Products such as oysters, liver, cocoa, nuts and seeds contain copper, a trace element recognized as important in helping the body ward off colon cancer. Eating these foods will help people reach the new recommended intake of 0.9 milligram of copper per day.
Copper joins selenium, calcium, carotenoids and fiber as being important for a healthy colon.
Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer mortality in the United States and the fourth worldwide. And copper-deficient colon cells showed enzyme abnormalities that have been reported in precancerous lesions in both humans and rats. Davis also looked for a copper connection in mice with a genetic predisposition to develop intestinal tumors. Since the mouse mutation is similar to one found in some human families, these animals make a good model for testing the effects of dietary changes. Not surprisingly, the mice fed the copper-deficient diet had significantly more and bigger tumors than the animals fed adequate copper.