How Much Copper is in “the Human Body”?

How much copper is stored in the human body. On average?

How much copper can be stored in the human body. The range?

What is the upper limit of copper stored in the human body?

How much copper is in beef liver?

Is that comparable to a human liver?

How much copper is in the liver of “copper toxic” people with “high copper” in their livers?

Why are these questions important?

Can these questions help determine the appropriate average daily intake of copper?

Can these questions help determine if the US RDA for copper is fraudulent?

Can these questions help determine if the tolerable upper limit for copper is fraudulent?

One answer:
“Adults have 50 and 80 milligrams (mg) of copper in their body, mostly in muscle and the liver. Copper helps make melanin, bone, and connective tissue. It also helps with many other processes in your body. You normally get copper through your diet, in foods like liver and other organ meats, seafood, beans, and whole grains. You get rid of copper in your bowel movements and urine.”

Source:
https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?contenttypeid=167&contentid=total_copper_blood

I believe that is a bad, and low estimate.

Second answer:
“How Much Copper In Your Body?
The adult body contains between 1.4 and 2.1mg of copper per kilogramme of body weight. “

Source:
https://www.copper.org/consumers/health/cu_health_uk.html

I’m 100 kg. For me, that would be 140 mg or 210 mg of copper.

Third source, a median answer:

” Although the amount of copper found in the human body (50–120 milligrams) would fit on the head of a pin, this tiny quantity is essential.”

Source:
https://copperalliance.org.uk/knowledge-base/education/education-resources/copper-essential-human-health/

Fourth source, same numbers. 50-120 mg.

“Almost two-thirds of the body’s copper is located in the skeleton and muscle [1,3].
Only small amounts of copper are typically stored in the body, and the average adult has a total body content of 50–120 mg copper [1,2].”

https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Copper-HealthProfessional/

Beef liver: 3 oz. has 12 mg.

A cow liver, beef liver, has 12 mg per 3 oz., or 64 mg per pound.

A human liver weighs 3.3 pounds.

Could a human liver contain up to 3.3 x 64 mg of copper? Implies a total of 211 mg of copper, just in the liver.

If the liver contains 10% of body stores of copper, this implies 2110 mg of total body copper.

I know I’m making assumptions. That beef liver and human liver contain the same rate of copper. But what are the assumptions made by the people making the other estimates? I don’t know. How did they arrive at their numbers? They don’t say. What measuring instruments did they use? They don’t say.

2 comments

  1. I took 10 to 36 mg of copper each day to fix my copper deficiency. Fixed several symptoms. It usually takes 3 months to fix a deficiency. If I was absorbing only half of that, it would take three months to get 1800 mg, and replenish body stores of copper. So my experience confirms my bigger numbers.

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