Not in the Pink? Think of Zinc!

  If your skin doesn't have that healthy pink glow, could it be that you are lacking zinc? Zinc is potent micronutrient that we need for general as well as gyno health. Health effects on the fetus of being deficient in zinc has been known for over 50 years and some famous studies of dwarfism in Iran had been traced to zinc deficiencies. It is a trace mineral, also called trace elements, widely available in meat and plant sources. Because the zinc is harder for us to chemically extract from vegetarian food sources so there is lower bioavailability in plant sources. In otherwords, having lower bioavaibility means, its there in your food, but you just can't extract it. Vegetarians and vegans are urged to get approximately 50% more zinc than those who do eat meat. In fact your zinc blood levels will vary depending upon how much meat you do eat. Fish sources have zinc too, and oysters are among the best way to get zinc into your diet.

Zinc is necessary for the function of dozens of our body's metabolic enzyme systems; it is important for our immune system, the repair of DNA and for wound healing. Over 70 enzyme systems need zinc for proper function. It is linked to skin disease, poor sense of smell, inability to taste as well, infertility, and poor resistance to infection. It may be a cause of hair growth cycle disturbances. For those getting cosmetic treatments getting the right amount of zinc in your diet will help you heal more quickly and help enhance the way your products are working for your skin’s protection. Sun screens and cosmetics with zinc can help your skin be less irritated and less dry or flaky. If you have had diarrhea your skin can be listless for a variety of reasons: low fluid levels, too little magnesium and potassium in your system due to the loss during diarrhea, but low zinc can be responsible for the symptoms of being pale as well.

Remember there are hidden ways doing things you think of as beneficial for your health, that actually can be detrimental. Since zinc is absorbed in the small intestine too much fiber can oddly bind up your zinc and you can suddenly have a zinc deficiency you did not have before. For instance too much zinc can be both toxic and compromise the amount of copper, another trace mineral, in your body. Too much iron can also affect how we absorb zinc from our intestinal track.  Discussing these issues with your gyno, boils down to a basic diet analysis. There is no approved blood level tests for zinc, and hair analysis is inconsistent, so you just have to rely on the content of our diet to get enough zinc in!