Vitamins and Copper

Some vitamins work with copper in your body (synergists) and some work against copper (antagonists).

If the copper levels in your body are too high, it can cause a deficiency in the vitamins that are antagonistic to copper. For example if you have too much copper in your body, you can acquire a deficiency in Vitamins A, C, B5, B6 and niacin.

The higher the copper levels in your body, the more vitamin C you require. However, if you take too much vitamin C and you're deficient in copper, you may be more susceptible to infections.

The vitamins that are synergistic to copper are Vitamins B1, B12, C, D and folic acid. These vitamins work with copper and help to maintain the proper copper balance.

If you notice, Vitamin C is both an antagonist and a synergist. How can that be? It depends on the level of vitamin C in the body. At certain levels it's an antagonist and at other levels it's a synergist. This is one reason why it's really important to make sure you're giving your body exactly the nutrients it needs in the proper balance.

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