Your body needs trace amounts of copper for healthy red blood cell formation, nerve function and connective tissue production. Without adequate copper, you may have difficulty utilizing iron or metabolizing nutrients. If your digestive system can't absorb enough copper from the foods you eat or you have a health condition that requires additional copper, your health-care provider may prescribe supplements to help you meet your requirements for this essential element. Consult your provider before taking copper supplements.
Conditions
Gastrointestinal conditions that interfere with your digestion of nutrients or that cause chronic diarrhea, such as inflammatory bowel disease, may prevent your body from absorbing enough copper. Burns that affect large areas of your body may cause the loss of copper and other essential minerals. If you have anemia, a condition characterized by a low number of viable red blood cells, taking copper supplements may promote the formation of hemoglobin, a pigment that carries oxygen through your bloodstream. Diseases of the kidneys or pancreas, surgical removal of your stomach or chronic stress may result in low levels of copper. Copper supplements have been used as a complementary therapy to treat arthritis and certain skin disorders, but clinical evidence has not verified that copper is an effective treatment for these conditions.
Requirements
Most healthy individuals get enough copper from dietary sources like seafood, nuts, legumes, cereals, fruits and vegetables, the University of Maryland Medical Center, or UMMC, notes. Your body may absorb a certain amount of this metal from copper cookware or from drinking water. The recommended dietary allowance, or RDA, for copper is 900 mcg per day for men and women ages 19 and older. Pregnant women require 1,000 mcg per day, and breast-feeding women need 1,300 mcg of copper daily.
Recommendations
Many multivitamin supplements contain copper. Copper may be taken as an individual supplement or a topical preparation. According to the UMMC, adults who take copper supplements should also take zinc supplements in order to avoid an imbalance of these nutrients. Talk with your health-care provider to determine the correct dosages of copper and zinc for your condition. The tolerable upper intake level, or the maximum amount of copper that healthy individuals can have each day without adverse effects, is 10,000 mcg per day for adults 19 and older.
Safety
If you are taking birth control pills or estrogen supplements, these medications may increase the levels of copper in your bloodstream, and taking copper supplements may cause health complications. Copper may interfere with acid reflux medications or anti-inflammatory drugs. Potential side effects of copper supplements include nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting, headaches, diarrhea or weakness. If you have Wilson's disease, an inherited condition that causes excessive copper accumulation in your liver, kidneys, brain and eyes, your health-care provider may advise you not to take copper supplements. Copper toxicity is uncommon; however, toxic levels of copper may cause heart or liver problems. In some cases, copper toxicity may be fatal. To avoid side effects or medication interactions, use copper supplements under medical supervision.
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