Copper and iodine are inorganic material that the body requires to function properly. While copper is a metal, iodine is a shiny bluish-black material unusual because it has no liquid state. Instead, iodine immediately vaporizes when heated. Copper is present in all body tissues, while the majority of iodine is in the thyroid gland. Although deficiencies in the nutrients are possible with an imbalanced diet, they remain uncommon.
Trace Minerals
Trace minerals, like trace elements, appear in matter in extremely small amounts relative to other constituents. Trace minerals exist in everything, including the foods we eat. Appropriately, the body requires dietary trace minerals in very small, or "trace," amounts. The unit of measurement usually used for appropriate dosages is micrograms, or mcg, which is 0.0001 mg.
Copper Dosage
According to MedlinePlus, infants younger than 6 months should have 200 mcg per day of copper, while those older than 6 months but younger than 1 year should ingest 220 mcg per day. The daily diet of children 1 to 3 years old should contain at least 340 mcg per day, while it should contain 440 mcg for those aged 3 to 8 and 700 mcg for those aged 9 to 13. Adolescents older than 13 and adults should have a diet that includes approximately 900 mcg of copper daily. Foods that contain copper include whole grains, potatoes, shellfish, nuts, beans and organ meats. Copper is also readily available in nutrient supplements. The body utilizes copper to produce red blood cells and maintain overall bodily health.
Iodine Dosage
The body requires substantially less iodine than it does copper. Daily iodine intake should be 40 to 70 mcg until age 3, 90 mcg until age 6, 120 mcg until age 12 and 150 mcg thereafter. Pregnant women require slightly more, with a recommended daily value of 175 mcg per day, while breastfeeding women require 200 mcg.
Iodine does not appear as an inherent component of the foods we eat; instead, iodine appears in food circumstantially. That is, iodine usually exists in the environment, like soil or the ocean, and enriches plants and animals that exist in places that are iodine rich. Therefore, the iodine content of food modulates considerably -- for example, although milk can be a good source of iodine, some milk may contain negligible amounts, depending on the iodine content of the plants from which the cows that produced the milk grazed.
Nonetheless, iodine deficiencies remain uncommon, particularly in the United States, where some processed foods and most table salt are iodine fortified. Moreover, in the event of a suspected or possible deficiency, supplementation is available in the form of sodium iodide, which is available as a constituent of mineral supplements or a solution administered intravenously by a health-care professional. Skin can absorb iodine, therefore it is possible to bolster iodine levels through exposure to water that contains iodine.
Mineral Toxicity
All dietary trace minerals are toxic in large doses. Copper poisoning results from introducing more than 10 mg of copper into the body. Substances like copper wire, insecticides, fungicides and aquarium products are high in copper, rendering exposure deadly. Symptoms of copper poisoning include burning sensations, convulsions, fever, chills, liver failure, muscle aches, anemia, a metallic taste, urination cessation, shock, pain and weakness.
More than 1,100 mg of iodine per day can result in iodine poisoning. Doses that result in iodine poisoning usually result from exposure to non-food items with a high iodine content. Examples of such substances include Lugol's solution, potassium iodide, Amiodarone, radioactive iodine, iodine tincture and Pima syrup. Symptoms include gastrointestinal disturbances, fever, metallic taste, seizures, shock, stupor, shortness of breath, coughing, delirium, thirst and urination cessation.
Abuse of dietary supplements can result in mineral poisoning. Both copper and iodine are permeable through the skin and breathable in particulate form.
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