What Is Understanding Zinc So Important?
It plays a significant role in helping our body work properly:
- Enzyme reactions
- Gene expression
- Immune responses
- Protein synthesis
- DNA synthesis
- Wound healing
- Growth and development
As the second most abundant trace mineral in the body—only after iron—zinc is present in all cells and is required for the activity of over 300 enzymes involved in metabolism, digestion, nervous system function, and more.
Zinc is a major healing mineral and also a champion for immune support. It supports the proper function of the thymus gland (an organ involved in immune function) and is required alongside B6 to keep it working correctly.
A zinc deficiency affects virtually all aspects of the immune system, as it prevents outgrowth and specific functions of T lymphocytes and compromises B lymphocyte function. Zinc is also a powerful antioxidant that plays a role in stabilizing cell membranes.
“If you are not taking a high-quality zinc supplement (combined with specific B vitamins), you are not taking care of your immune system like you should be. That crappy multivitamin people buy from the big box store is garbage. Getting this right is more important than you realize!” -Dr Burns
Doctor’s Best Recommendation For Zinc
Science, Facts, and Research
Zinc status And Antiviral Immunity
Zinc is an essential trace element that is crucial for growth, development, and the maintenance of immune function. Its influence reaches all organs and cell types, representing an integral component of approximately 10% of the human proteome, and encompassing hundreds of key enzymes and transcription factors. Zinc deficiency is strikingly common, affecting up to a quarter of the population in developing countries, but also affecting distinct populations in the developed world as a result of lifestyle, age, and disease-mediated factors.
Reference:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31305906/
COVID-19, Prevention, Treatment, Zinc Supplementation
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) represents the largest current health challenge for the society. At the moment, the therapeutic strategies to deal with this disease are only supportive. It is well known that zinc (Zn) possesses a variety of direct and indirect antiviral properties, which are realized through different mechanisms. Administration of Zn supplement has a potential to enhance antiviral immunity, both innate and humoral, and to restore depleted immune cell function or to improve normal immune cell function, in particular in immunocompromised or elderly patients. Zn may also act in a synergistic manner when co-administered with the standard antiviral therapy, as was demonstrated in patients with hepatitis C, HIV, and SARS-CoV-1. Effectiveness of Zn against a number of viral species is mainly realized through the physical processes, such as virus attachment, infection, and uncoating. Zn may also protect or stabilize the cell membrane which could contribute to blocking of the virus entry into the cell. On the other hand, it was demonstrated that Zn may inhibit viral replication by alteration of the proteolytic processing of replicase polyproteins and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) in rhinoviruses, HCV, and influenza virus, and diminish the RNA-synthesizing activity of nidoviruses, for which SARS-CoV-2 belongs. Therefore, it may be hypothesized that Zn supplementation may be of potential benefit for prophylaxis and treatment of COVID-19.
Reference:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32512490/