In my quest to find optimum immune boosting combatants to fight Covid-19, I discovered that zinc is indeed crucial for the development and function of immune cells.
So I’ve added it to my current kill-Covid health regime. I don’t have Covid, but I feel extras like these are helping to reduce my risks of getting a severe or even life-endangering case of the virus. Hell, it might even help fight the flu…although we never hear about anyone getting the flu since Covid (what’s up with that?). While I may omit some of these extras and go back to my “basics” when the virus finally is under widespread control, my add-on extras right now will remain extra D3, Zinc, NAC and Lactoferrin – which I’ll talk about next week.
Zinc is an essential mineral that your body uses in countless ways but does not make on its own. It aids growth, DNA synthesis, immune function and more. Because your body doesn’t naturally produce zinc, you must obtain it through food or supplements.
Keep in mind that routine zinc supplementation is not recommended without the advice of a healthcare professional. You can definitely take too much. The recommended daily intake of zinc ranges between 3 mg and 16 mg. But have a look at the links provided below and/or ask your local pharmacy or health food store specialist for more information before making up your own mind. Yet as there’s an over-abundance of information I could talk about in great length, I’ll only touch on a few key elements.
An article in sciencedirect.com had this to say: Patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) had significantly low zinc levels in comparison to healthy controls. Data in their study clearly showed that a significant number of COVID-19 patients were zinc deficient. These zinc deficient patients developed more complications, and the deficiency was associated with a prolonged hospital stay and increased mortality.
Amongst COVID-19 patients, 57.4% were found to be zinc deficient.
Given findings like these, supplementation with zinc is increasingly recommended in the management of COVID-19 patients.
Under physiological conditions, zinc is essential for cellular growth and the maturation of immune cells, particularly in the development and activation of **T-lymphocytes (**part of the immune system and develop from stem cells in the bone marrow. They help protect the body from infection and may help fight cancer.) Studies have shown that around 10% of our body proteins utilize zinc and that zinc is a cofactor in at least 200 immuno-modulatory and antioxidant reactions. Prolonged deficiency is associated with immune system dysfunction, sterility in males, neurosensory disorders, and decreased body mass. Studies have also shown increased viral infection in patients with zinc deficiency.
Foods that contain Zinc: Oysters contain more zinc per serving than any other food, but red meat and poultry provide the majority of zinc in the American diet. Other good food sources include beans, nuts, certain types of seafood (such as crab and lobster), whole grains, fortified breakfast cereals, and dairy products.
Gives us all something to zinc about right? I always urge others to do their own research and use this only as a basic outline. Like I was saying…there’s way too much info out there. I try to narrow down as much as humanly possible so hope this little bit of info. helps.
*My Vitamin basics aside from trying to eat as healthily as possible: a high-potency 2-daily vitamin/mineral supplement, Super Omega-3, Vitamin D3, Vitamin C-1000, Magnesium Citrate, Enhanced Super Digestive Enzymes, Leaf Source which is a humic-fulvic acid complex and Melatonin at night.
Important Sidenote: The WHO has said not to take Ibuprofen as it has been contra indicated for Covid. If you’ve got to take a headache or pain relief remedy use regular aspirin or tylenol instead. But do not take even these for fever reduction. It’s been shown that fever is a necessary response of the immune system if you get it. Of course you can google about this on your own.
Source:
MedRXiv – how low zinc levels at clinical admission associates with poor outcomes in COVID-19
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.10.07.20208645v1
Science Direct:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S120197122030730X
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