A new study is further burnishing copper’s reputation as an essential nutrient for human physiology. A research team led by a scientist at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and at the University of California– Berkeley has found that copper plays a key role in metabolizing fat.
Long-prized as a malleable, conductive metal used in cookware, electronics, jewelry, and plumbing, copper has been gaining increasing attention over the past decade for its role in certain biological functions. It has been known that copper is needed to form red blood cells, absorb iron, develop connective tissue, and support the immune system.
