Anxiety, feelings of constant overwhelm and fatigue, plus insomnia, sugar cravings, the inability to control blood sugar, lack of mental clarity… these symptoms can be due to adrenal issues and this condition is brutally disruptive. And yes, you can suffer from all of the above at once!
In just a few weeks, from November 7-12, my colleague and good friend, NY Times bestselling author Dr. Alan Christianson will be hosting The Adrenal Reset Summit. It’s co-hosted by nutritionist Evan Brand.
I cover the Adrenals and Anxiety in my interview with Dr. Christianson and a few of the aspects we cover are low zinc and high copper.
Here is a snippet from me about zinc:
zinc is very underrated as being a nutrient that is commonly deficient and certainly when it comes to anxiety, it’s a huge factor. We have the zinc-copper imbalance and when we’ve got very high copper levels and low zinc levels, we may feel more anxious. But zinc is really, really important for so many things. I just mentioned serotonin, it’s really important as a cofactor for making serotonin and the other neurotransmitters like GABA which is a calming neurotransmitter.
It’s really, really important for adrenal function as well. There was actually a really nice paper that was published in December 2015 [Effects of Physical Activity on Trace Elements and Depression Related Biomarkers in Children and Adolescents], looking at children and adolescents and found that children and adolescents with lower levels of zinc also had low serotonin, they had high copper levels, and they also had lower cortisol levels, and sometimes, they had high cortisol levels. So, it varies but they definitely have issues with their cortisol levels and that’s obviously going to be a big factor when it comes to how they’re able to handle stress, what their mood levels are going to be like, what their cognitive function is going to be like, and everything else. So, zinc is a really important thing. It’s not talked about a lot and it’s something that is definitely a big factor.
I didn’t share this specific information during the interview but here are some of the results from the above study:
Older children, especially girls, had higher levels of depression. Participants with moderate and severe depression had significantly lower physical activity, serotonin, and zinc levels, zinc/copper ratios, and significantly higher copper and cortisol levels.
Physically active boys showed significantly lower depressive scores and improvement in cortisol, serotonin, copper, and zinc concentrations compared to girls of sedentary life style.
A little later in the interview Dr. Christianson shares what happened to him when he was inadvertently exposed to high levels of copper:
This is a brief insight I won’t go too far into but there was a period of time I was studying with a Vedic practitioner and there were these various rituals that I had to do. One of them was involving putting liquids in these containers and drinking and doing [some of these] meditations. The historical vessels [that] were used were copper-based and I got pretty toxic at one point. I had these horrible leg cramps. I really lost my capacity for exercise. It was very dramatic. I had a hard time climbing stairs and odd mood changes and odd twitches and what not. I finally realized that was the culprit and yeah, I did mega doses of zinc which I normally would not have tolerated well but I did fine with during that time and recovered from that. So, those are a real thing! (laughs)
I hope you can join us for the summit! The line-up is excellent. Here are a few of the many excellent speakers and their topics:
- Chris Kresser, M.S., L.Ac – Is Adrenal Fatigue Real?
- Steph Gadreau, CHNP – Perfectionism and Adrenals
- Aviva Romm, MD – Adrenal Adaptogens
- Ben Lynch, ND – Adrenals and Methylation
- Wendy Myers, FDN, CHHC – Heavy Metal Toxicity
- Dan Kalish, DC – Adrenal Neurotransmitter Connection
- JJ Virgin, CNS, CHFS – Preventing Adrenal Burnout
- Julia Ross, MA – Neurotransmitters and the Food Mood Connection
You can register here https://uo178.isrefer.com/go/arsScott/trudyscottcn/
Hi Trudy,
I have high copper and low zinc. I have been supplementing with 100mg zinc picolinate for quite some time now but haven’t been successful in elevating my zinc levels. I have no known intestinal conditions. I am wondering if this a common thing where it is difficult to get the zinc levels up or is there some other form of zinc that is superior? Or do people with low zinc have troubles absorbing and need extra support with digestion? I would really like to see if correcting my zinc/copper ratio will help with my panic and anxiety! Thanks Trudy, I love all the information you put out for everyone and all the work that you do!
Lori
Yes it can be challenging for some. I look for other sources of copper like pipes, IUD, jewellery, copper in supps, the BCP and heavy intake of nuts or nut flours like almond flour.
Also switching to another form often helps. I like Optizinc.
Addressing low stomach acid and low levels of GLA (evening primrose oils enhances absorption) are factors to consider too.
Is it okay to take the B6 and zinc without the other b vitamins if you don’t need them?
Adell
When taking individual B vitamins it’s important to always take a B complex
What B complex do you recommend Trudy that doesn’t contain methylated B12 and methylfolate which wreaks havoc with my COMT and MAOA SNP’s? Thanks.
Seeking Health sells a B complex specifically without folate and b12; it’s called b-minus, I think.
Thanks Keri, I had heard about this product and have ordered it. Thank you for reminding me!
Have a lovely weekend.
I thought B12 and folate were important regardless?
Is it just the methyl version that you are having trouble with?
I was thinking about getting B12 and folate being that
My nerves have become so sensitive and only have 220
On my serum test.
I have read that there is no true reliable way
Of asesssing zinc to copper ratios.
Is there just a general/safe way to go about it
If your anxious? If your anxious is safe to assume
that your just high in copper and avoid it completely
And totally? I used to love eating avocados but stopped
Because they are high in copper. Should one just try a
small amount of zinc like say 10mg?
Jack
For low zinc: zinc challenge, alk phos <70 and low zinc symptoms. Copper and ceruloplasmin is accurate as is hair analysis for copper. But it's not easy to assess for these minerals
The link to the paper is about what happens to copper levels in the liver from a pesticide call 3-Nitro-4-Hydroxyphenylarsonic Acid, trade name roxarsone.
The liver is essential for detoxification and the copper levels are low in the liver in the animals tests. The authors suggest that the copper may be chelated by the roxarsone.
My sister has ALS and in ALS copper metabolism is seriously messed up, and there is also problems with the liver. The Linus Pauling institute has developed a copper complex that cured an ALS model of mice, so copper is extremely important and very clearly, the agricultural industry is changing the nature of our food supply with an increased growth outcome without consideration to health outcomes.
This is an example of how one unnatural chemical changes copper metabolism.
https://dl.sciencesocieties.org/publications/jas/abstracts/59/4/JAN0590040997?access=0&view=pdf
Deb
Thanks for sharing! And yes the “agricultural industry is changing the nature of our food supply with an increased growth outcome without consideration to health outcomes” – very disturbing!
I just started taking zinc from Angstrom mnerals
http://www.angstrom-mineral.com/angstrom-minerals/angstrom-zinc.html
Is it okay to take 30mg of this kind of zinc? I am 79 and took a small dose today because I wasn’t sure. I could hardly taste the zinc when I put it under my tongue.
AMT
I typically use the liquid zinc for testing zinc status otherwise the bottle would be finished very quickly
Yes, I know what you mean but this is the liquid zinc that is 15mg=2 Tablespoons held sublingually for 15 seconds. What dose do you recommend of this type.
I haven’t used this product or anything like this in this form so really can’t comment
Hi Trudy
I just have to say that Zinc has helped me tremendously with my anxiety and if I could rate it in a scale of 1-10 my anxiety levels are a number 4. I only take 22 mg everyday.
But there’s two side effects that I’m experiencing…one is that it lowers my libido and erections somehow wich is annoying. When I stopped taking it my libido and erection quality came back. Why is this happening?
Also my nails are flaking on the upper nail and they also feel brittle and soft. Iron deficiency?
Best regards
Freddy
Glad to hear that zinc helps with your anxiety. I find the negative effects unusual because zinc is so important for men’s health. It could be that 22mg is too much even though it’s a pretty low dose. Also zinc pushes out copper and this can affect libido.
Thanks for the reply, do you have any suggestion to what can counteract that? I currently don’t take B6/P5P because I feel that it makes me more anxious even on a low dose. I get more panicy…maybe norepinephrine? It does help with libido when I take it.
Fredy
Which Optizinc? I see two options in your store. I have high copper and low zinc.
Karen
Both zinc products are fine. I often use Solaray but if someone is making an online purchase and wants one-stop shopping/delivery then the Douglas labs optizinc is what we use.
Where can I see the whole interview with Dr. Christianson?
Johnny
It’s available as part of the summit