ZINC, THE GENTLE STRENGTH
and BALANCING MINERAL
by
Dr. Lawrence Wilson
©
September 2019, LD Wilson Consultants,
Inc.
All
information in this article is for educational purposes only. It is not for the diagnosis, treatment,
prescription or cure of any disease or health condition.
Contents
Updates
Worldwide Deficiency
Development And Zinc
III. SYMPTOMS OF ZINC DEFICIENCY
VI. HAIR MINERAL TESTING AND ZINC
VII.
RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER NUTRIENTS
_________________________
Update 9/6/19. A fairly recent medical journal article confirms our contention that low zinc tends to cause the body to absorb more toxic metals. The reference is https://www.nature.com/articles/srep01199.
Update
8/27/19. A recent medical
journal article confirms what we teach about the importance of zinc and
selenium for health and longevity.
The article is at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969711000544?via%3Dihub.
Update
12/30/18. Zinc able to protect the body from oxidative stress. Researchers led by Dr. Ivana Ivanovic-Burmazovic at the
Friedrich-Alexander-Universitat, Erlangan-Nurembberg,
Germany? have found that zinc can activate a
hydroquinone group found in polyphenols (a chemical
found in certain foods that often gives food its taste and smell). By so doing, zinc can protect the body
from oxidative stress caused by superoxide.
Update
7/13/17. If taking zinc
causes nausea or stomach upset, try taking zinc lozenges instead because these
dissolve in your mouth. Take the
same milligram dosage of zinc as you were supposed to take before, and usually
you will be able to take it without side effects.
Update
4/1/2017. Scientists have just
discovered that at the moment of conception (the time when an egg and a sperm
join together), they observe a tiny flash of light that has to do with igniting
a zinc compound in the egg. They are calling it the zinc
spark of life.
Also,
they found that the more zinc is present, the brighter the zinc spark.
http://www.dailywire.com/news/5285/flash-light-occurs-moment-conception-james-barrett?
https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2016/04/radiant-zinc-fireworks-reveal-quality-of-human-egg
Main article:
Zinc
is one of the most interesting and fascinating minerals needed in our
bodies. It is required for
hundreds of enzymes that control functions as diverse as vision, hearing,
health of the skin, hair, nails, connective tissue, sexual function, digestion,
immune response, and more.
Zinc
is also involved in protein synthesis, a vital function, where it is required
for several key enzymes in RNA and DNA synthesis such as RNA transferase.
A WORLDWIDE ZINC
DEFICIENCY
Few
good sources of bioavailable zinc exist today for
very important reasons:
1. Most of the worldÕs soils are low in zinc. This is a very serious problem around
the world. Zinc is rarely replaced
enough on todayÕs soils.
2.
Hybrid crops contain much less zinc.
Modern hybrid crops produce more food per acre, but this means
that each stalk of wheat or corn or vegetables has much less zinc than in
earlier times when hybrids were not used.
3. Food
refining and processing often removes zinc. Zinc and other trace elements are removed when wheat, rice, corn,
sugar and even salt are refined. Sadly,
most people live on these refined and empty foods such as white flour, white
rice and white sugar.
Salt. Natural sea salt provides a little zinc. However, the zinc and other trace
minerals are removed form refined Òtable saltÓ. This is one reason table salt is a very poor quality food.
Frozen
food. Some foods, especially frozen
vegetables and perhaps meats, are sprayed with EDTA to retain their color. This chemical removes some zinc and
other minerals from the food, making it even more zinc deficient. The spraying is done to cause the food
to retain its color.
This may be the reason why frozen food, in our
experience, is bad for development.
4.
Most babies are born low in zinc. Their
mothersÕ bodies are low in zinc, so the babies do not obtain enough zinc in utero.
5.
Vegetarian or near vegetarian diets are much lower in zinc. This is explained below, but the main
reason is that the only good food sources of zinc are meats, especially red
meats.
6.
Stress depletes zinc very quickly, within seconds, in fact. This is part of the bodyÕs fight-or-flight
response to stress.
7.
Special times of life require more zinc.
This includes, childhood, puberty, pregnancy, breastfeeding and old
age. Also, any stressful situation
will deplete zinc in the body. Infections
and chronic illness also tend to deplete zinc and require supplements.
For example, diabetics need much more zinc. Also, low zinc in boys around the age of
puberty is one reason they do not grow tall as fast as the girls at that
age. Later, the boys catch up, but
the boys are using their zinc to develop the prostate gland and testicles, and
there is insufficient zinc to enable them to grow taller at that age, in many
cases. This is so common it is
considered normal today.
White spots on the fingernails may occur during
stressful times and are an indication of significant zinc deficiency.
For all the reasons above, zinc deficiency is a
major problem for everyone, throughout the world.
DEVELOPMENT AND
ZINC
Adequate
zinc is essential for development.
Zinc activates certain brain centers that are needed for
development. This is a very
precise and specific process that one will begin if one follows a development
program correctly.
Development
involves an increase in the mass of the thinking brain. In addition, the immune response improves, the thymus gland either rebuilds or does not
atrophy with age, and other changes.
For details, read Introduction To
Development and about 10 other articles on this subject on this website.
Food
sources. The main food
sources of zinc are meat and eggs.
It is difficult for vegetarians to obtain enough zinc from food!
The best food sources of zinc are red meats such
as hamburger meat. Other zinc-rich
foods are chicken, turkey, eggs and some fish.
The reason zinc is found more in animal products
is that this mineral helps develop the etheric energy field,
which is more developed in animals than in plants. For details about the energy fields, read The Energy Bodies. This is also the reason we call zinc a spiritual mineral.
Vegetarian
sources. In general, vegetables,
beans, grains and fruits are not good sources of zinc. Among the best vegetarian sources are
pumpkin seeds. Sea vegetables such
as kelp also contain some zinc. Fruit
has very little zinc today. It is
one reason not to eat it.
In our experience, vegetarians become very
deficient in zinc. Vegetarian
foods contain less zinc and the zinc compounds found in vegetarian sources are
more difficult to utilize. This is
a major reason for eating meat.
Nutritional
supplements. We find everyone
requires supplemental zinc. It is
part of every development program we design. However, many physicians overlook zinc
when recommending nutritional supplements.
Dosing
zinc. A critical aspect of zinc
supplementation is that the amount needed can only be determined, in our
experience, by noting the sodium/potassium ratio on a properly performed hair
mineral test. Other methods of
dosing zinc are not nearly as good.
One can easily take too much zinc and unbalance the body.
Zinc
compounds. Most forms of zinc
supplements seem to be adequately absorbed such as zinc gluconate,
chelate, and picolinate. Zinc oxide is not quite as good.
Other sources of zinc include skin ointments such as zinc oxide, Caladril and others.
Zinc is used often in these products because it has a soothing and
healing effect on the skin.
Head
And Shoulders shampoo is also quite high in zinc. It is not the best form of zinc, but some is absorbed from
the product and we find this product to be acceptable. Zinc here is used to help overcome
problems with dandruff, which is a fungal infection of the scalp. Zinc is excellent for this purpose, and
much better (less toxic) than using a selenium-containing shampoo such as Selsun Blue Shampoo or others.
III. SYMPTOMS OF
ZINC DEFICIENCY
Skin. These include stretch marks on
the skin, white spots on the fingernails, and varicose veins. Most cases of acne, dermatitis, eczema,
psoriasis, boils, vitiligo, and other skin infections
often involve zinc deficiencies.
Young
women experience more acne and other skin problems at certain times of the
month because their period regulates zinc and copper levels. When copper is higher than zinc, acne
develops in many cases and is a symptom of a need for zinc and other minerals,
as well.
Yeast
conditions. Zinc is critical for
the immune response, and zinc opposes or antagonizes too much copper in the
body. For these reasons, a low
tissue zinc level is associated with development of fungus and yeast conditions
anywhere in the body.
Menstrual and Female
Reproductive Difficulties.
Most menstrual irregularities such as premenstrual tension, estrogen
dominance and others are related to zinc imbalance. Zinc has a moderating effect on these health conditions that
is sometimes remarkable.
Other
reproductive conditions involving zinc include cessation of the period in
younger women, infertility, irritability and cramping associated with
menstruation.
Zinc and pregnancy. Too much zinc given during pregnancy
can rarely induce a miscarriage, so be careful with zinc during pregnancy. A miscarriage could occur if too much
zinc lowers copper excessively, which affects the estrogen level. Most pregnant women can safely take 20
mg of a zinc supplement, especially if they take some copper, as well. Some pregnant women need much more than
this, but some do not.
Birth defects, growth And
Development Of The Fetus.
Zinc is critical for growth and development, both in the womb and after
birth. Zinc deficiency is strongly
associated with birth defects of many kinds.
Zinc deficiency is one of the main causes of a
doubling or more of the birth defect rate in most Western nations, compared to
100 years ago.
Zinc deficiency is almost always a factor in developmental
delays, learning disorders, autism, and other developmental problems. Short stature, delayed testicular
development, undescended testicles, and other growth
problems often have zinc as a part or the entirety of the cause.
Male Reproductive System.
The prostate gland accumulates zinc more than any other tissue of the
body. Seminal fluid or sperm
contains significant quantities of zinc.
Most male reproductive and prostate problems have zinc deficiency as
part or as all of the cause.
These
conditions may include prostatitis, enlarged
prostate, prostate cancer and other metabolic conditions related to male
infertility. They also include
erectile dysfunction and some male hormone imbalances such as low testosterone
and perhaps other hormone-related conditions in men.
Vision. Zinc deficiency is involved in most vision problems. Macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa and night blindness, iritis
and other infections are among them.
Eye doctors are about the only medical specialty that regularly
supplements patients with zinc.
The
retina of the eye is one of the richest tissues in zinc in the human body and
one of the tissues most dependent on zinc, along with the male prostate gland
and the intestines.
The Brain. Zinc is thought to be a calming neurotransmitter in its own right. Symptoms of zinc problems include
hyperactivity, ADD and ADHD, anxiety, irritability, nervousness, emotional
instability, mood swings, bipolar disorder and many other mental and emotional
symptoms. Conditions such as
epilepsy, seizures, schizophrenia and other severe emotional disturbances often
have zinc deficiency as a part of their cause. Zinc is considered a Òsedative mineralÓ due to its effect on
the central nervous system.
Zinc
is also required for higher mental functioning and for mental development of
the neocortex or new brain. Zinc is therefore an essential mineral in nutritional
balancing science for mental and spiritual development.
The Immune Response. I prefer the words Ôimmune responseÕ
instead of Ôimmune systemÕ because all body systems are involved with
immunity. Zinc is critical for
this area of functioning, both in humans and in animals. It is helpful to prevent all infections
and to treat skin infections and others.
Those with AIDS, in particular, often benefit from zinc supplementation. Vegetarians often develop more
infections because their zinc levels tend to be much lower.
Zinc
is often given for colds, flu and many acute infections
as it is generally helpful for these problems. It works closely with copper in the immune response.
Digestive system. Zinc is extremely important here. It is required for all digestive enzyme
production. It is also required to
rebuild the fast-growing intestinal tissue, and for the production of bile, and
liver and pancreatic secretions.
Ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, yeast infections, colitis, and many
other digestive problems often have to do with low zinc.
Cardiovascular system. Zinc is required to give flexibility to
the arteries and veins. Common
deficiency symptoms include hardening of the arteries, high blood pressure,
aneurysms, strokes, heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems.
Surgery and wound healing. Taking zinc before surgery can be most
helpful to prevent complications such as infections, and perhaps even
adhesions. Zinc is also required
for wound healing, so it may help speed healing and prevent scarring, as well.
Other. Zinc is essential
for all connective tissue.
Symptoms of imbalance or deficiency include problems with tendons and
ligaments such as tendonitis, bursitis and, in particular, inflammatory
symptoms. Zinc is a highly
anti-inflammatory mineral needed to balance copper and other more
pro-inflammatory substances in the body.
Too
much zinc is rare if one obtains oneÕs zinc from food. If, however, one takes too much zinc in
supplement form, symptoms of zinc overdose can occur. They may include prostatitis,
vision problems, skin difficulties and more. Emotional symptoms may also occur, but are less likely.
The
cause for these symptoms appears to be copper depletion due to excessive zinc
intake. Interestingly, the
symptoms appear very similar to zinc deficiency. I do not think symptoms are due to zinc biounavailablity
because zinc is quite well-utilized in the body.
The remedy for the problem is to stop taking
zinc and increase copper intake for a few days to a few weeks. This usually causes symptoms to clear
rapidly.
V. IDENTIFYING ZINC
DEFICIENCY
There
are several ways to assess zinc status in the body.
Blood. Serum blood tests are useless, in
general, as zinc does not accumulate in the blood serum.
A
few holistic doctors use white blood cell zinc levels to assess total body zinc. This provides some information. However, it is not too reliable.
Urine and feces. These methods of assessing zinc
are not considered reliable because they depend too much on the last dayÕs
meals, for example, and other factors such as absorption of dietary zinc.
In our
experience, all the bodies are low in zinc. Therefore, the question becomes how much supplemental zinc is
needed, rather than whether a person is deficient or not.
VI. HAIR MINERAL
ANALYSIS AND ZINC
The
level of zinc in a human or animal hair sample depends upon many factors. It is an important mineral to measure
in the hair. However, it does not necessarily
reflect the total body load of zinc. Also, in our experience, the hair zinc
level cannot be used to determine the amount of supplemental zinc a person requires.
Dr. Paul Eck found that the sodium/potassium
ratio on a properly performed hair mineral analysis is the best way to assess
the need for zinc. He also
recommended extra zinc in some instances.
We continue to use his methods of assessment, with a few modifications.
The ideal hair zinc level. The current ideal hair values for zinc
that we use is listed in the article entitled Hair
Mineral Ideals.
However, remember that even if the hair zinc
level is normal, everyone still needs a zinc supplement.
Also, at times, a low
hair zinc is caused by the body attempting to defend or compensate for a low
sodium level or a low sodium/potassium ratio. The concept of defenders is more advanced, and discussed in
the article The Theory Of Nutritional Balancing.
Elevated hair zinc. A hair zinc level greater
than about 16 mg% is due, in our experience, to the presence of toxic metals,
usually copper. The body
may use zinc in some way to protect the body from the ravages of the other
toxic metal.
An elevated hair zinc is rarely
due to excess zinc in the body unless one uses Head And Shoulders shampoo or
some other zinc-containing hair or skin product. While the hair level is high, this does not mean the body is
too high in zinc. The zinc is basically
on the scalp and skin, not all throughout the body.
Zinc toxicity is rare, and could occur due to
occupational or some other exposure.
This only occurs in zinc miners and others who are exposed to large
amounts of zinc ore and zinc dust.
There is simply not excessive zinc in the soil, the food, the air, water
and other common places that overload would occur easily.
VII. RELATIONSHIPS
TO OTHER NUTRIENTS
Calcium, magnesium and zinc
- the sedative minerals.
Zinc, along with calcium and magnesium, are called sedatives because all
three help inhibit excessive sympathetic nervous system activity. They all inhibit excessive brain
activity. Zinc, in fact, is considered
by some authorities to be a calming neurotransmitter in its own right.
Zinc tends to lower hair sodium levels. This is part of the complex mineral system of the body in which
every mineral affects the level of other minerals in unique ways. This does not tend to affect serum
levels, as these are regulated differently than the tissue levels of most
minerals.
Zinc may raise or lower the hair calcium
depending on the situation. In
slow oxidizers, it powerfully helps lower calcium by helping to restore adrenal
activity. Excessive zinc, however,
may raise hair calcium by lowering sodium excessively.
In
fast oxidizers, zinc has a parasympathetic effect that can help raise a low tissue calcium and balance elevated tissue sodium and
potassium levels. Thus, overall,
zinc tends to balance hair tissue calcium levels, just as it often balances
potassium levels as well.
Zinc raises potassium in a slow oxidizer
and tends to lower it in fast oxidizers. When the hair potassium level is low, taking zinc is far
more effective in helping to raise it than taking potassium.
In
fast oxidizers, zinc helps to slow the oxidation rate. Therefore, it tends to reduce the hair
sodium and potassium levels in a fast oxidizer. In this regard, zinc functions as an adaptogen
element, which means that it tends to balance both a high or
a low calcium level.
Zinc and the other trace minerals. This becomes complex. Basically, zinc can inhibit the
absorption of the other trace minerals such as manganese, chromium and others. This is due to Òcompetitive inhibitionÓ
at the level of the intestines.
This
means that the same transporters that adsorb zinc through the
intestines are used by the body to adsorb the other trace minerals. Therefore, taking extra zinc may
inhibit the adsorption of the others.
However,
zinc is synergistic or synergetic with many other trace minerals such as
selenium, chromium and others at other levels of metabolism. In other words, having enough zinc
present helps these other minerals to be used properly, including even copper. They work well together at certain
functions in the body such as energy production in the Krebs cycle and
specifically the electron transport system.
Vitamin
A. Vitamin A is
synergistic with zinc. They both
tend to lower the sodium level on a hair mineral test, and they both are very
helpful for the immune response.
A HIGH ZINC
PERSONALITY
This is not too common. Those with high zinc tend to be less
emotional, a bit cold or harsh, perhaps, very analytical, and kind underneath.
ZINC AS A ÒMALEÓ
MINERAL
Zinc
is considered a ÒmaleÓ mineral in nutritional balancing science for several
reasons. It is
required by both men and women.
However, it is considered more essential for men, especially in the
prostate gland.
Zinc
also confers certain qualities on the personality that are considered more
ÒmaleÓ qualities. These are
subdued emotions, a more analytical tendency rather than an emotional one, and
a very balanced mental outlook.
This is also why zinc is called the Ògentle strengthÓ mineral.
Zinc
also has qualities that are sometimes described as an adaptogen. This means that it tends to balance
things out in several directions.
While needed by both men and women in all cases, this is also considered
a more ÒmaleÓ quality of this mineral.
ZINC IN INDUSTRY
Zinc
is commonly used as a coating for metals such as steel to prevent rusting. The process is called galvanizing. To galvanize also means to activate to action.
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