I see quite a few people including even some nutritionists recommending that for a raw food diet even around half the RDA for Zinc would suffice due to less phytates etc etc.

I don't really have time to write an article at the moment but thought i would post up to see what others views on this subject are. What most of these people are completely ignoring is how rich a vegan and often vegetarian diet is in the mineral Copper.

Copper is a zinc antagonist and can accumulate to toxic levels if a diet is low in Zinc as can other heavy metals. So people recommending half the RDA for Zinc in my opinion is dangerous with how rich many vegan foods are in Copper. I have suffered the wrath of Zinc deficiency and Copper toxicity and its no walk in the park. As soon as i started increasing my Zinc the detox from the Copper and other heavy metals was horrific, sometimes i would become very close to having a seizure it was so bad. Not counting the adrenal fatigue and numerous other health problems the above caused, zinc plays a major role in the production of adrenal hormones.

The main reason many raw fooders and raw nutritionists recommend such a low Zinc intake is because their diet often comes up low in Zinc on the cron o meter and they feel the above justifies why it is low. Sufficient levels of bioavailable minerals such as Zinc and Selenium are some of your first line defsenses against heavy metal poisoning.

Being that the best plant sources of Zinc happen to be Soy/Tofu, Beans/Legumes and some nuts/seeds such as peanut/pumpkin seeds, most of these foods which are low or absent in many raw diets it is something worthwhile to watch out for. When it comes to a vegan diet i would say the standard RDA suffices, maybe even possibly slightly extra Zinc could be beneficial due to how much bioavailable copper is in many plant foods.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]



Edited 7 time(s). Last edit at 02/02/2012 01:18PM by powerlifer.

Terrifying. My son's father has Wilson's disease, we've done the preliminary assessment for genetic testing with the conclusion being that it doesn't seem to be apparent in my genetic history so he is likely a carrier but not subject to the copper issues associated with the condition. Still, I spent a fair bit of time panicking over how abundant our diet was in copper. I'll have to remember to include more pumpkin seeds. Peanuts are out for the boy as they encourage cold sore break outs which is terrible for a young person to deal with. He's not a fan of sprouted legumes either so cooked beans it is.
Thanks for the post .

It is amazing how although essential to our health Copper is, but also how devastating it can be if aloud to accumulate. The detox is unlike anything i have experienced, it is truly horrible and not something i would wish on anyone.

Detox can take forever also as Copper tends to accumulate in organs(liver etc) and tissues more than other metals. So if hair analysis says you are fine in regards to Copper but you get "copper dumping" symptoms when consuming Zinc or Zinc rich foods it is something to watch out for and may begin to show in time on a hair analysis test as the copper is released from tissues.

Problems can increase when you increase factors that increase Zinc depletion such as STRESS and alcohol use being the most common. Once you allow the pattern of Copper and other metals to start accumulating and any zinc intake you have being used up by the adrenal glands due to stress, you create a biochemical pattern that is increasingly hard to reverse. I would go as far as saying many don't reverse it either due to how unbearable the detox is or because they don't realize that low Zinc is at the root of their problems.

I would go as far as saying Zinc deficiency just about ruined my life, looking back it was apparant that due to chronic stress that i had been low in Zinc all my life. Some of the symptoms i had without even taking the heavy metals and copper into account were fatigue, beard hair loss, hair thinning, stretch marks(usually a result of Zinc deficiency if anyone has), estrogen dominance(another problem with low Zinc intake) and the roles excess estrogen plays on shutting the thyroid down, low libido and so on. Thankfully due to lots of research, years of painful detox where sometimes id wish to end my life it was so bad that i managed to reverse this mess. Low Zinc is something to take note of, especially if you are chronically stressed and suffer from adrenal fatigue.

I will post up about zinc tally tests and other symptoms which are good indicators of low Zinc or deficiency. Vertical ridges on the nails are a good sign rather than the white spots which are often touted.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/02/2012 02:16PM by powerlifer.

Hey Chris
Do you know what kind of a Zinc to Copper ratio we should strive for? I know perhaps we will have a little higher copper, eating so many plants foods, but how much zinc is enough RELATIVE to copper?

WorkoutMan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hey Chris
> Do you know what kind of a Zinc to Copper ratio we
> should strive for? I know perhaps we will have a
> little higher copper, eating so many plants foods,
> but how much zinc is enough RELATIVE to copper?

Hey Workoutman,

There are many recommendations personally i feel 8:1 is the ideal ratio to strive for from what ive read. Most suggest not less than 6:1 in Zincs favour.

This can be a problem for some vegans but in particular raw vegans because most of the foods consumed in large quantities tend to be Copper rich rather than Zinc. Those with chronic stress and indulge in other factors which lower levels of Zinc being at increased risk.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]

I've found that being 811 and trying to eat a lot more food has helped, my zinc intake is a lot higher- as an example, one large bowl of courgetti is about 33% of the rda. Make a sauce and add a tbs of tahini and it'll whack it up even higher. That's just one meal.

Great post, btw Lots of people obsess about b12 and vit D, when it's easy to overlook zinc, calcium and iron.

suspendedindefinitely Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I've found that being 811 and trying to eat a lot
> more food has helped, my zinc intake is a lot
> higher- as an example, one large bowl of courgetti
> is about 33% of the rda. Make a sauce and add a
> tbs of tahini and it'll whack it up even higher.
> That's just one meal.
>
> Great post, btw Lots of people obsess about b12
> and vit D, when it's easy to overlook zinc,
> calcium and iron.

Glad that you are keeping an eye on the lesser thought of nutrient deficiencies that some run into . Iodine is another nutrient i believe can be problematic for some on a vegan diet.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]

powerlifer,

New blog layout lookin' good

What are "copper dumping" symptoms?

HeavenHands Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What are "copper dumping" symptoms?

It can be different for many but for me it was strong anxiety, panic attacks, vision issues, depression and mental symptoms being stirred up, fatigue, urine that is a dark brown copper colour, shakeyness, twitches and more.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]

powerlifer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> HeavenHands Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > What are "copper dumping" symptoms?
>
> It can be different for many but for me it was
> strong anxiety, panic attacks, vision issues,
> depression and mental symptoms being stirred up,
> fatigue, urine that is a dark brown copper colour,
> shakeyness, twitches and more.
>
> [www.vegankingdom.co.uk]


Powerlifer, did you find you overeating specific foods (i.e. dates) were a major contributor or were the symptoms still there even on a varied diet?

suspendedindefinitely Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> powerlifer Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > HeavenHands Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > What are "copper dumping" symptoms?
> >
> > It can be different for many but for me it was
> > strong anxiety, panic attacks, vision issues,
> > depression and mental symptoms being stirred
> up,
> > fatigue, urine that is a dark brown copper
> colour,
> > shakeyness, twitches and more.
> >
> > [www.vegankingdom.co.uk]
>
>
> Powerlifer, did you find you overeating specific
> foods (i.e. dates) were a major contributor or
> were the symptoms still there even on a varied
> diet?

Hey suspendedindefinitely, do you mean a contributor to copper toxicity ?. If so then not really from any foods, although following a low zinc to copper diet didn't help. My biggest problem was from chronic stress in the beginning which was probably the main cause of my low zinc and in turn high copper.

As my adrenal fatigue progressed zinc got even lower, add in cigarette smoking and alcoholism both of which deplete zinc then you can see how copper and other heavy metals managed to accumulate.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]