Approximately 2 billion people globally suffer from a zinc deficiency. As per the 2018 “Public Health Nutrition Journal,” around 70% of children in India exhibit zinc deficiency, which is directly related to the dietary habits of the region. Zinc deficiency not only affects children’s growth and development but also increases the risk of chronic diseases in adults.
A 2019 study in the “Journal of Immunology” involving over 1000 children showed that zinc supplementation reduced the incidence of infectious diseases by 15%. Additionally, zinc is equally important for the immune regulation in adults. For instance, a study involving the elderly found that daily supplementation of 30 milligrams of zinc significantly enhanced their immune function. Zinc is also effective for skin health, wound healing, and reducing the risk of infections. For example, a 2017 study in the “Journal of Dermatology” showed that zinc supplementation significantly accelerated wound healing in patients with diabetic foot ulcers.
Hello everyone, welcome back to Jembon’s Health Channel, I’m Jembon. Today, we’ll talk about zinc, a crucial nutrient for our body. Without it, our bodies would encounter numerous problems.
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Zinc is the second most abundant trace mineral in the human body, after iron. Most people, especially zinc, are deficient in these two minerals, which are very important. Zinc is responsible for activating about 300 enzymes in our body. It plays multiple roles including metabolism, digestion, nerve function, and DNA repair.
As more and more people are falling ill lately, today I want to emphasize the role of zinc again, especially for those who were previously healthy but are now falling sick. Particularly, some people lose their sense of taste a few days after falling ill. If you find yourself losing your taste, you need to supplement zinc, as it’s responsible for taste and olfactory functions.
A 2020 study in the “Journal of Medical Microbiology” showed that over 80% of patients who lost their taste and smell due to COVID-19 regained these senses within a month after zinc supplementation.
Zinc is one of the essential elements because it can kill bacteria and viruses. It’s difficult to accurately determine zinc levels through a blood test because zinc is primarily inside cells, not in the bloodstream.
Zinc has many benefits. Firstly, it can strengthen the immune system and reduce inflammation. We have an organ called the thymus in front of our chest, mainly responsible for producing antiviral T cells and antibodies. If a person is deficient in zinc, the thymus will atrophy, and the function of T cells and antibodies will be affected.
This is why some people often catch colds or fall ill. So, if your thymus can’t adequately produce T cells and antibodies, you’ll frequently get sick. Zinc can also fight against all inflammation in the body.
According to the “Journal of Nutrition,” the recommended daily intake of zinc is 11 milligrams for adult men and 8 milligrams for women, which increases to 11-12 milligrams for pregnant and lactating women.
If you’ve recently fallen ill, I recommend supplementing about 25-50 milligrams of zinc per day. Short-term use for a few days is fine, but long-term use is not recommended. As I’ve mentioned before, it’s best to take zinc after meals, as taking it on an empty stomach might cause stomach discomfort. If you don’t have specific diseases to deal with, 15 milligrams of zinc per day is sufficient. But if you have an acute illness, you can temporarily use 80-100 milligrams of zinc per day. Zinc can also accelerate wound healing.
Some people with diabetes have wounds that are hard to heal. In such cases, supplementing 80-100 milligrams of zinc daily can rapidly heal the wounds.
Zinc can also improve night vision and skin health. Skin lacking in zinc becomes dry and itchy. If your skin is dry and itchy, try supplementing 11-15 milligrams of zinc daily; these symptoms usually improve within 3 days of starting zinc supplements.
Zinc has many other roles besides the ones I’ve just mentioned.
Zinc can also reduce the risk of pneumonia and infections and decrease the incidence of macular degeneration. If you have macular degeneration, you can supplement 15 milligrams of zinc daily to help vitamin A function properly.
Macular degeneration might be caused by long hours of looking at phones at night. Supplementing vitamin A and zinc is very helpful for improving macular degeneration. If you don’t have enough zinc, even if you supplement vitamin A or lutein, they may not be effective.
If you have acne problems, zinc can also help treat acne and pimples. You can use a higher dose of zinc for a short period. Additionally, zinc maintains normal testosterone levels. The organ in our body that contains the most zinc is the prostate, which is responsible for the production of testosterone. If a man has low levels of zinc in his body, it might lead to a decrease in libido or erectile dysfunction.
Additionally, you can eat zinc-rich foods like oysters. Oysters are well-known for their high zinc content. In fact, they are one of the highest natural sources of zinc. On average, about 16-182 milligrams of zinc can be obtained from 100 grams of oysters (approximately 3-4 medium-sized oysters). This means even a small amount of oysters can satisfy the daily recommended intake of zinc for an adult.
If you have diabetes or prediabetes, remember to supplement zinc daily. Zinc maintains the normal function of insulin in our bodies. The prostate and pancreas are the organs with the highest zinc content in the human body. Zinc is crucial for the pancreas because insulin resistance is often caused by excessive sugar intake. As we age, our stomach acid decreases, reducing the absorption of nutrients, including zinc and iron. This can lead to a decline in pancreatic function, eventually leading to diabetes. Therefore, supplementing with adequate nutrients is very important.
If you want to supplement with zinc, 11-15 milligrams daily is enough. If it’s for acute use, you can take 40-100 milligrams daily, but remember to reduce the dosage after short-term use. Also, long-term high-dose zinc supplementation can indeed interfere with the absorption and metabolism of copper. This is because zinc and copper are absorbed and transported in the body through the same pathways, and excessive zinc can inhibit the absorption of copper. If you use zinc long-term, you need to supplement copper as well, as the ratio of zinc to copper is about 15:1. That is, for every 15 milligrams of zinc, you need to supplement with 1 milligram of copper. This is also a secret to zinc supplementation.
That’s all for today’s sharing. See you in the next episode.
