Episode Details

Most people think about magnesium for constipation and digestion. 

What if the problem isn't that you're deficient in magnesium? What if the minerals you already have can't actually do their jobs?

That's what copper does. And it is one of the most overlooked minerals in functional nutrition.

In this episode, Dr. Heather covers the copper-zinc-iron-thyroid connection and why it matters so much when it comes to constipation, low ferritin, slow motility, and fatigue that doesn't budge.

What you'll hear in this episode:

• Why minerals don't work in isolation and what happens when copper is low
• The seesaw relationship between zinc and copper, and why long-term zinc supplementation without copper can backfire
• How copper supports stomach acid, digestive energy, and gut motility
• Why iron supplementation doesn't always work (and what the actual missing piece might be)
• Ceruloplasmin: the copper-dependent protein that acts like a traffic controller for iron
• How copper and zinc both connect to thyroid physiology, and how that links back to constipation
• The zinc-copper-iron-thyroid-constipation chain, explained step by step
• Copper-rich and zinc-rich foods, and why oysters are in a category of their own
• What we look for on HTMA and why we read minerals as a pattern, not in isolation

Resources and links mentioned:

• Minerals & HTMA Practitioner training on June 18
• HTMA testing 

For practitioners: On June 18, Dr. Heather is teaching practitioners how to identify mineral patterns using HTMA and other functional assessments, including how copper and zinc impact ferritin, why some clients don't improve with iron, and how minerals affect thyroid and gut function. Details in the link above.

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