Want quality sleep? Reach for the zinc

Zinc is the 2nd most abundant trace element in the human body.  It reduces stress, improves the quality of your sleep, and regrows your thymus to its original size. 

Further, 

in this same period, the thymuses of these mice had quadrupled in size and exhibited a greatly enlarged cortex repopulated with immature thymocytes

For years, I was under the impression that magnesium was the go-to mineral for the biological ravages of stress.  And I am sure that magnesium is still good for treating that.  But more recently, in the last couple of years, I've learned first-hand that zinc is even better.  After a simple Google search of "stress and zinc," the first entry produced this, 

Zinc plays a significant role with respect to the stress response.  Proper maintenance of zinc status can help to stabilize serum cortisol levels over time,¹ and zinc intake has been shown to temporarily inhibit cortisol secretions. However, in turn, prolonged stress will deplete zinc concentrations in the blood.

That article goes on to say that

Zinc is required for the catalytic activity of approximately 100 enzymes. 

Magnesium is involved in even more--over 300 chemical interactions in your body.

Zinc plays a role in immune function, protein synthesis, wound healing, DNA synthesis, and cell division. Zinc supports normal growth and development during pregnancy, childhood, and adolescence, and zinc is necessary for proper sense of taste and smell. 

So if you find that your sense of taste and smell diminishing, reach for the supplemental zinc. 

Given that the body has no specialized zinc storage system, regular daily zinc intake is required to maintain a steady state and to prevent deficiency.

That was interesting because I think that homeostasis leaves us with the impression that we're all doing okay; meaning, that it's hard to tell, hard to know if we're deficient.  And you're never going to have a doctor tell you that you're deficient in zinc.  Ever. 

I remember the first time that I ever took supplemental zinc how it completely relaxed me and put me in a great mood for a good night's sleep.  This was about 3 years ago.  In fact, now I prefer to take zinc rather than melatonin for sleep. Note well, that 

Sleeplessness has a huge impact on the human physiology and is commonly associated with metabolic disorders (obesity and diabetes), cardiovascular diseases (hypertension) and mental disorders (anxiety and depression). 

So if you're looking for quality hours of sleep, reach for the . . . well, you know what to reach for--the zinc, of course. 

The first paragraph in this article states that

Recent research has concluded that zinc serum concentration varies with the amount of sleep, while orally administered zinc increases the amount and the quality of sleep in mice and humans.

Melatonin is a decent sleep-aid and has excellent anti-oxidant properties to boot, but so does zinc.  Melatonin does lower your blood pressure.  If you have high blood pressure like I have had a few times, then melatonin would be a good choice.  But zinc relaxes more functions in your body, I believe.  

Important to know [in the Introduction] is that 

Zinc is the second most abundant trace metal in the human body and is essential for many biological processes.

WHAT TYPE OF ZINC IS BEST?

That depends. 

Zinc lozenges are made with zinc acetate, so if you've got a cold then you'll want zinc lozenges. [I tend to trust Bill Sardi's recommendations, so I buy his zinc lozenges product.] Zinc lozenges are what you should be giving your children, er, grandchildren when they have a cough, not a cough drop which is mainly sugar and provides only a short-lived placebo effect.  Know, too, that zinc regrows your thymus gland back to its original size, which I find absolutely miraculous.  The thymus gland has a tendency to shrink through the years.  Read this, 

After the deficient mice had been fed a zinc-adequate diet for 1 week, their response was nearly normal, except that the indirect response was 68% of controls; in this same period, the thymuses of these mice had quadrupled in size and exhibited a greatly enlarged cortex repopulated with immature thymocytes [my emphasis as if you couldn't tell].  By 2 weeks, the thymuses of the previously zinc-deficient mice were normal in size and appearance; however, there was a slight increase in the numbers of indirect plaque-forming cells. By 4 weeks, the thymus weights, direct and indirect plaque-forming cell counts, and the secondary response of the previously deficient mice were normal. Mice that were nearly athymic after 45 days of dietary zinc deficiency were also able to fully reconstruct the thymus and regenerate T-cell helper function.

It's been argued that the brand name Optizinc is the most absorbable.  May be true.  If you're deficient in zinc and have never supplemented with it, then the Optizinc will surely improve your sense of well-being.  Keep a bottle of zinc lozenges around the house in case of a cold or any lung issues.  Lately, I've really appreciated Bill Sardi's zinc product, called T-Cell Zinc.  If you accidentally overeat at a party (remember those?), reach for the zinc.  We overeat in response to stress, and then overeating causes our bodies stress.  So any stressful event, reach for the zinc.  

The benefits of zinc are remarkable.  OptiZinc reduces acne by 50%.  So there's that.  Acne may be due to bodily stress of a teenager.  Zinc Carnosine treats intestinal ulcers.  Even Wikipedia understands this.

SUPPLEMENTAL ZINC HELPS RESTORE HEALTHY HEART PUMPING AFTER A HEART ATTACK

Bill Sardi has a March 19, 2019 article on the value of zinc supplementation posted at Martie Whittekin's site, Healthy By Nature.  

Sardi alerts us to a serious health condition: zinc depletion or zinc deficiency.  It's not that we're all born deficient, but certain environmental exposures puts some of us at greater risk of becoming zinc deficient.  And given the importance of zinc in regulating our immunity, in development, and in its role in certain intellectual abilities, like reading, and composing one's emotions, zinc deficiency becomes quite a serious social health issue.  So how do we know if we're deficient in zinc?  If you've had a serious illness or if you're chronically ill, chances are you're zinc deficient.  There are, however, signs of zinc deficiency.  See the list of symptoms below.  There are so many things in our lives that can make us deficient in zinc.  Sardi points out a major culprit: arsenic.  So somehow too many of us are getting exposed to arsenic, but how?  Through our food.  More specifically, from Glyphosate: i.e., RoundUp.  

The first culprit that comes to mind is arsenic as blood concentrations of zinc and selenium, two essential trace minerals, drastically decline with exposure to arsenic.  The widespread use of glyphosate weedkillers [e.g. Roundup] in crops may be the hidden source of arsenic [or for some other reason glyphosate lowers zinc].

Dr. Derrick Lonsdale made a similar point, citing the pathology that arises from consuming non-organic foods that are sprayed with RoundUp.  He said if your food is not organic, then it has glyphosate in and on it.  Which means that we're all susceptible to zinc deficiency.  Sardi presents it thus:

Something has happened in America.  In retrospect, it appears zinc in the American diet has vanished or is not getting absorbed.  Either way, too many Americans exhibit overt symptoms of zinc deficiency.  A blood test is notoriously inaccurate as zinc may be locked up with a binding protein and be biologically unavailable.  Here are some signs and symptoms of zinc deficiency that may help you determine if you are zinc deficient [you don’t have all or even many of these]. 

Here are the symptoms.   

·         [new study about zinc for diabetes prevention and management]

·         Are you losing your sense of smell?

·         Are you losing your sense of taste?

·         Do you crave salt and habitually to add salt to your foods?

·         Do you have adult-onset acne?

·         Is your hair prematurely turning grey?

·         Does your nail bed show white flecks?

·         Do you heal slowly from cuts?

·         Do you have a low sperm count?

·         Do you frequently experience cold sores on your lips?

·         Do you have an upset stomach, air, and gas, after meals?

·         Do you have skin problems like fungal infections (Athlete’s foot), yellow toenails?

·         Do you have chronic diarrhea?

·         Do you have thin or sparse hair, vanishing eyebrows?

·         Do you have moles on your skin?

·         Do you experience eczema (atopic dermatitis; red, itchy skin)?

·         Are you lethargic or irritable for no apparent reason?

·         Is your testosterone level low?

·         Do you experience a rash around your genitalia or mouth?

·         Do you regularly consume alcohol?

·         Do you take an ACE inhibitor blood pressure pill (lisinopril)?

·         Do you have stomach ulcers?

·         Do you or your children have difficulty reading due to dyslexia (letters are backwards)?

Who exactly is at greatest risk of zinc deficiency?  No one is immune.  

Food alone either takes too long to restore sufficiency or it lacks the ability altogether.  So supplements are required.  Sardi poses the questions, "How do we correct the shortage of zinc?"  Oysters is the food with the highest concentration of zinc.  You'll have to eat quite a bit.  Sardi explains, 

Aside from oysters, there is no single food that provides enough zinc to correct a deficiency.  Typical zinc intake levels are 10 milligrams/day but maybe only 1-2 milligrams are actually absorbed.  Older adults with low stomach acid levels typically have difficulty absorbing zinc.  And wouldn’t you know, zinc is an important co-factor in the internal synthesis of hydrochloric acid in the gastric tract. 

It was important for me to hear that "very high concentrations of zinc are found in the liver, muscle, brain, and testes."  Men, take heed.  "it is no wonder that zinc sufficiency has something to do with brain function, testosterone synthesis, and liver health."

Sardi explains that "There are ~2000 milligrams of zinc stored in body tissues."  Yes, but what happens if you get seriously ill, like say you contract measles or scarlet fever or chickenpox.  These drain your zinc stores.  For older folks, it's low stomach acid that keeps us from getting enough zinc.  So if it's not environmental issues, like Glyphosate, then it's low stomach acid due to age or some kind of illness, maybe diabetes, that depletes us of adequate zinc.  Sardi points out that "The trace mineral selenium helps to release zinc so it is biologically available."  What this means is that for zinc to be more absorbent, you'll need to take selenium with it.  

Zinc shortages cause loss of smell and taste, including mental decline.  

Zinc is responsible for a strong immune system.  It regulates the size of your master immune gland, called the Thymus gland.  Sardi says that "Zinc is required to activate T-cells, those memory white blood cells that confer life-long immunity via memory T-cells that produce antibodies against various pathogenic germs."

I wrote recently how OptiZinc reduces the incidence of acne by 50%.  There are different forms of zinc that seem to provide different kinds of protection.  Zinc Carnosine heals the lower intestine.  Sardi points out other parts of the body that are aided by supplementation of zinc carnosine.

Fortunately, there is a form of zinc that protects the nervous system, promotes the health of the digestive tract, aids in wound healing, normalizes gut bacteria, promotes liver health and helps restore the sense of smell and taste to individuals with these symptoms.  It is called zinc carnosine.

Zinc Carnosine is also important for the heart.

And no one would have guessed that supplemental zinc would help restore healthy heart pumping after a heart attack.  The amount of blood pumped (ejection fraction) after a heart attack improves with the provision of zinc carnosine.

Zinc is a great wound healer. And it helps diabetics.  I cannot get diabetics to listen to me.  

Zinc is known to promote wound healing.  And the preferred form of zinc to heal up gastric ulcers is zinc carnosine.   Zinc carnosine is the form of zinc commonly used to protect and heal tissues following cancer radiation treatment or to aid antibiotics in the kill off of H. pylori, the bacterium that causes gastric ulcers.  Zinc carnosine is the trace mineral of choice for nutritional support of hepatitis (liver inflammation). 

Helps fight aging. 

Zinc carnosine has also been demonstrated to stabilize genes that become fragile with advancing age. 

A typical two-week course of zinc carnosine, taken as directed on the label, may help you become zinc sufficient. 

OptiZinc Reduces Acne by 50%

Got acne?

InterhealthUSA says that OptiZinc reduces acne by 50%.  You'll definitely want to keep a jar of this around the medicine cabinet. 

Although there are many manufacturers who boast ways to reduce and prevent acne, Zinc is a natural mineral that’s proven to combat acne. Research shows that people who suffer from acne are deficient in Zinc, typically. Furthermore, as they begin to supplement with Zinc and increase the amount of Zinc in their bodies, their acne tends to reduce by 50%.

Now, with the power of L-OptiZinc®, your clients can get more Zinc into their systems quicker. With improved absorption rates, they’ll get more from each pill they take than they have in the past. In the end, they’ll see quicker results in their fight against acne. 

One of the things that teenagers do a lot of is pop their zits.  The crater left behind can leave a scar, and this only constitutes an added worry that could, in fact, exacerbate an acne breakout.  But not to fear.  OptiZinc is an excellent skin toner, which means that it can reduce the instance of scars on the skin. 

Additionally, with L-OptiZinc powering their [immune] system, they'll recover from breakouts quicker and reduce the instance of scars on their skin.  

Jeez, how can this news not be a song of relief?  It's not just acne that OptiZinc treats but also eczema.  For colds, I like the zinc lozenges that come in the form of zinc acetate.  

 Intake of zinc supplements can help the body gain sufficient amount of resistance against acne, eczema, prostate disorder and even simple colds. Studies show that zinc has the optimum capacity to regulate the level of testosterone in the body which when left uncontrolled can eventually lead to the formation of annoying acne. Zinc also stimulates the body's natural ability to heal chronic infections. Zinc actually aids a number of enzymes that facilitate in collagen synthesis which leads to faster healing of wounds and infections. 

Zinc also treats and manages diabetes, but I know diabetics who would rather shoot themselves full of insulin than take zinc that will make their cells more insulin sensitive.  But who are they to listen to me?

Zinc is scientifically proven to be effective in preventing the development of diabetes. It regulates the production of insulin and helps the blood sugar move into the cells. The mineral is even effective in reducing the risk of suffering rheumatoid arthritis because of its anti-inflammatory properties. 

Yes, knowing what zinc can do and what it can relieve can bring a sigh of relief and optimism for better health.  But consider the horrors of what can result if one is zinc deficient.  Most young people are.  Older folks too as they age.  

Inadequate amount of zinc in the body can lead to growth retardation, loss of appetite, bone degradation, low blood pressure, poor quality and rough skin and loss of sense of taste and smell. Zinc insufficiency can also be major culprit behind the development of weight loss, fatigue, hair loss, formation of white spots underneath the nails and diarrhea.