Health benefits and risks of copper. It also helps the body form collagen and absorb iron, and plays a role in energy production. Most copper in the body is found in the liver, brain, heart, kidneys, and skeletal muscle. Deficiency is rare, but it can lead to cardiovascular disease and other problems.
Ancient Egyptians (including Cleopatra) used the metal to sterilize wounds and drinking water, and the Aztecs gargled with copper to treat sore throats. Fast forward thousands of years and the ingredient is making a major resurgence, with creams, serums, and even fabrics popping up with promising anti-aging results.
Today's creams feature a natural form of copper called copper tripeptide-1, Also called copper peptide GHK-Cu, the copper complex was first uncovered in human plasma (but it's also found in urine and saliva), and is a type of peptide that seeps into skin easily.
Such types of copper peptides help activate the skin's metalloproteinases that remove damage proteins (sun as sun-damaged collagen and elastin) and scars. Thus, copper peptides added to skin creams help the process of rebuilding new collagen and elastin into the skin.
COPPER
Practitioners of ayurvedic medicine – which dates back 3,000 years – recommend drinking water from a copper cup. These practitioners have long theorized that copper removes impurities and helps restore balance and health to the body.
(It should be mentioned, however, that drinking alcohol or fruit juice out of copper cups should be avoided).
Small fragments of protein that bind with copper – which is found in trace amounts throughout the body’s cells. When these peptides are at work, they encourage blood vessel growth, help promote skin regeneration, stimulate collagen, and boost antioxidant activities.
Essentially, copper acts as a conveyer that carries nourishing, restorative proteins to the skin.
When there’s not enough copper in the body to carry out this work, the visible signs of
aging become more obvious.
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