Herbalwell - Su-lin Sze - Natural Medicine

Zinc - An Element to be exposed to
September 2005

Su-lin Sze

What Zinc does for us	Mechanism of action
Boosts immunity	By strengthening cell membranes zinc helps protect our cells from unwanted invasion by free radicals. It also maintains thymus gland integrity and is involved in the formation of white blood cells.
Enable normal body growth and development, important for children	Zinc enables cellular division, a precursor to growth.
Supports foetal development	Zinc is a must have for the nervous system development of a foetus which includes helping build the brain, some neurotransmitters and the myelin sheath which surround nerve cells.
Regulates retinal production	Zinc controls productions of retinal, the active form of vitamin A.
Helps regulate blood glucose levels, important for diabetics	Zinc is involved in production, storage and release of insulin, a hormone that helps control blood sugar levels
Helps those of us who can’t taste our food anymore!	Zinc is involved in tastebud production and often in zinc deficiency, there is little taste perception.
Facilitate wound healing useful in wounds as well as skin conditions	Zinc maintains collagen health, supports connective tissue and cell membrane health, allowing better healing and sealing of wounds.
Reduce cardiovascular disease risk	Zinc maintains connective tissue health, reduces risk of atherosclerosis and high blood pressure as well as helping control cholesterol levels.

Zinc (Zn) is a powerful healer found throughout the whole body, 90% of our zinc content being located in muscles and bones. Many of us recognize zinc as being useful in fighting colds and infections, but it doesn’t end there. It just gets much more exciting! Recently zinc supplementation was shown to reduce atherosclerotic lesion developments, thereby reducing the risk of heart disease. It’s also invaluable in pregnancy, providing protection for the foetus from congenital abnormalities and pre-term delivery. Alcoholics are often zinc deficient as are elderly people with a poor diet. Zinc in the mouth helps oral ulcers and application to the skin improves healing from acne. If you suffer from a vision-related condition, are obese, are diabetic or have been on the oral contraceptive pill for a long period, then chances are you are low in this mineral too!

In clinic I consistently find that patients are low in zinc without knowing much about it or what it does. So the purpose of this article is to inform and inspire better health through knowledge. Perhaps you will relate to the symptoms of zinc deficiency, or just make better decisions about which zinc supplement you are now using. Do we all need a zinc supplement? No. However, if the symptoms below resonate with you, then it’s worthwhile having a zinc assessment. If treated with zinc, you usually feel the effects within days. Most natural medicine practitioners test your zinc status as part of an initial consultation.

Zinc is considered one of the major minerals in the human body, and deficiencies commonly occur with malnutrition. In third world countries, zinc deficiency is the 5th leading cause of disease in children. In first world countries the main cause of low zinc status is a lack of bio-available zinc in the diet. Zinc bio-availability in the Australian diet is considered to be medium to low by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. We can do better than this.

Herbalwell 2009