What does it do?
Given how often we see copper in coins, wires, and jewellery, it's strange to think of the shiny reddish-orange metal being something we actively need to ingest. But there you have it. Copper is used for a huge variety of reactions in the body. Everything from bone formation to red blood cell production, respiration, iron metabolism, and giving hair and skin colour.
What’s the story?
Getting enough copper is often linked to a healthy immune system, with the mineral playing a part in healing processes. Although its anti-inflammatory qualities are often discussed, a randomised controlled trial a few years back (the granddaddy of trials), discredited the long-held idea that wearing a copper bracelet could help arthritis sufferers.
On a rather different note, copper is almost certainly one of the oldest minerals known to humankind. Beads made from native copper dating all the way back to the eighth millennium BC have been found in Turkey.
How much do I need?
Both men and women aged 19 and over need 1.2 mg per day.
What are good sources?
Foods rich in copper include shellfish like crab and lobster, liver, kidney, nuts, sunflower seeds, prunes, mushrooms and wholegrain cereals. Raisins are also a good source.
Any ideas for using those ingredients?
Scallops with pea and mint puree/liver alla veneziana/lentils, mushroom and hazelnut/roast chicken with pine nuts and raisins/jewelled brown rice/roast jerusalem artichokes with hazelnut/marmite nuts and seeds
References
British Nutrition Foundation (2021) Nutrition Requirements. Available here.
Jones, A. (2008) Prehistoric Europe: Theory and Practice. Blackwell Publishing. p. 195.
NHS Choices (2009). Copper bracelets and arthritis. Available here.