What Are The Benefits Of Zinc?

What Is Zinc?

What Are The Benefits Of Zinc?

Zinc (Zn) is an “essential trace element”nutrient that people need to stay healthy.

Where Do You Find Zinc In Our Body?

Zinc is found in cells throughout our body. Zinc helps the immune system fight off invading viruses and bacteria. Our body also needs zinc to make proteins and DNA, the genetic material in all cells.

Benefits of Zinc Include:

  • Stimulates the activity of over 100 different enzymes.a crucial role in regulating how neurons communicate with one another, affecting how memories are formed and how we learn.
  • During pregnancy, infancy, and childhood, the body needs zinc to grow and develop properly.
  • Zinc deficiency can severely impair immune system function.
  • Helps wounds heal and is important for proper senses of taste and smell. A Swedish study that analyzed zinc in wound healing, concluded that “topical zinc may stimulate leg ulcer healing by enhancing re-epithelialization, decreasing inflammation and bacterial growth. When zinc is applied on wounds it not only corrects a local zinc deficit but also acts pharmacologically.
  • The human body needs zinc to activate T lymphocytes (T cells) T cells help the body in two ways:  
    • 1. Controlling and regulating immune responses. 
    • 2. Attacking infected or cancerous cells.

Our body’s need only a very small intake of Zinc is necessary to reap the benefits.

Currently, the “Recommended Dietary Allowance” (RDA) for zinc in the U.S. is: 8 mg/ day for women and 11 mg/ day for men.

Low level of zinc make a person more susceptible to disease and illness. In fact, zinc deficiency are thought to be responsible for over 800,000 childhood deaths in the world every year.

Where Is Zinc Found:

The zinc is naturally found in a number of different foods, but it is also available as a dietary supplement. The tolerable upper limit for zinc is 40 mg for males and females over 18 years.

Zinc deficiency is usually due to insufficient dietary intake. However, Zinc deficiency may be due to malabsorption and chronic illnesses such as diabetes, malignancy (cancer), liver disease, sickle-cell disease.

Foods with the highest Zinc content are:

  • Oysters (Contain more Zinc than any other food)
  • Toasted Wheat
  • Roast Beef
  • Crab
  • Pork loin
  • Baked beans
  • Lobster
  • Beef
  • Veal Liver
  • Dark chocolate
  • Lamb
  • Peanuts

You can read about Essential Vitamins and Supplements, HERE.  

You can read more about HypoGal at www.HypoGal.com. 

Resources: http://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/zinc/evidence/hrb-20060638 

http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Zinc-Consumer/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24488209

http://www.merckmanuals.com/home/disorders-of-nutrition/minerals/zinc-deficiency-and-toxicity

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