Should you be taking zinc?
I bet you’ve heard a lot about zinc these days and its importance for immune health as we head into cold and flu season.
What if I told you there’s a simple in office test that can evaluate to see if you are zinc deficient?
But first, why is zinc so important anyways?
Zinc is an essential dietary mineral which means the body cannot produce it on its own. This means we must get it from dietary sources such as meat, eggs, legumes and oysters. Plant based sources of zinc include many nuts and seeds.
In addition to immune health, zinc also plays a role in skin health, eye health and protein synthesis.
I have been getting a lot of questions recently about how to optimize immune health going into cold and flu season so let’s dive into zinc’s role in our immune health a bit deeper.
If the body is low in zinc, the immune system doesn’t have the tools it needs to fight off infections. Low levels of zinc are associated with an increased risk of pneumonia, diarrhea and other infectious diseases. In addition, taking zinc during the common cold has been shown to reduce the length of the illness by almost three days!
So what are the signs of zinc deficiency and how do you know if you have a zinc deficiency?
We typically use blood tests to measure for vitamin and mineral deficiencies but zinc is a tricky one and blood tests don’t give the most accurate results so it is rarely tested. Instead we use clinical signs, symptoms and the zinc tally test to evaluate for zinc status!
Signs and symptoms of zinc deficiency include behavioural issues, decreased immunity, inflammation, skin rashes, slow wound healing and changes to the nails (we can get a lot of information on nutrient and vitamin deficiencies in the nails which is why I typically include a nail exam on my first visit!)
The zinc tally test is a simple in office test that can be done to evaluate for zinc deficiency.
After placing 5-10 mL of the zinc tally solution in the mouth, a lack of taste or delayed taste suggests a zinc deficiency. Whereas, an immediate metallic taste suggests adequate zinc status. It’s that simple!
For the month of October, I will be doing 15 minute check-ins to evaluate for zinc status. In this quick naturopathic check-in we will do the zinc tally test and I will do a nail assessment to evaluate for zinc deficiency.
I want to make sure my patients’ immune systems are at their best state going into the cold and flu season!
If you are interested, give the office a call (250-286-3655) or email us (office@perceptivehealth.ca).
Stay well! - Dr. Lyndsey
References:
Beck FW, Prasad AS, Kaplan J, Fitzgerald JT, Brewer GJ. Changes in cytokine production and T cell subpopulations in experimentally induced zinc-deficient humans. Am J Physiol. 1997 Jun;272(6 Pt 1):E1002-7. doi: 10.1152/ajpendo.1997.272.6.E1002. PMID: 9227444.
Gammoh NZ, Rink L. Zinc in Infection and Inflammation. Nutrients. 2017 Jun 17;9(6):624. doi: 10.3390/nu9060624. PMID: 28629136; PMCID: PMC5490603.
Hemilä, H., Petrus, E. J., Fitzgerald, J. T., & Prasad, A. (2016). Zinc acetate lozenges for treating the common cold: an individual patient data meta‐analysis. British journal of clinical pharmacology, 82(5), 1393-1398.
Lukacik M, Thomas RL, Aranda JV. A meta-analysis of the effects of oral zinc in the treatment of acute and persistent diarrhea. Pediatrics. 2008 Feb;121(2):326-36. doi: 10.1542/peds.2007-0921. PMID: 18245424.
Singh, M., & Das, R. R. (2015). WITHDRAWN: Zinc for the common cold. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 2015(4), CD001364. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD001364.pub5
Wessels, I., Maywald, M., & Rink, L. (2017). Zinc as a Gatekeeper of Immune Function. Nutrients, 9(12), 1286. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9121286
