Always Tired? Test This Before Taking More Iron
The copper-iron ratio that controls your energy
If you’re tired all the time, one of the first things you might suspect is iron deficiency.
Iron deficiency gets all the attention, but what if copper is the actual issue?
Low copper prevents your body from using the iron you already have.
Here’s how it works:
Ceruloplasmin, a copper-dependent protein, mobilizes iron from your cells into your bloodstream.
Without adequate copper, ceruloplasmin production drops and iron gets trapped in your tissues.
Studies show that severe copper deficiency impairs iron movement from cells to plasma even when total body iron stores remain adequate. You can develop anemia (low blood iron) despite having plenty of iron stored in your liver and other tissues.
This creates two problems simultaneously.
First, trapped iron in your cells generates oxidative stress (cellular damage similar to rust) that harms your mitochondria, the energy-producing structures in your cells.
Second, low copper impairs the electron transport chain, the process your cells use to produce ATP. Copper acts as a critical component of this energy production system.
When copper drops too low, your cells can’t generate energy efficiently.
The Modern Diet Made This Worse
Modern diets amplify this imbalance.
Fortified breakfast cereals contain up to 50% of your daily iron requirement per serving. Bread, energy bars, and processed foods add more. Cooking acidic foods like tomato sauce in cast iron skillets can add 2-5mg of iron per dish.
Men and non-menstruating women have no natural mechanism to excrete excess iron, which accumulates over decades.
Meanwhile, food lost most of its copper over the years.
Decades of industrial farming stripped minerals from the soil. The vegetables your grandparents ate contained significantly more copper than what you buy today.
On top of that, most multivitamins pack 15-50mg of zinc without balancing it with copper. Zinc and copper compete for absorption in your gut, so that daily multivitamin might be making your copper deficiency worse.
Ready to fix this? The complete protocol below shows you exactly how to test and reverse the imbalance in 90 days.
In the paid section:
The 3 blood tests to order and how to interpret them
Exact foods to rebalance copper
Supplement protocol (type, dose, timing)
Timeline: what to expect after interventions
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