5 Things to Know About Copper
*Disclaimer: this article is not meant to be individual medical/nutrition advice but for education purposes only. Each child’s nutritional needs are different.
Copper might be one of the elements you remember from your high school chemistry class, but here’s a fun fact you may not know: it is considered to be an essential nutrient for the brain and body.
The same way copper helps move telecommunications signals between phone wires, tiny amounts of copper with certain enzymes in the brain, also help form key neurotransmitters that help brain cells “talk” to one another. Want to drop some more knowledge on your fellow super-parents? … keep reading!
Here are 5 things you should know about copper:
1. Memories in the making
Your little one’s brain is growing. But the brain isn’t one thing. It’s made up of regions that each have a very particular role. The hippocampus is the area of the brain involved in learning and memory. Copper is a key nutrient that helps support the hippocampus–especially in the early months and right around the time you will begin to introduce solid food.
Support the developmental marvel of making memories with a diet rich in copper.
2. Babies can get copper from breast milk/formula and food
Copper is a nutrient you may never have thought to look out for. We know there’s only so much that can be on a parents’ radar at one time.
Let us help you choose wisely by suggesting some foods rich in copper that you can start introducing to your kiddo:
- spinach
- kale
- potatoes
- lentils
- nuts*
- sunflower seeds*
- shiitake mushrooms
- avocado
- mangoes
- tofu
- chickpeas
*Nuts and seeds are a choking hazard for children under the age of 4. We suggest grinding nuts/seeds and adding them to their food instead of offering whole.
3. Copper is a mineral needed for optimal whole body growth
Copper has so many jobs! It’s used to help build the parts of the body that make your kiddo strong! Bone, connective tissue, cartilage, and blood vessels. AND it even helps maintain the body’s nervous + immune system.
4. Copper and iron are buddies
Iron typically gets all the credit but the truth is that other nutrients, like copper, deserve at least part of the spotlight!
Copper helps the body absorb iron from the gut and is needed for iron metabolism and moving it around the body.
5. Muscle coordination and balance
Those tiny muscles seem to do all the work, but it all starts with the brain.
That’s where connections are being built between brain cells to tell your babe how to balance and coordinate movements. Copper from food is important to fuel this region of the brain.
Not sure where to start and how to incorporate copper into your little one’s diet?
Don’t sweat it. Cerebelly ensures your little one is getting a meaningful amount of Copper in every pouch.
Cerebelly is the first and only science-backed baby food that delivers whole food nutrition designed for optimal cognitive development. Check out our purees and smart bars with 16 key brain-supporting nutrients to support your little one at every stage of their growth.
About
the author
Stacey Segal BScA, MSc, RD
Stacey is a pediatric dietitian and a mom of two little eaters. Her career has been dedicated to nourishing babies, toddlers and kids. She’s a staff dietitian at The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, specializing in neuroscience. Stacey is also the founder of the Prenatal and Pediatric Nutrition Clinic at GSH Medical, and a nutrition writer for AboutKidsHealth website. Being a mom herself, she has experienced the challenges that come with feeding kids. She’s passionate about helping families raise well nourished kids right from the start!
Have more questions? Send us an email at support@cerebelly.com and we will be sure to get back to you!
