Colette Freiberg

COPPER DEFICIENCY: COULD IT BE HARMING YOUR ARTERIES? Copper is the essential cofactor for lysyl oxidase, the enzyme that cross links collagen and elastin fibers so vessel walls retain both tensile strength and the elastic recoil needed to expand and contract with each heartbeat. When copper is inadequate, that cross linking falters, elastin networks weaken and fragment and arteries progressively lose their ability to stay contracted which animal models, genetic copper transport disorders such as Menkes disease and human tissue studies (showing lower copper in aneurysmal aortic walls) have linked to abdominal aortic aneurysms, carotid and cerebral aneurysms and the progressive dilation seen in varicose veins. Beyond structural integrity, copper also supports vascular health through copper-zinc superoxide dismutase’s antioxidant defense against the oxidative stress that further degrades elastic fibers and impairs nitric-oxide signaling, so deficiency can quietly compound stiffness, inflammation, and endothelial dysfunction. In modern diets this risk is amplified by soil depletion, heavy reliance on refined foods that strip minerals and widespread high dose zinc supplementation or zinc rich processed foods that competitively block copper absorption in the gut. Dr. Ardis framing of copper deficiency as the primary driver of these vascular failures is therefore both mechanistically sound and clinically relevant, underscoring that arterial resilience is not merely a matter of cholesterol or blood pressure but of the micronutrient scaffolding that keeps connective tissue functional making dietary sources such as shellfish, nuts, seeds and dark chocolate, or careful repletion when status is low, a foundational rather than peripheral strategy for long term vascular integrity.

At this point, I’m not even asking questions anymore. 💀😂