Some health warnings are scarier thanbrothers…and this one is a doozy.
A study recently released by the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) has apparently established a connection between copper and Alzheimer’s. “Copper appears to be one of the main environmental factors that trigger the onset and enhance the progression of Alzheimer’s disease by preventing the clearance and accelerating the accumulation of toxic proteins in the ain.”
Rashid Deane, Ph.D., a research professor in the URMC Department of Neurosurgery and lead author of the study, explains that “copper is an essential metal and it is clear that these effects are due to exposure over a long period of time. The key will be striking the right balance between too little and too much copper consumption. Right now, we cannot say what the right level will be, but diet may ultimately play an important role in the regulating process.”
High copper content foods include liver, oysters, sesame seeds, cocoa powder and chocolate, lobster, sun dried tomatoes, and roasted pumpkin and squash seeds. Copper may also be found in such items as cookware, musical instruments, and ammunition. (Of course if you get shot with a bullet in a copper jacket, copper contamination is probably the least of your worries.) And, of course, most of the water we consume, cook with, and wash in travels through copper pipes.
—S.H.
Bottom line: Expect to see “Copper Free” bottled water flooding the market.
