Zinc recommendations

[J F]

Hi, Shelley! You had suggested to me in another thread that I take 15mg of Zinc several times per week for 2 weeks to rebuild my stores of it.

I thought I should mention that I take an immune system supplement which provides me with up to 8mg of zinc per day, depending on the # of capsules I take. Should I still take extra zinc on the side? How much? How many times per week? And, do you have any brand recommendations, or specifics to look out for regarding zinc when I go reading labels at the health food store?

I've posted this here in a new thread rather than in the old thread since it's become it's own topic in the other thread. Seemed more appropriate this way and more helpful for anyone else who might be interested.

[shelley]

Zinc Chelate is highly absorbable, or the Zinc in Emergen-C. Chewable Zinc Lozenges are nice to have on hand in the winter because they soothe the throat so much.

What I like to do is get my extra, non-food zinc from Emergen-C and still take extra every now and again, especially when I'm taking cod liver oil. Any time you take Vitamin A or lots of beta-carotene from carrot juice you need to take a little extra Zinc to ensure that the liver can metabolize the A properly.

Since zinc is the co-enzyme for a majority of metabolic functions, a lack of zinc imitates hypothyroidism, and hypothyroidism mimics zinc deficiency. Whenever your metabolism seems low, supplementing with a little extra zinc for a week or two is a very good idea.

About 10-15 mg a day is good amount to supplement, but usually you'll find pills that are 50 mg so daily supplementation is not necessary.

Zinc also competes with the metals we don't wish to absorb. Getting enough zinc and iron is a good way to ensure we don't absorb mercury from fish, for instance.

Most of Zinc is stored in our eyes. Zinc is essential for acute vision and overall eye health. If you start losing your nightvision or colors seem dull, you are zinc deficient.

Zinc is essential for beautiful skin. If you have psoriasis, eczema, very dry skin, then a little extra zinc in combo with the other skin food should help.

[J F]

Cool, thanks! I keep Emergen-C on hand, so I'll have a couple packets every other day for the next couple of weeks and see what kind of results I get.

Your mentioning hypothyroidism and zinc deficiency mimicking it is interesting. I tend toward cold hands and feet and my homeopath was unable to completely take this away with acupuncture. Some help, but I then suspected there may be a need to supplement something extra that I wasn't already getting from my diet/supplements. That, and even though I feel I'm on the mend, I still keep Candida in mind as a temporary culprit. I do know it's interesting that I'm less sensitive to cold weather now at a scrawny 108lbs. than I was a year ago at 135lbs. So, something must be going right. We'll have to see how the zinc affects me over the next couple of weeks. LOL

Thanks, again!
Jelaine

[Invincible]

Hi Shelley

I'm wondering what the right time of day is for me to take zinc.

I prefer not to eat breakfast (and if I do it's just some fruit).

My normal is to wake up, drink loads of water/peppermint tea, follow with 1 tsp of cod liver oil. Should I take my zinc then? ... OR mid morning, when I take an emergen-C?

Thanks!

[shelley]

Zinc is a pretty flexible mineral, but in general, for minerals to be properly absorbed, they should be taken with oils. So take it with your cod liver oil, or protein shake, or any meal that has butter/oils.

[h0ppy]

Hi Shelley! I just want your thoughts on this product I'm currently taking. It's called CellMans Zinc by Twinlab. The bottle says it's the most advanced and effective delivery system ever developed for enhancing zinc absorption, transportation and utilization, and that it's more effective than most chelated minerals like orotates. CellMins provides an equal mixture of the two most researched and bioactive chelates: picolinate and histidinate (which produce significantly higher tissue levels of zinc (compared to zinc sulfate - the "gold" standard))

[Invincible]