A deficiency might appear as fatigue, shortness of breath, and loss of appetite. Iron deficiency is the most prevalent among women. The tongue may become smooth due to the deficiency of iron giving it a bald appearance, due to alterations of the taste buds and destruction of the papillae surrounding them. Seaweed is the richest source of iron followed by liver, pumpkin and sesame seeds, wheat germ, dried pears and other fruits, nuts and seafood. Copper Is needed as an enzyme catalyst.
Copper works with iron in the formation of hemoglobin.
If there is a deficiency, there would be poor iron assimilation leading to anemia and scurvy-like bone damage. In Peru, there have been cases of children with deficiency of copper. Foods rich with copper are grains, vegetables, nuts, fish, molasses, raw milk and fruits. Selenium Protects against mercury and cadmium toxicity and sparing activity on Vitamin E. A deficiency of selenium might be aging pigment. Foods rich in selenium are chard, cucumber, fish, pear, sweet potato, kidney beans, liver and seafood.