While numerous important considerations for healing and detoxing from copper toxicity are provided on the Healing page, there remain many widespread myths and misconceptions that continually circulate, especially on social media, that add not only to confusion, but also to the anxiety underlying the very condition itself.  These misconceptions include:

1. Even with Copper Toxicity, the goal is to detox all copper out of the body.
No. Copper is an essential nutrient. We don't want to get rid of all the copper in our bodies.  Depending on your condition with copper, there may be an element of detox involved for sure.  However, we also cannot ignore the importance of supporting the availability of copper for good health (for which supporting the adrenals, liver, magnesium, retinol, ceruloplasmin are all part of the process). 

2. "Fixing" copper toxicity just involves taking supplements.
Absolutely not.  A supplement protocol intelligently guided by properly assayed HTMA (hair analysis) is an excellent place to start, without which any detox approach is being done, at least in part, blindly. However, all the supplements in the world won't do much if you have ongoing exposure, have unrelenting stressors, negative mindset or outlook, poor diet, etc.  For healing and whole body wellness, both mind and body, along with environment, need to be addressed and nurtured. 

3. People need to avoid all copper.  
No. Once again copper is an essential nutrient. Those with clear cut copper toxicity will generally do better avoiding high copper foods for a while.  However, there is no need to microscopically examine the nutrient profile of every food in order to avoid copper 100%.  Absolutely not. Tolerance to copper will be an individual thing, and some can handle more copper than others.  However, as a general rule of thumb with copper toxicity, aim for a 'low copper' diet, NOT a 'no copper' diet.

4. All one's symptoms stem from copper.
For many whose symptoms developed after making the one change of going on a copper IUD, it's quite easy to point all fingers at copper as being the only imbalance.  Minerals do not operate in isolation, however, and as a copper imbalance develops, it throws off other mineral levels too. Each of those other imbalances carries its own sets of symptoms. It is never "just" about copper.  In many cases of "suspected" copper toxicity based on a person's symptoms, the bigger issue (or imbalance) sometimes turns out to not even be copper, but something else entirely.  This is why testing is so critical, in order to understand your complete mineral system.

5. Copper toxicity is some horrible affliction, or a "black or white absolute" condition.
For some of the more serious cases of copper toxicity, the effects can indeed be very difficult and life-altering.   However, it's important to understand that copper toxicity is not a black or white (or an "either or") situation for most people.  The level of copper accumulation, just like a toxic metal such as mercury, for example, exists along a continuum, with severe deficiency at one extreme and severe overload at the other.  Along that continuum, infinite degrees of accumulation exist, and at some undefinable degree, a person can begin to be deemed 'copper toxic'. However, people often prematurely label themselves with that term which, just like any medical diagnosis, should not define who the person is.  Even if the person truly is copper 'toxic', it is merely an imbalance, and though it may affect behavior and how one feels, it does not define you as a person.  Nor is it always some horrible affliction - various degrees of excess tissue accumulation are extremely common in people.  We could use mercury again as an example...  many people have some degree of mercury in their bodies which may be negatively affecting health in some way (and of which people should be aware),  but which does not necessarily warrant the person to be considered "mercury toxic". 

For most people affected by true copper toxicity, healing does not happen overnight, nor is there some simple one-size-fits-all approach or magic supplement.  Overly simplistic suggestions that fit the phrase "just do ___" or "just take ____" keep people from understanding the true nature of copper toxicity and how to address it.  Visit our Healing Page for more guidance on how to intelligently address the detox and healing process.