Hi Everybody, Dr. Menta here with
another Menta Be Well minute. Today I
want to talk to you about the trace
mineral zinc.
Now for most people, when they hear zinc,
they think of zinc oxide for tanning or
the zinc lozenges for a sore throat and
most men think of it as, zinc for the
dink. Now this is true, zinc is great for
the skin and for tissue healing and even
for your man's member however, this
mineral also is important for many other
functions in the body.
Now for example, zinc is essential for
brain and nervous system development,
it's involved in digestion, particularly
in the production of hydrochloric acid
so that we can break down our food. Zinc
is necessary for insulin function and
even for your sense of smell and taste.
But as it relates to immune function,
zinc is responsible for boosting those T
cells and natural killer cells, which
help the body fight infection and
inflammation, similar to the actions of
vitamins C and D, which we talked about
on previous Menta Minutes. Now one study suggests that zinc could reduce the
length of the common cold by 33%. Other
studies have demonstrated that taking
zinc decreased the incidence of
pneumonia in the elderly, in addition to
lowering infection rates by nearly 66
percent. Now a laboratory study in 2010
showed that zinc inhibited the activity
and replication of another corona virus
called SARS, which caused an outbreak in
2002. Now in case you're wondering what
flood contains zinc, it can be found in
meats and chicken and dairy, eggs, nuts
and seeds, legumes and even vegetables.
Now if taking supplements is more your
speed, than the standard dose for adults
is typically 15 to 30
milligrams. Now again, before taking any
supplement, please check with your doctor
for possible interactions with any
medications that you could be taking.
Ok, so I hope you found this helpful.
Please hit that like button and share
and until next time, I'm Dr. Menta,
be well.
