When consuming large amounts of zinc, one may want to consider supplementing with copper. A proper balance of zinc:copper is about 10:1.
Zinc and copper are so similar in their atomic structure that they can actually compete with one another, not only for absorption, but also for utilization in the body's biochemical pathways. When your zinc is too high relative to your copper intake, the excess zinc actually interferes with the activity of enzymes, which depend on copper for their biological function, by stepping in to copper's proper binding sites in the enzymes.When copper is not properly incorporated into these enzymes, they can't fulfill their biochemical duties
the following taken from
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=53
bear in mind though you will get copper from your food. Excellent food sources of copper include calf's liver, crimini mushrooms, turnip greens and blackstrap molasses.
Copper is known to react with a variety of other nutrients, including iron, zinc, molybdenum, sulfur, selenium, and vitamin C. However, with respect to food, we haven't seen research evidence showing that other nutrients—including iron and zinc—interfere with absorption of copper. Similarly, while copper is known to interact with a variety of minerals once it has been absorbed up into the body, we have not seen research showing food-related problems in this regard. The situation is somewhat different, however, when it comes to dietary supplements that often provide minerals (or vitamins) in much higher doses than can be obtained from food. There's some evidence, although not conclusive, that zinc supplements, when taken at 50 milligrams or more on a daily basis over an extended period of time, can lower availability of copper. There's also some evidence (once again not conclusive) that high supplemental doses of vitamin C—in a range approaching 1,000 milligrams or more—may decrease copper availability. While not applicable to adults, there is also some evidence that in the formula feeding of infants, too much iron in a formula can lower absorption of copper from that formula.
