper coloured hair dyes and make-up, stress (adrenal fatigue lowers copper excretion, but increases zinc loss), tea-drinker (copper in tea, tea-kettles and the water), cooking in copper cookware, taking multivitamins, and last but not least; being a vegetarian. Almost all the protein substitues such as soy, legumes, nuts and seeds contain very high copper. Also the only highly absorbed form of zinc is from meat. The vegetarian diet often consists of lots of carbs and/or vegetables and fruit. The carbs lower zinc levels because they have a high glycemix index...turns to sugar and contain phytic acid which greatly reduces zinc uptake. The fruit has a high fructose contents....the sugar reduces zinc uptake. The vegetables also contain phytic acid and reduces zinc uptake........needless to say, I regret my ten years of vegetarism.......My supposedly healthy veg. diet has left me low on protein (the sulphur amino acids in meat are essential for making the metalthionine metalbinding proteins for detoxing), low in B vits, low in zinc and low in iron.

Ann <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />