Is Methylation Status Related to Copper Levels? Many believe the myth that high copper individuals are overmethylated, while undermethylated individuals are low in copper. While this may be true in certain individual cases, there is no correlation between methylation and copper levels.
Copper Status and Methylation Status are Completely Separate and Unrelated Disorders
Patients often think that if a person is high in copper they are also automatically overmethylated, and if they are low in copper they are automatically undermethylated. We want to bust the myth that copper and methylation are somehow connected biochemically. This is simply not true. There is no automatic assumption that ties methylation and copper levels. We have seen everything from undermethylated and high copper to pyrrole individuals with normal copper levels, to those with pyrrole disorder and low copper levels. Everything exists. Copper is an independent variable when it comes to a person’s methylation status. There is no clinical relationship between the two.
Many folks believe methylation status and copper levels are related in some way, and they look to find a correlation between the two. But there is simply no relationship between the two.
Facts about Copper Status and Methylation Status
Many patients wonder how copper status is determined. We look at a specific copper test, such as the serum copper level, to get a good read on whether the person has a copper imbalance. All biochemical imbalances we treat can have copper toxicity, deficiency, or normalcy. The copper serum is the best diagnostic test for determining copper status.
There is not a synergistic shift in symptoms for the copper toxic/deficient individual. The same symptoms of copper toxicity will be seen in a patient who is overmethylated as will be seen in a patient who is undermethylated. This is also true for copper deficiency symptoms.
Each imbalance produces its own symptomatology. Patients with more than one biochemical imbalance will present with additional symptoms that are directly related to each additional imbalance that they have. If you are undermethylated you will have specific symptoms of undermethylation. If you are copper toxic, you will have additional symptoms of copper toxicity. These are two separate challenges in the same patient and this does not mean that they are related. They are not directly correlated with one another.
What do I mean by this? Clinically speaking, undermethylated people cannot automatically be a “type” of copper level, as if these two things go together in some kind of relational way. This is not the correct way of thinking.
The Scoop on Copper and Histamine Levels
There are shades of grey when it comes to discussions on the relationship between copper and histamine. Copper can indeed lower histamine. But the degree to which this occurs is what is not understood by most people. Copper does not drastically lower histamine. Clinically speaking, copper doesn’t lower histamine in such a way that you would have a significant shift in overall histamine levels due to copper levels in your body. I think many people get confused about the relationship between copper and histamine levels.
Low Copper Status from a Clinical Perspective
The term “low copper” as a research term is not an accurate clinical measurement of a disease state. What is a low copper individual? Clinically, we look at various health factors in our efforts to define this term. Low copper as a definitive term can mean a range of things. It may mean a person with pathologically low copper, as in Wilson’s disease. It may mean a level not considered pathologically high in a clinical setting. Circumstances and nuances are not as clearly defined in research data as they are in a clinical setting. This makes discussions regarding normal copper vs pathologically high copper or on copper levels and methylation status seem incongruous.
The Takeaway
From a clinical standpoint, we know that most autistic children are undermethylated and high in copper. We have a lot of undermethylated females who are also high in copper. We have to move away from these axioms that are being tossed around that are confusing people. Many folks are reading about these conditions and are trying to self-educate and some are even trying to self-treat their biochemical imbalances based on advice they read.
If your copper is low that does not mean you are undermethylated. Research states things in black and white, but in a clinical environment there are many shades of grey. Overmethlyation does not likewise mean high copper. Each one of these variables except for histamine and methyl needs to be looked at individually. What is copper doing on its own? Copper? Pyrroles? The blanket associations are not valid. We focus on each imbalance separately and address each patient individually. It is not about one affecting the other. So the answer to the question, “Is methylation status related to copper levels?” is quite simply, no.
Albert Mensah, MD, BCIP
As a physician in this specialized field since 2005, Dr. Mensah, board certified in integrative pediatrics by the American Association of Integrative Medicine, has treated over 3,000 patients with advanced targeted nutrient therapy. He serves on the board at Walsh Research Institute and serves as a clinical instructor for WRI’s international doctor training programs around the world. Dr. Albert Mensah received his undergraduate degree from Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois) and his medical degree from Finch University of Health Sciences-Chicago Medical School. Dr. Mensah’s residency was in Family Medicine at Swedish Covenant Hospital (Chicago). Following residency, he completed additional fellowship training in academic development at JHS Cook County Hospital (Chicago). From 2005 to 2008, Dr. Mensah treated patients at the former Pfeiffer Treatment Center, a not-for-profit organization and outpatient clinic specializing in the treatment of biochemical imbalances including children with autism. Prior to joining Pfeiffer, Dr. Mensah was a physician at Melrose Park Clinic in Illinois. Dr. Mensah co-founded Mensah Medical in 2008 with Dr. Judith Bowman.
