Zinc
Zinc is an essential trace element that occurs in the body in larger amounts
than any other trace element other than iron. It is also extremely deficient in
New Zealand soils and many people are unsuspectingly deficient in this mineral
and become prone to health problems that they would otherwise be free of. Zinc
supplementation is extremely important as a deficiency can cause a raft of
health problems.
A deficiency of zinc predisposes the body to:
– Stress, fatigue, depression.
– Susceptibility to infection, colds, flus,.
– Slow healing of wounds, acne and scarring.
– Macula degeneration in the eye.
– Brittle hair and ‘white’ heads appearing on the scalp.
– White spots on the nails
– Achy knee and hip joints and poor circulation can also often be caused by Zinc deficiency.
– Even a marginal deficiency will decrease sexual interest, cause low sperm counts, impotence.
– Irregular menstrual cycles in young women and can be a factor in spontaneous abortions.
– In older men it causes changes to the size of the prostate and in all ages predisposes the body to cancer.
– It can be a factor in early senility.
– In children it is often the reason for ‘picky eating’ habits or poor growth rates.
– Zinc is essential for the production function of DNA and RNA.
Outward signs of deficiency that people notice first can often be the appearance of stretch marks, the white spots in the nails, dry, itchy or pimply scalp, poor sense of taste and smell, poor appetite and in some people the tendency to faint.
Deficiency caused by low soil and dietary levels is made worse by a high alcohol intake, high mercury levels (amalgams in the teeth), high cadmium levels (smoking, industrial pollution) or high silver or copper levels.
High stress levels and/or excessive exercise can also cause Zinc depletion.
Surgery is extremely stressful to the body and anyone anticipating surgery should supplement with Zinc so as to enable the body to heal effectively.
This deficiency concerns me hugely especially when I see so many young people
not functioning normally mentally, depressed to the point of suicide, young
couples suffering the trauma of miscarriages and infertility and young and old
suffering from cancer and other immune dysfunctions. This is made harder to
understand when you realise that correcting the problem is so very easy.
Zinc is available as tablets, liquids or as a constituent of Colloidal minerals. The last option is by far the best as absorption from tablets is minimal and generally most people are deficient in more than one mineral. Also indiscriminate use mineral supplements can actually cause Zinc depletion, especially the overuse of calcium, Iron and copper.
Colloidal minerals supply all necessary minerals and trace elements without
overdosing and are extremely well absorbed. If using this method of
supplementation buy a brand that is not diluted with fruit juices and made to
taste nice. Zinc tastes terrible…but the taste is an excellent guide to the
level of zinc in the body, if you can’t taste it, your levels are too low! It
may be mixed with juice when you use it, but every so often check the undiluted
version for ‘taste’!
See page on ‘ Minerals – the facts’ and ‘ Minerals – why we need to supplement’.
Food sources can be difficult especially for those that don’t eat red meat as
the highest known source of zinc is oysters followed by beef.