Zinc for optimal immune function

I often talk about scientists re-inventing the wheel, but this latest research into the role of zinc in immunity is unbelievably frustrating. Have the researchers been living under a rock? I’ve been trumpeting the benefits of zinc for more than 30 years. When I wrote my first book, which will be 20 years old next year, there were already several thousand published papers on zinc and its multiple roles. The research around the effects of zinc deficiency was also very well-established, and even back then zinc deficiency was touted as the most widespread in the Western world!

Compromised zinc status has been linked to a multitude of issues, including both depression and poor taste sensation. Compromised zinc status can affect every aspect of reproduction from how fertile you are to how easily your baby will settle. It’s involved in brain formation and function and of course in immune formation and function. Zinc deficiency is linked to a multitude of chronic degenerative conditions. We’ve known these facts and much more about zinc for a long time! 

If you think you might be zinc deficient (about 2 billion individuals worldwide at recent estimates) there’s a very simple, inexpensive test for zinc status - and you'll find all the details about natural food sources (oysters are fabulous, the placenta is even better) and appropriate supplementation (if placenta stew isn't on your menu) in Healthy Parents, Healthy Baby.  Of course there's more to having a healthy baby than optimal zinc status - find out what else you need to do in the Better Babies FREE INTRODUCTORY WEBINAR

Bring on the Zinc Taste Test

I’ve been saying it for 30 years, but now it’s official - kids who prefer sweeter foods also prefer saltier foods AND the researchers say taste preferences seem to be linked to periods of increased bone growth.

But will the researchers ever connect the dots? Those kids with compromised taste sensation (i.e. zinc deficiency) will always go for the sweeter/saltier tastes, simply because the more subtle flavours of fruits and vegetables are lost on them. And no points for guessing what mineral is involved (along with calcium, magnesium and Vitamin D for bone growth) - of course it’s zinc!

Solution for those kids making the lousy food choices - get the Zinc Taste Test, confirm zinc deficiency, then supplement with a liquid zinc product. Switch to supplementing with tablets when zinc status (and optimal taste sensation) are restored. Remember to add a robust combination of other trace elements and vitamins - dose daily!

Simple, cheap and guaranteed to get kids interested in eating corn and cauliflower instead of crisps and chocolate!

How's your zinc status?

People with mild depression or anxiety may have modified perceptions of how fat, sweet and bitter flavours which could result in higher consumption levels of unhealthy foods, researchers suggest.

I wonder if the authors of this latest study made the possible trace element connection? The researchers, from University of Wurzburg, Germany published their findings in PLoS One. They showed that people suffering from mild depression or anxiety also have modified perceptions of how fat, sweet or bitter particular foods are.  

Could zinc be a missing link? Zinc is one of the most important trace elements, but zinc deficiency is also the most widespread deficiency in the Western world. Compromised zinc status has been linked to a multitude of issues, including both depression and poor taste sensation. Compromised zinc status can have affect every aspect of reproduction from how fertile you are to how easily your baby will settle. There’s a very simple, inexpensive test for zinc status - all the details here and in Healthy Parents, Healthy Baby.