Amazon.com Review
Copper overload is an insidious but increasingly common nutritional problem, says Ann Louise Gittleman, author of the bestselling
Beyond Pritikin. She says that difficulty getting out of bed, midday slumps, mood swings, insomnia, and anxiety may be symptoms of a copper/zinc imbalance. She discovered this link after she encountered several patients in her nutritional practice--most of them women--who were not suffering from hypothyroidism, adrenal problems, or anemia (as she had suspected), but rather a mineral imbalance that was diagnosed after simple hair testing.
Vegetarian diets, low-fat diets, and taking multivitamins--all ostensibly healthy moves--can make you more susceptible to copper overload. So do less-healthy activities, including drinking alcohol and coffee, taking cortisone, and being constantly stressed. (These activities sap the body of zinc, says Gittleman, jeopardizing the delicate zinc/copper homeostasis in the body.) Home tap water may also be overloaded with copper, and women are susceptible to absorbing copper from intrauterine devices.
To remedy the overload, Gittleman outlines an easy plan for renewing health and increasing energy. She includes a questionnaire to help determine if copper overload may be a problem for you; gives resources for hair analysis in case your doctor doesn't have one; instructs on how to read a tissue-analysis report; and outlines a sensible diet plan, including menus to keep the zinc/copper balance in check.
Up to 80 percent of the general population complains about fatigue; Gittleman's book may very well offer a simple solution for thousands of people. --Erica Jorgensen
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"Ann Louise Gittleman's ground breaking new book on copper toxicity is a blessing. In it she openly exposes what we know to be one of the biggest causes of fatigue we have seen in our work with over a thousand patients. Our own extensive research and experience confirms what she has written about so cogently. Perhaps this enormous hidden epidemic will finally be exposed so that those who suffer will have some answers and more importantly, solutions. Give a copy of this book to your physician!" -- David Vaughan, NC, DHom; and Ralph Wood Wilson, ND
"Anne Louise Gittleman has written a new book on chronic fatigue and constant tiredness from the perspective of an overload of copper in the body's cells and tissues. I can't imagine me working as a clinical psychologist without having this type of perspective on the role of copper overload in so many psychological problems today. The copper overload problem is at epidemic proportions contributing to a host of physical and psychological problems. Depression, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and ADD are just a few of the psychological problems associated with copper overload." -- Richard Malter, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist and Nutrition Counselor, Bloomingdale Counseling Services, Bloomingdale, IL
"Copper is an essential mineral and is required for normal health. However, in excess its presence in biological systems can become detrimental as illustrated by Bertrand's Law of optimal nutritive concentration of an essential trace element. Conditions associated with copper deficiency are well known, although other than inborn errors of metabolism such as Wilson's Disease, the effects of copper excess are not widely recongnized. Ann Louise Gittleman's book is probably the first to deal with the subject of copper excess in the American population. A condition that is becoming more prevalent in each generation but clinically unrecognized until now." -- David L. Watts, D.C., Ph.D., C.C.N., D.A.C.B.N., F.A.C.E.P., F.I.A.A.C.N.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
