ZINC SUPPLEMENTATION SHORTENS THE DURATION OF COLDS BY APPROX. 33%

The best thing for bronchitis is 2-4 mg of vitamin C every 4 hours, OptiZinc because it's the most absorbable variety and 10,000 to 40,000IU of vitamin D for one week.  Be sure to add vitamin A to that to make the D more absorbable.  NCBI observes that

Considering zinc, the supplementation may shorten the duration of colds by approximately 33%.

Consider in a 72 hour period what a double dose of zinc would do to bronchitis?  One of the reasons why I think zinc works so well with most people is that most people are zinc deficient.  We just never got enough growing up, and so our innate immunity may only be bolstered by innate things that kids do, like playing outdoors.  Certainly, with oysters being the highest in zinc content when it comes to food, my guess is that few kids are consuming oysters on a regular basis.  So by the time we're in our 20s, 30s, and 40s, we're kind of zinc deficient.  There are benefits to maintaining your immune system in the first place.  Most people don’t really enjoy the activity of self-care since it involves daily calorie vigilance or supplement intakes or exercise or all three.  It’s a full-time job with little to no reward except when you get sick.  But who wants to commit to a regimen that only minimizes or prevents you from getting sick?  Not much of a reward there at the end of that rainbow, huh, Kimosabe?  But look at what this study published at NCBI stated,

Maintaining the immune defense system within a normal healthy state lowers the incidence of infection and/or lessens the severity of symptoms and/or shortens the duration of common colds.

But if you don’t like getting sick in the first place, if you’d prefer to be on top of your vocational game 24/7, then I recommend supplementing, in part, because of the accumulative effect of stress.  We don’t see a cold or fever coming on.  When I got bronchitis recently, I sure couldn’t see it coming on.  But I was out working late in the snow and did not prepare for the extended hours out in that cold, snowy evening.  And I worked late into that night.  I like working.  I like completing assignments, which I did but at a cost.  The bronchitis was deep in my chest.  And my cough was productive for one full week.  But I took exactly what I described above and the symptoms shortened, and I believe the duration of bronchitis itself shortened.  There is no greater pleasure than being able to breathe fully.  Take that inhale, oh, yeah!

Here is a final sampling of how zinc up-regulates your innate immunity . . . from NCBI: 

Zinc supplementation increases cellular components of innate immunity (e.g., phagocytosis by macrophages and neutrophils, natural killer cell activity, and generation of oxidative burst) [10].

Neutrophil granulocytes, macrophages: large amounts of oral zinc significantly impaired polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNL) function and, in vitro, zinc potentiated the neutrophil response against Staphylococcus aureus [11]. Zn supplementation (150 mg/d) in elderly also induces a decrease in granulocyte zinc that has implications in phagocytosis and chemotaxis [41]. 

Natural killer: a supplementation of zinc (in vitro studies or 100mg/d in elderly) improves natural killer (NK) cells activity, as argued by a lot of authors [9, 11, 39, 42]. Zinc administration decreased peripheral. 

For more on zinc from one of the best nutritional reviewers in the English-speaking world, check out what Bill Sardi says about zinc.  

SUNDAY NIGHT COMIC RELIEF

Given the latest terror with which we are supposed to process our concerns with the Coronavirus, Carlin offers some relevant and welcomed comic relief.  

N.B. profanity. 

If you're at all concerned about the Coronavirus, the best assessment again comes from Bill Sardi.  He asserts that the widespread fear could be a contrived pandemic designed to sell vaccines.  

Your chances of developing symptoms or dying from the menacing Coronavirus that now threatens global human populations is 0.0000017482% for developing symptoms and 0.0000001137% for dying from it.  I think you're safe.  

Hope you're enjoying the Superbowl.  3rd Quarter at 3:47: it's 49ers, 13, Chiefs, 10.  If not, then enjoy the George Carlin show. 

KEEPING AGING MUSCLES FIT IS TIED TO BETTER HEART HEALTH LATER

.@NYTimes on the importance of strength training: “Entering middle age with plenty of muscle lowers subsequent risk of developing heart disease by as much as 81%. Building and maintaining muscle is essential for healthy aging.” @Tonal #beyourstrongest 💪 https://t.co/mjhDB7hbqZ

— Christopher Stadler (@cstadler1) January 29, 2020

GREEN TEA 3 TIMES/WEEK EXTENDS HEALTHY LIFE

Want to live longer? Drink this three times a week https://t.co/vL4YxnBnvj

— MarketWatch (@MarketWatch) January 20, 2020

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.