Zinc
Zinc facts
- Zinc is a trace mineral
- Zinc is needed to enable over 200 enzymes to work properly
- Zinc is part of superoxide dismutase
- Zinc ensures taste and smell are normal
- Zinc protects against damage from toxic substances
- Zinc exists in all cells of the body
- Zinc is available in various supplement forms
- Long term zinc supplements should be taken with copper
Zinc is a trace mineral, which means only very small amounts of this mineral are required to enable the proper functioning of the body and to enable good health. Zinc is the second most abundant trace mineral in the body.
Over 200 important enzymes in the body rely largely on sufficient levels of zinc to activate them and enable them to function correctly.
The body produces its own natural antioxidant, superoxide dismutase (SOD), to neutralise any free radicals that may occur through any natural oxidative processes in the body. Zinc is an essential part of the SOD molecule and helps this antioxidant perform its duties more effectively.
Interestingly, zinc works to ensure that the two senses – taste and smell – are normal. Zinc’s importance in body system that go through a rapid amount of cells are especially reliant on zinc (such as the taste buds in the tongue and the olfactory nerves in the nose) and need it to stay healthy.
Zinc has a known effect on detoxifying the body from the toxic effects of a number of poisonous substances, by protecting the liver through the detoxification and elimination process in the liver. Zinc protects the body against damage from many environmental toxins such as carbon tetrachloride (a cleaning solvent), lead (in old paint, pollution and leaded petrol) and cadmium (in exhaust fumes, drinking water and pollution).
There is some zinc in all the cells of the body, but it is especially concentrated in the skin, hair, nails and eyes (and in the prostate gland in men).
There are a number of forms of zinc supplements. Zinc sulfate is the most frequently used supplement but it is not very well absorbed and can cause stomach upset. Better forms of zinc include: zinc picolinate, zinc citrate, zinc acetate, zinc glycerate, zinc gluconate and zinc monomethionine. The form of zinc that is the best and most absorbed is zinc gluconate.
People who take zinc supplements over the longer term, should also be taking copper supplements too, as high levels of zinc can cause a decrease in the blood levels of copper and decrease the absorption of any copper in the blood. These two minerals need to be taken together so that blood levels of both remain in a healthy range.
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