I had a zinc thread on another board at one time. And I will use some of it
to construct this thread as well.

Zinc in general is just critical for health maintenance. And some drugs actually deplete it from us during therapy. ACE inhibitors used for blood pressure control and some congestive heart treatments, are main zinc depleters.
Hormone treatments (birth control pills), steroids, diuretics, some antiviral AIDS drugs, and acid lowering drugs for GERD are also common zinc depleters.

Zinc is essential for wound/skin lesion healing and maintenance. It is present in some nutritional supplements for acne, for example.
http://www.drugs.com/pdr/Nicomide_Tablets.html
Many people are familiar with Zinc Oxide (a diaper rash remedy)

In chronic care settings zinc sulfate along with Vit C are supplements used
to help control/heal bed sores and other wounds. (often the zinc used there is very high dose --OTC--but still ordered by physicians.)

Zinc is being explored in Alzheimer's as well:
http://www.alzinfo.org/research/causes/nongenetic/
But at this time details are not forthcoming as to the EXACT mechanisms of
zinc metabolism in the brain.

Zinc metabolism is deranged in a condition called Pyroluria. This is a liver
genetic error, where a by-product of heme (for hemoglobin) is produced in excess..called kryptopyrrole. This compound is not toxic in and of itself, but it complexes Vitamin B6 and zinc out of the blood and leads to excessive excretion in the urine, which leads to deficiency for patients. Supplementing these two nutrients corrects the neurological negative effects of their loss.

Zinc is essential for males...more so than females. But females need it for ovulation as well. Up to 5mg of zinc can be lost in seminal fluid for males. So many male vitamin preps are higher in zinc than traditional vitamin products.

Zinc is essential for immune support. People with chronic viral disease, need attention to it. Shingles and herpes especially. Zinc lozenges are commonly used for cold prevention, treatment. Cold-Eze is an example. Zinc is also in the Airborne remedy, and probably accounts for much of its minimal beneficial actions. Zinc used in nasal inhalers however, have shown negative effects, since topical application to mucous membranes in the nose can lead to loss of taste/smell.
Low levels of zinc in the blood can also be a predictor of loss of taste/smell
in certain patients.

Zinc supplements have changed over the years. And elemental concerns are also important to figure out dosing (as with magnesium and other minerals). We are lucky today to have some really good versions, to avoid the typical side effects of zinc-- which are nausea and vomiting. (a rather large deterent to use).

Later on in this thread, I will post papers, to illustrate the various important
findings for zinc. This post is just a brief overview.

I welcome comments and additions, as always.

Here are some links to zinc doses, data, depletions, etc:

http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/minerals/zinc/

http://www.cc.nih.gov/ccc/supplements/zinc.html

Both of these links are excellent, and contain ALOT of useful information.

This site is very useful for bioavailility issues, toxicity, and general chemistry:
http://www.inchem.org/documents/jecf...no/v17je33.htm

Zinc/copper ratios should be tested by a physician before any HIGH dose
intervention is undertaken. Unlike magnesium, zinc tests are fairly reliable, easy and inexpensive. Zinc and copper balance each other out. If very high dose zinc is used, attention to copper content is important as it will fall.
Low copper usually manifests as anemia,but not always.

As with magnesium, elemental values, need to be understood:
for example: zinc gluconate (a common form found in stores) is 14% zinc. The rest is the gluconate portion. So a typical 50mg tablet would yield:
7mg of elemental zinc. So read labels carefully. Not all labels however, are
worded correctly, but times are changing with this and some are more accurate now.

The most common forms are zinc sulfate and zinc gluconate. However, there is a newer version, which has shown in some studies to be better absorbed and perhaps not affect iron to the same extent as the others. It is called
zinc monomethionine and is called OptiZinc by the companies that make it.
I suggest this form also because it appears to have the least effect on GI symptoms...very little if any nausea side effects. It is not expensive, but a bit harder to find on store shelves. Whole Foods has it, and also www.iherb.com
(I have purchased it at both places).
You can read more about it here:
http://www.advance-health.com/zinc.html

I am not going to duplicate the data here that is available at the websites, I have linked in this post.

Here is another site which has drug interactions included:
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/ConsSupplements/Zinccs.html
There is also a nice bibliography at the end of this monograph.

I just found this statement on this website:
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?t...rient&dbid=115
Also time of day administration can be important. Some studies show nighttime use is more effective than daytime.


The following posts will have papers, showing usefulness in certain conditions, that I have found over the years...........

We need therefore zinc to convert pyridoxine into the active form pyridoxal.

Here is another :
from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0409094643.htm
Use of zinc monomethionine (a newer version) can reduce or eliminate nausea side effects.

This article is interesting too:
http://www.webmd.com/content/Article/104/107231.htm

Zinc is a huge subject. Here is a link to over 100 pages about it at LEF.org
http://search.lef.org/search/default...s=1&QUERY=zinc

Interested readers can find enormous amounts of data on PubMed:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed
Just type in zinc and any qualifier you are interested in, into the keyword box.

Zinc and acne:
Minocycline upsets the bacteria in the GI tract and can lead to Candidiasis..something very hard to eradicate. Yeast overgrowth, then, can be avoided by trying zinc first. There will be fewer side effects of nausea, if zinc monomethionine is used.

Zinc is used in long term care facilities for wound repair:
It is an ingredient in Arginaid (by Resource) and in various ointments used
for healing.
Many of the acne products are mixtures of antioxidants and zinc. That is because zinc does not work ALONE. Vits A C E and the mineral selenium are also included.

Here is a very new paper on zinc and airway maintenance:
Here is a paper on improving healing following hip replacement:
I work often in long term care providers (nursing homes and hospice) so I was very impressed by this new article:
Used in this country typically is Arginaid brand.
example:
and this general paper:
People who are ill, typically do not have an appetite, and thus eat poorly.
Economics also drive this negative spiral. Many people of all ages do not
consume quality protein. If they take chronic doses of acid reducing drugs, they also limit zinc absorption, which is dependant on acid. So attention to
this mineral is very important from acne, so serious wound repair (from surgery or pressure sores, or trauma).

Great thread MrsD!

I just wanted to add that my son, who has severe reactions to gluten and other things, MUST have his zinc supp. to speed his healing when he is mistakenly glutened.

When we were first on his special diet, he did better with taking supplements almost every day. A couple of years into the diet, he seems only to need them two or three days per week. We are now four years in and I supplement him... maybe... once a week for insurance... and not at as high a level (about 1/2 of the usual dose).

When he gets 'contaminated' we do 25mg of B-complex, 25 mg of zinc and Evening Primrose Oil for 3 to 4 days. We always know when he is almost finished because he will (sorry) poop out tonnes of mucous (usually within 2 days)... Then we supp. for 2 more days after that just to help rebuild his stores. Then he seems fine.

Note: We are very low in refined sugar, using it only during holidays. I do supplement him during days of refined sugar intake and find that to be helpful too.

I'm not saying this is what everyone should do because my daughter doesn't seem to have the same requirement. But I wanted to make note so that other people would keep hope that they will also find their 'magic' combination. I feel very lucky to have found this for my son... although it helps me too, I've noticed.

Last note: Although he is does not seem autistic and I've not had him tested for pyrolles (when I read this stuff I always think I should get him tested for it though), he still seems to do very well on the same type of regimen suggested for these children.

Edit: I was just reading your magnesium thread and it prompted me to come back and post that I do give him epsom salt baths too during these more stressful 'dietary trials'. I do notice the difference between when he has them and when he doesn't.... So, in effect, I guess I'm supplementing his magnesium also.

your comments are always welcome here!

I have been looking around for other zinc data and found this:
Zinc improves diabetic neuropathy:
And here is a very new paper concerning low zinc levels and poor lung functions/asthma:
Here is a new paper suggesting use of zinc monomethionine:
The incidence of low zinc and inflammation in the elderly:
Here is another about zinc/elderly/immune functions: