Likewise, during the freezing process of vegetables they are blanched with sequestrates to enhance the color when cooked. This process greatly reduces the zinc and manganese levels. A European diet which contains a lot more fresh fruits and vegetables is higher in zinc and manganese than the average American diet, as we tend to favor more frozen, highly processed and fast foods. Copper is essential to help form hemoglobin, but excessive copper can be highly toxic, causing such health problems as the hardening of arteries, high blood pressure, kidney disease as well as early senility and other aging diseases. Copper is a brain stimulant and may also contribute to child hyperactivity and autism.
Copper is elevated by estrogen.
The copper level in a pregnant woman increases from approximately 115 mcg at the time of conception to 260 mcg at term. The increased copper level may therefore play a part in postpartum depression. A lot of attention is now being focused on our drinking water. In certain households where well water is used there can be enough acid in the water to cause copper intoxication. This excess of copper serum has only become evident since the change from galvanized water pipes to copper.