Bioavailable copper is copper that’s been assimilated through the digestive system and integrated as a cofactor into enzymes that do work in our bodies.
It is essential for immune function, brain health, antioxidant function, and for healing and maintaining our metabolism. It’s also absolutely critical for the breakdown of fat in our bodies, called lipolysis. This Nature paper from 2016 explains exactly how it works.
If we want our bodies to be resilient to infection, to create energy efficiently and to burn fat, we must have bioavailable copper- and most of us are deficient.
Here is an excellent list of 28 whole foods rich in copper. Seafood, beef liver, white and pinto beans, and avocados are particularly good sources of copper, and I regularly recommend these foods as part of our slow carb weight loss program.
The slide below from Morley Robbins of The Root Cause Protocol is an excellent overview of copper metabolism, and also importantly demonstrates how high fructose corn syrup blocks the uptake of copper into the cell by blocking the copper transport receptor. We must avoid high fructose corn syrup in the diet to prevent copper deficiency.
