NUTRIENT LIBRARY

Nutrient Library - Copper

Copper

What does it do?
How much do you need?
What are the best food sources?
What happens if you don’t get enough?
What happens if you get too much?
What are some recipes that are good sources of copper?
Back to Nutrient Library

What does it do?

Copper is a mineral that works with iron to form healthy red blood cells. Copper helps to produce energy in cells and form a protective covering of your nerves and connective tissues.

How much do you need?

The following table lists the recommended intake for healthy people based on current scientific information.

Life Stage Group	Recommended Dietary Allowance / Adequate Intake (see note below)	Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL)
Infants	(micrograms/day)	(micrograms/day)
0-6 mo. 7-12 mo.	200* 220*	Not determinable for infants due to lack of data on adverse effects in this age group and concern about inability to handle excess amounts. Source should be from food only to prevent high levels of intake.
Children
1-3 yr. 4-8 yr.	340 440	1,000 3,000
Males
9-13 yr. 14-18 yr. 19-30 yr. 31-50 yr. 51-70 yr. > 70 yr.	700 890 900 900 900 900	5,000 8,000 10,000 10,000 10,000 10,000
Females
9-13 yr. 14-18 yr. 19-30 yr. 31-50 yr. 51-70 yr. > 70 yr.	700 890 900 900 900 900	5,000 8,000 10,000 10,000 10,000 10,000
Pregnancy
< 18 yr. 19-30 yr. 31-50 yr.	1,000 1,000 1,000	8,000 10,000 10,000
Lactation
< 18 yr. 19-30 yr. 31-50 yr.	1,300 1,300 1,300	8,000 10,000 10,000

NOTE: The table is adapted from the Dietary Reference Intakes reports. Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs), when available, are in bold type; Adequate Intakes (AIs) are followed by an asterisk(*). RDAs and AIs may both be used as goals for individual intake. RDAs are set to meet the needs of almost all individuals (97 to 98 percent) in a group. For healthy breastfed infants, the AI is the mean intake. The AI for other life stage and gender groups is believed to cover the needs of all individuals in the group, but lack of data means the percentage of individuals covered by this intake cannot be specified with confidence.
UL = The maximum level of daily nutrient intake that is likely to pose no risk of adverse effects. Unless otherwise specified, the UL represents total intake from food, water and supplements.

What are the best food sources?

Copper is found in a wide variety of foods. The best sources of copper are organ meats (especially liver), seafood, nuts, seeds, wheat-bran cereals and whole-grain products. See more food sources and calculate your daily intake.

What happens if you don’t get enough?

Copper deficiency is relatively rare in humans, but has been found in a few special cases. It has been observed in premature infants fed cow’s milk exclusively, infants recovering from malnutrition and patients with prolonged artificial (tube and intravenous) feedings. In these cases, the symptoms associated with copper deficiency include a specific anemia (that can be corrected by copper supplementation) and abnormally low levels of white blood cells.

What happens if you get too much?

Harmful effects from consuming too much copper from food are rare in healthy individuals. Cases of acute copper poisoning via contaminated beverages (both from contaminated water sources and storage in copper-containing containers) have resulted mostly in gastrointestinal illness in the form of abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. It is possible that long-term exposure to excessive amounts could cause liver damage, kidney failure, coma and death.