Despite our best efforts to inform and educate, many people remain unaware that there is often a direct relationship between behavior, cognition, and underlying biochemical imbalances. Particularly in young males who seem to be prone to violence, aggression, and impulsivity, there are often biochemical concerns that can lead to some of these difficult and challenging behaviors.
Copper Concerns – Early Signs
The most common biochemical imbalance that contributes to these negative traits in young males is one that we have discussed quite a bit in our recent blogs, excess copper. Oftentimes, we can see subtle signs of this imbalance in early childhood. Many parents tell us that their young sons are very impulsive or agitated. They do things and then they say, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to but I couldn’t help myself. It was just in me.” Such statements are very telling coming from a child. He is letting you know that there is something not quite right in the internal wiring, or rather in the chemistry that regulates or influences that wiring.
Copper Toxic Boys in School
As these high copper (or even copper-toxic) boys move into school-age years, the signs of their biochemical imbalance can become even more pronounced. Poor focus and inattentiveness, restlessness, excessive energy, and even incidents where a young boy seems uncontrollable, are all tell-tale signs of a likely copper imbalance. These boys are prime candidates for being labeled with ADHD when the truth of the matter is that they simply have a biochemical imbalance that makes it difficult for them to find a state of calmness. Many of these boys are put on medications like Ritalin or something else to help them focus. Unfortunately, these meds do not always do such a great job. Even more importantly, these medications are not really treating the underlying condition. For treatment to be effective, you must address the root cause!
Undiagnosed and untreated copper concerns can lead to even greater difficulties in young men as they advance in school to intermediate grades, junior high school, and on to high school. Their high energy and impulsivity make them prime candidates for detention. They have difficulty focusing and concentrating, and thus their academic performance starts to suffer. As their grades slip, they not only struggle with their biochemical challenges, but they also suffer from plummeting self-confidence and self-esteem.
Puberty adds yet another internal challenge, as raging hormones can further compound the poor focus and the emotional ups and downs already caused by the excess copper in a young man’s system. If all of these symptoms have gone unchecked and untreated for several years, now we’ve got teenagers who are so frustrated and confrontational that they may begin acting out, like skipping school or hanging out with “the wrong crowd.” They may even engage in negative social behaviors – things like turning over garbage cans or even shoplifting and other minor criminal acts that might result in an early introduction to the criminal justice system. It is important to point out here that these are not necessarily bad children. They just happen to have bad biochemistry, which is correctable.
The Science of High Copper in Males
How does this “bad biochemistry” work? Why does elevated copper cause all these potential challenges in young males? High copper tends to lead to high levels of norepinephrine, which in turn leads to excess adrenaline. These young men are basically in a constant state of fight-or-flight. In essence, our copper-toxic young men are on “speed” most of the time. They have a hard time settling down or even getting a decent night’s sleep. Consider if you had norepinephrine or adrenaline constantly surging through your system – you too would have a difficult time along those lines.
When considering if a young male is likely to be copper toxic, you will likely find a high copper pattern in the females in his lineage. We’re not just talking about Mom here either. Grandmothers, great-grandmothers, aunts, and great-aunts, any of these women in the family who preceded the male patient can provide clues to potential copper concerns. And the women’s copper “symptoms” will not necessarily show up as violence or aggression as it does in the male. These females often have histories of anxiety or depression, painful or difficult menstrual cycles, ovarian cysts, fibroid tumors, endometriosis, or even a family history of breast cancer. Female relatives who may have had hysterectomies, or who may have suffered from postpartum depression or postpartum psychosis, can be a very important sign. Review your family history and ask yourself if any of these things are present that might be a clue as to why little Johnny is not necessarily sitting down nice and calmly or may have aggressive tendencies.
Environmental Complications
I will say again that copper-toxic males are not necessarily bad, but there is the unfortunate reality that some of these boys grow up in challenging circumstances. They may face poverty, violence, inattentive or inappropriate parenting, or a host of other difficult social settings. This combination of imbalanced biochemistry and poor environment, of bad nature AND nurture, can lead to aggressive, violent, and even criminal tendencies. In fact, some of the earliest studies conducted by my mentor in orthomolecular medicine, Dr. William Walsh, examined the biochemistry of violent prison inmates. I’m sure you can guess what he found – a very high percentage of those inmates were high in copper.
Of course, we are not saying that your children, especially little boys who have high copper levels, are going to turn into criminals. For that matter, we are also not saying that all criminals are copper toxic. What we are saying is that there are clear correlations between copper toxicity in males and aggressive and impulsive behavior. If you recognize the signs and seek out testing and treatment early, entire lives can be changed and positive futures can be preserved.