Mineral deficiencies from Eating Disorders

[Guest guest]

Dear (Een111) and everyone,

's letter was every interesting so I forwarded it to the group. I've

read that eating disorders are caused by a zinc deficiency and this certainly

ties into the zinc/copper deficiency theory of thyroid disorders. I have a

feeling that women have a need for more copper, and maybe zinc, then men do.

If eating disorders are also a result of zinc deficiency (and perhaps other

mineral deficiencies), then that increased need for zinc would explain why

women get more eating disorders than men. And of course their are various

psychological processes at work too.

I've also been thinking that perhaps progesterone (the hormone that women's

bodies produce during the second half of their menstrual cycle) requires alot

of copper for its production. This would explain why women crave copper foods

like chocolate about 3-4 days before menstruation. It probably isn't the

blood loss which drives their craving at this time, because that hasn't

started to happen (unless their bodies are increasing the blood supply in

anticipation of the blood loss--does any know if this is the case?)

It's quite possible that the female hormones (and stress fighting hormones)

require lots of copper and this is a reason why women require more copper.

I've read that zinc is involved in a myriad of body processes (part of more

than 2000 enzymes alone) and I wouldn't be surprised if females require more

zinc than females.

Once eating disorders start, then the deficiencies only compound leading to

worse disorders and perhaps thyroid disorders. Perhaps the deficiencies of a

few minerals can cause a whole gamut of physical and psychological disorders.

Thinking about Vivian's (VZZZ) letter yesterday reminded me of something

else: copper-deficiency anemia. This is exactly analogous to iron-deficiency

anemia. Both copper and iron are needed to produce hemoglobin and if either

or both are deficient, anemia results. Both Vivian and I experienced a

tremendous surge of energy from taking copper and I suspect that this is from

recovering from copper-deficiency anemia. The increased copper results in

increased hemoglobin, which leads to more cellular oxygenation, which we

experience as a surge of energy. It was only when I recovered from copper

deficiency that I realized how low my physical and mental energy had been when

I was deficient.

Another thing which I've been negligent in discussing is iron. I've been

spending the last 20 years avoiding iron, but women require lots of it.

Kathleen (BHthkath) mentioned that she was taking iron and feeling better

(she's hypo). If you are hypo, definitely make sure you are getting enough

iron. Iron, according to Dr. Biamonte, is required for converting tyrosine

into thyroid hormone. If you're hyper, experiment with 18 mg a day for a

while and see if you feel better. Make sure you're taking copper (the brake

for the thyroid) however, or else you could get more thyroid hormone and be in

worse trouble. Please report back whatever you find.

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