The process, known as protein glycation, is thought to cause much of the tissue damage in people with diabetes. And this glycation increases in all of us as we age. These cross links bend proteins out of shape, rendering them useless. Researchers found that both the early and advanced stages of protein glycation increased significantly in rats fed a copper-deficient diet. One sensitive indicator of advanced glycation was at least sixfold higher in the copper-deficient rats.
Human diets contain relatively more copper than the rat diets.
But the average copper content of U.S. diets falls below the suggested range of 1.5 to 3.0 milligrams daily. The researchers speculate that years of eating a diet low in the mineral may contribute to the age-related decline in tissue function by increasing glycation. So far, they have looked only at glycation of blood hemoglobin and serum proteins. But it can also happen to structural proteins that form the tissues. Just Enough Zinc Peak athletic performance depends on adequate zinc, according to a study of the effects of a low-zinc diet on 12 athletic men in their twenties.