As an essential trace element, zinc plays a role in more aspects of your health than you probably realize. You literally cannot live without it! Let’s dive in to all things zinc.
What does it do?
Zinc is needed for growth and development, the immune response, neurological function, and reproduction. Many aspects of cellular metabolism also depend on zinc. In fact, nearly 100 different enzymes require zinc to catalyze essential chemical reactions!
The structure of proteins and cell membranes also depend on zinc. With too little zinc, membranes become more susceptible to oxidative damage.
It also plays an important regulatory role in gene expression, cell signaling, hormone release, and nerve impulse transmission.
Nutrient Interactions
As with everything else, you can’t mess with zinc and think zinc is going to be the only thing affected. Everything is connected!
Copper – Supplementing with over 50mg of zinc per day over a period of weeks will result in a copper deficiency. However, it’s not true the other way around – taking a lot of copper does not mess with zinc absorption.
Iron – Supplementing with iron may reduce zinc absorption, so it’s important to watch zinc levels if you need to take iron.
Calcium – A high intake of dietary calcium may affect zinc absorption, but it’s unclear. However, calcium combined with phytic acid does reduce zinc absorption.
Folate – There is some evidence to suggest that low zinc intake may decrease folate absorption.
Vitamin A – Zinc and Vitamin A are connected in multiple processes. It is for this reason that zinc deficiency contributes to night blindness.
Deficiency
Severe zinc deficiency is uncommon, primarily occurring in people born with a genetic disorder preventing them from uptaking and transporting zinc. Without treatment, these individuals typically die in infancy. However, oral zinc therapy can cause complete remission of symptoms, but must be maintained indefinitely.
Mild zinc deficiency contributes to impaired physical and neuropsychological development, and higher susceptibility to life-threatening infections in young children.
Infants, children, pregnant or lactating women, malnourished individuals, people with severe or persistent diarrhea, people with celiac or IBS, people with alcoholic liver disease, people with sickle cell anemia, and adults over 65 are all at increased risk of zinc deficiency. Additionally strict vegetarians require higher levels of zinc due to the high levels of phytic acid they consume.
Disease Prevention
Growth retardation and failure to thrive are common in children suffering from mild zinc deficiency. Several studies have shown zinc supplementation to increase growth rate.
Neurological and behavioral development delays are also associated with low maternal zinc nutritional status, however it is unclear what role zinc supplementation might play in reversing this.
Zinc supplementation along with oral rehydration therapy has been shown to significantly reduce the severity and duration of acute childhood diarrhea. Since over 3 million children die of diarrheal diseases per year in developing countries, it would be prudent to consider this when addressing this issue.
Pneumonia may also be prevented by zinc supplementation. Several studies have shown a lower prevalence of childhood pneumonia among children supplementing with zinc.
Finally, zinc supplementation has been shown to contribute to a reduction in premature deliveries among pregnant women.
Food Sources
Zinc found in meat is more bioavailable than that found in plant foods due to the presence of phytic acid. The following are some foods with relatively high amounts of zinc: Oysters, beef, crab, turkey, pork, chicken, beans, yogurt, milk, cashews, chickpeas, almonds, peanuts, and cheddar cheese.
And there you have it! Zinc may be the last thing on your mind on a daily basis, but it is actually responsible for so much good in your life. If you’re in need of more zinc, check out BioLight’s Resist-Immu capsules or their Inflam Redux 2 – both are great sources!
Resource:
Higdon, Jane and Victoria J. Drake, “An Evidence-based Approach to Vitamins and Minerals,” 2nd Edition, 2012
