Interesting article.
With all the wailing and gnashing of teeth about diabetes, I was hoping against hope that it could stay test sidebar of News/Activism. Sure enough, when I check, it's in chat. I don't chat. If I find news, I try to spread it.
Saw my doctor this morning in part because I get leg cramps at night and he said, besides the potassium I take I should take some calcium and magnesium. The pills I bought also contain zinc so I hope that helps as well.
Zicam works...... very well
A goodly portion of inflammation can be eliminated by simply grounding ones self. Walk barefoot in the grass. It’ll do wonders for inflammation. Check out “Earthing”. It sounds hippy dippy but the science is sound.
A bunch of twists and turns to this one.
To start with, not all zinc supplements are equal. While most are readily absorbed, “(blood) Plasma zinc has a rapid turnover rate and it represents only about 0.l percent of total body zinc content. This level appears to be under close homeostatic control.”
So zinc goes in, and zinc goes out. But there is a problem that a lot of tissues do not readily absorb most varieties of zinc. So most of the zinc supplement is lost before it can be absorbed by these tissues.
However, some forms of zinc, like zinc gluconate (found in
Cold-Eeze lozenges), and zinc aceticum and zinc gluconimum (Found in Zicam lozenges and spray) *are* readily uptaken by these tissues. In that case, zinc is known to inhibit viral reproduction, so these medicines can legally say that they “lessen duration and severity of the common cold” (though they might against influenza, they wouldn’t dare say so.)
But the point is both they get in your tissues quicker and stay there longer than zinc supplements in your blood.
“Zinc is an essential component of a large number (>300) of enzymes participating in the synthesis and degradation of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids as well as in the metabolism of other micronutrients.
“Zinc stabilises the molecular structure of cellular components and membranes and contributes in this way to the maintenance of cell and organ integrity. Furthermore, zinc has an essential role in polynucleotide transcription and thus in the process of genetic expression.”
Zinc works best in the body when there are sufficient amounts of vitamin A, calcium and phosphorus. If you increase your zinc levels, you should also increase your vitamin A and B6 levels (and vice versa).
Interestingly, zinc helps to decrease cholesterol deposits, so over time is good for the blood vessels, liver, and pancreas.
Add me to your ping, please.
Zinc is great if you battle sinus or any infections.
Hi neverdem, I used to be on your ping list but haven’t been getting them. Can you check and add me?
There’s a reason Zicam and Cold-Eeze work. I take a couple of Zicams each week whether I am sick or not.
thanks so much for the post. :-D
Thanks for posting.
Here’s some additional, interesting info on zinc as a possible treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease:
“A relatively ‘old’ study allows finding indication of the
potential benefit of a zinc therapy in AD [Alzheimer’s Disease], even though its design raised many concerns... Constantinidis (1992)... started an original study using zinc compounds for the treatment of AD. Ten patients were treated, all of them receiving 50 mg of oral Zinc bis-(DLhydrogenaspartate) TID (three times daily). Improvement of memory, understanding, communication, and social contact were evident in eight patients. In one patient, aged 79, relatively less demented and who received both oral and intravenous ZINC ASPARTATE, the improvement of memory was qualified as ‘unbelievable both by the medical staff and the family.’ The discontinuation of the treatment decreased and even reversed the improvement, in all patients. However, the small size of the patients’ sample, the design of the study neither blind nor placebo-controlled, makes these results at least concerning. Even though those conclusions have to be taken very cautiously, it seems surprising that nobody tried to replicate them in larger samples and using proper study design.”
http://www.benthamscience.com/rpcn/samples/rpcn4-3/0005.pdf
Alzheimer’s memory loss linked to zinc
http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2012/03/29/Alzheimers-memory-loss-linked-to-zinc/UPI-32741333058775/
Copper excess, zinc deficiency, and cognition loss in Alzheimer’s disease
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/biof.1005/abstract?deniedAccessCustomisedMessage=&userIsAuthenticated=false
Issues Raised Involving the Copper Hypotheses in the Causation of Alzheimer’s Disease
http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijad/2011/537528/
Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease by Zinc Compounds
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ddr.430270102/abstract
Does Zinc Help the Brain With Memory? http://www.livestrong.com/article/390781-does-zinc-help-the-brain-with-memory/
Pauling got it wrong about massive doses of vitamin C. Why should we trust him with zinc?
bfl
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Ping... (Thanks, neverdem!)
I just want to warn people that while getting adequate zinc is desirable, please be careful with supplements!
The maximum safe dose is not very high—40 mg if you are over 19, less for younger people—and between supplements and the normal amount of zinc in the diet, it is very easy to get too much zinc.
Excess zinc interferes with some medications. Excess zinc also leads to dose-dependent symptoms of toxicity. This toxicity, even if you aren’t aware of it, can have long-term consequences. It can cause urinary tract problems.
Humans evolved with a diet containing specific ranges of micronutrients. The goal of proper nutrition is to achieve an intake within those ranges. Too much is just as bad as too little.
The tables in this NIH article (http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Zinc-HealthProfessional/) tell 1) RDA of zinc, 2) some foods containing zinc, and 3) the maximum safe daily intake of zinc.