Copper : The Eternal Metal

The words holistic, natural and alternative appearing before medicine, tend to divide people into two camps. The "hippies" and the "conventionals".

The words holistic, natural and alternative appearing before medicine, tend to divide people into two camps. The "hippies" and the "conventionals". It needn't be so anymore now that we have grown aware of how detrimental Western medicine can be and just how effective simple, traditional medicine is , due to vast scientific research done on active ingredients in natural medicine.

Ayurveda, originating in India, is one of the oldest medicinal systems in the world, which was nearly wiped out when the British colonised India, so that only western medicine would be studied and used. As India finally became independent in 1947, Ayurveda made a miraculous and powerful come back, despite of western medicine becoming standard and conventional across the globe. The problem with Ayurvedic medicine and why it was so important to eradicate it? For one, Its ingredients are not very profitable, and its preventative, rather than curative.

Why the whole longwinded introduction? Because it all leads us as to why copper water bottles, an Ayurvedic staple (good health starts with the water we consume), are only just making a come back and spreading internationally. 5 years ago I looked into starting my own Ayurvedic e commerce business, bringing traditional Indian Ayurvedic produce and remedies to Europe.

There were multiple businesses already retailing Ayurvedic products but not one was selling pure copper water bottles. Until we, Dunya Ayurveda brought our own range to the UK and the rest of Europe. This was at a time when outrage was rising about the use of single use plastic water bottles and the potential health risks of storing water in aluminum and steel bottles. So although Dunya Ayurveda retails other Ayurvedic products, copper water bottles are our primary offering, due to their amazing health and environmental benefits. It is also important to note that the purer the copper, the more beneficial it is to your health, and we are transparent about our laboratory testing for every single batch of our products.

We have undisputed proof of the sterilising effects of copper and the benefits of introducing a small but vital amount of copper in our diet. Copper is essential for iron absorption, preventing aneamia; essential for fetal development and child brain development; it is an anti inflammatory and therefore very useful in fighting auto immune diseases such as arthritis; and its antimicrobial properties are very beneficial for digestion. Also, handling copper day to day has shown to be extremely health beneficial in killing bacteria and viruses, so just carrying your copper water bottle with you will improve your health.

Environmentally, copper is , together with aluminum , the only material that can be recycled eternally and we have more than enough copper so that the mines would never have to be depleted for our benefit.

Over the years, numerous studies have been done on the efficacy of cooper's antimicrobial attributes and I have included some of the most fascinating i have discovered so far.

In Paris in 1852, physician Victor Burq went to a copper smelter to observe their working conditions and amongst other startling findings, he found that every single employee who worked there had evaded cholera through 3 epidemics, as had hundreds of other copper workers on the same street.

He realised that copper was keeping them safe from infection and launched a full scale investigation into just how potent copper was. There were hardly any deaths at all amongst jewellers, smelter, boilermakers and even military officers who played brass instruments, due to their proximity and handling of copper on a regular basis.

He went on to do further studies across the globe and concluded to the French Academies of Science and Medicine in 1867 that:

“copper or its alloys, brass and bronze, applied literally and pregnantly to the skin in the cholera epidemic are effective means of prevention which should not be neglected.”

Back in 2012, V.B. Preethi Sudha, Sheeba Ganesan and Padma Venkatasubramanian conducted a study on the antimicrobial effects of copper on water stored in the metal. Their findings proved everything that the ancient Egyptians, Indians and Chinese have known for thousands of years. Even Cholera was killed by storing water in copper over night. In 2015, Dr , a microbiologist from Southampton University conducted a 2 year study at a hospital in the US where he replaced current fixtures with those made of copper. Hospital acquired infections were reduced by 58% , even superbug MRSA was killed within 10 to 15 minutes of landing on copper. Yet, hospitals are still reluctant to implement copper due to initial costs. However, due to the money saved treating patients who acquired HAIs , it would only take two to six months for the cost to be repaid.