Copper: What It Does in Your Body and Where to Get It

A trace mineral you need in tiny amounts, but one that quietly powers your energy, blood, and connective tissue.

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By the Ration Editorial Team · Reviewed against primary research · Updated July 14, 2026

Copper is a trace mineral, meaning your body needs only small amounts of it to function well.

It works as a cofactor for several enzymes, which are proteins that speed up chemical reactions in your cells.

These copper dependent enzymes are involved in energy production, iron metabolism, and the formation of connective tissue like collagen and elastin.

Copper also plays a role in making melanin, the pigment that gives color to skin, hair, and eyes.

Copper is absorbed mainly in the small intestine, then transported through the bloodstream attached to a protein called ceruloplasmin.

One of copper's key jobs is helping the body use iron properly.

Without enough functional copper, iron can get stuck in storage tissues instead of being used to build hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen.

Copper also supports the mitochondria, the energy producing structures inside cells, through an enzyme involved in the final step of cellular respiration.

Another copper enzyme, lysyl oxidase, cross links collagen and elastin fibers, which gives strength and flexibility to skin, blood vessels, and bone.

A separate copper enzyme called superoxide dismutase helps neutralize free radicals, acting as part of the body's antioxidant defense system alongside nutrients like vitamin C and selenium.

Because copper touches so many systems, its effects are usually studied through what happens when levels are too low or too high, rather than through trials testing extra copper for a specific benefit.

• Low copper status has been linked to anemia that does not respond to iron alone, since copper is needed to mobilize iron into red blood cells.
• Copper deficiency can affect white blood cell counts and immune function.
• Severe or prolonged deficiency has been associated with bone weakening and connective tissue problems, consistent with copper's role in collagen formation.
• Some neurological symptoms, including numbness and difficulty walking, have been reported in cases of significant copper deficiency, often tied to malabsorption after gastric surgery or very high zinc intake.
• Excess copper, most often from supplements or contaminated water, is more commonly documented in case reports than benefit from added copper is documented in trials.

Overall, the strongest evidence supports copper's necessity for normal physiology rather than any benefit from consuming more than the body needs.

Copper is fairly widespread in the food supply, with the richest sources concentrated in organ meats, shellfish, nuts, seeds, and cocoa.

Whole grains, legumes, and potatoes also contribute meaningful amounts of copper when eaten regularly.

A varied diet that includes some of these foods most weeks typically covers copper needs without much effort.

Copper requirements are small, generally measured in the range of about 900 micrograms per day for most adults, with slightly higher needs during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Most people eating a mixed diet with some nuts, seeds, whole grains, or seafood meet this easily through food alone.

Supplemental copper is available as copper gluconate, copper sulfate, and copper amino acid chelates, often included in multivitamins rather than sold as standalone high dose products.

• People who have had gastric bypass or other bariatric surgery, since copper absorption happens in the small intestine.
• People taking high dose zinc supplements over long periods, since zinc competes with copper for absorption.
• People with malabsorption conditions such as celiac disease or Crohn's disease.
• People with unexplained anemia that does not improve with iron alone.
• People following very restrictive diets that exclude most of the food groups listed above.

Getting too much copper is generally a bigger practical concern for most people than getting too little, since food sources rarely cause excess on their own.

High intakes, usually from supplements or copper contaminated drinking water, have been associated with nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and in severe cases liver damage.

People with Wilson's disease, a rare inherited condition that causes copper to build up in the liver and brain, need to avoid excess copper specifically.

Because copper and zinc compete for absorption, taking high dose zinc supplements for extended periods can push copper status down over time.

Anyone considering a copper supplement, especially at doses above what a standard multivitamin provides, may want to discuss it with a healthcare provider first given the narrow margin between adequate and excessive intake.

Copper is a small but essential mineral that supports red blood cell formation, energy production, connective tissue, and antioxidant defenses.

Most people get enough from a normal diet that includes some shellfish, organ meats, nuts, seeds, or whole grains.

Deficiency is uncommon outside of specific risk groups, and excess intake from supplements is generally the more realistic concern.

For most healthy people, food remains the simplest and safest way to meet copper needs.