Rand, you wanted my take on this...(1) watch out for licorice...it lowers potassium and if you are on the methylation protocol you can use up more potassium from that too. My brother-in-law, a heart patient, died after eating a bag of licorice.
You said you already took everything that Lotus suggests, but did you try BH4? You can get it from
www.heartfixer.com. I notice no effect from it BUT I genetically need it, I am ABSOLUTELY POSITIVE
I need it (my father died of insufficient BH4), but the OTC dose is too low prolly to actually feel it. Still,
I figure better some than none to WARD OFF future problems. Like taking antioxidants - you can't feel them (except you can feel those too...if you have a cut and it stings, you don't have enough antioxidants because they quench the sting).
On to copper. I have stated my opinion many times. I actually read TONS of studies on copper when I was diagnosed low in copper by
www.traceelements.com, since I knew nothing about it. The problem is that there IS NO WAY to reliably judge copper status but liver biopsy...there is even a study paper calling for development of an accurate way to test copper status and going over the shortcomings of each method. Thus most of the studies regarding copper are wrong. Many studies claim elevated copper causes blotty blotty and you see they determined copper from serum. Copper is an acute phase reactant so the body steals it from tissues to place in the blood for many, MANY conditions: inflammation, hormone levels, OTC meds like laxatives, etc. So most studies degenerate to: we found that all people with cancer have high copper levels (duh! the copper level in the blood is just another confirmation of cancer, NOT indicative of copper levels in the body).
The problem with insufficient copper is that you die of aneurism. As stated above, copper is required for lysl oxidase which is required for cross linking of collagen. W/o lysl oxidase, it is like building a brick house with the bricks stacked exactly on top of each other (not alternated), which is not strong. It is the cross-linking that makes skin thick and blood vessels strong. Your blood vessels have to be able to withstand tremendous force to pass tiny blood clots or they will burst. Copper deficiency also causes neuropathy. It causes thin skin - so if you find you cut yourself easily while shaving or from other minor irritations, that is a symptom of copper deficiency.
I eat TONS of chocolate and yet I am copper deficient. I tried to figure out of the
www.traceelements.com test is accurate and I decided to trust it to a certain extent BECAUSE (1) it did NOT show me low in copper at age 45, but only at age 51 (2) at age 45 I had thick skin, hard to cut and at age 51 my thin became thin and easy to cut (3) at 45 I had no grey hair, but at 51 I started to get a little grey (4) at 52 I was diagnosed with osteopenia (bone also requires copper, although that is not the only thing it requires...I also started taking vitamin K2). See
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=5154620 (In that paper it reports on a study showing that 1000mg Ca, 15mg zinc, 5mg copper, and 2,5mg manganese INCREASES bone mass). The only thing unusual in that stack is the high copper.
After all my reading and trying to apply it to my own situation I came up with the following belief: generally young people are either high in copper or normal in copper because it APPEARS that estrogen (and I speculate testosterone) helps you absorb copper. Determining high or normal is beyond my interest (this stuff takes a lot of digging) because I am over 50. For women over 40-50 and men over 60-70 the question becomes 'nrmal or not enough?' Then I look at skin thickness, easy of sustaining injury, hair color, bone density to make a guess, but rely on
www.traceelements.com testing.
Tracelements has a paper at their website (by Paul Eck, I believe) listing all the things that interfere with copper absorption, and there are many. I have to assume the study above regarding bone mass did not segregate copper out separately from the calcium and zinc, both of which interfere with copper absorption, bring the actualy copper absorbed way down. So if you have lower hormone levels and take copper, prolly 3 mg will do it alone or 5mg with all the rest of your supplements. (That's what I do).
Now regarding zinc: copper ratio...I do not believe there is a ratio, at least as far as INTAKE is concerned. I find, due to extreme and many allergies, that we can WHIP THROUGH ZINC but not copper. I find that when I have an allergy or cold I need 75-150mg zinc to be able to breathe. These things destroy mucous membranes and it takes zinc and protein to rebuild them. From what I was able to determine copper is not so destroyed. There is no need for more copper than the 3-5mg you take if you are older, there may be a need for QUITE A LOT more zinc.
P.S. I was interested to see that you quote a site that does not rely on serum copper. Unfortunately their method of measuring copper has not been validated by the medical community and I have no idea if they've got it right. I am distrubed by their generalizations which do not take into consideration the effect that hormones have on copper absorption, which appears to be great.