Zinc is essential for the working of every single cell in the body. Its main action is co-enzymatic, i.e. it assists in the correct functioning of enzymes within the cell. It is now known that there are as many as 200 enzymes that require Zinc for their activity. One of these, RNA polymerase, is cardinally important because it is involved in the synthesis of all proteins in the body, of which there are known to be more than 50,000! This means that the body's supply of structural proteins, antibodies, most hormones and enzymes is very much dependent on Zinc status. Other important Zinc-dependent enzymes govern energy production.

Zinc is also thought to be involved with helping with the breakdown of candida toxins, and may be helpful to use with our other products which can help with candida die-off.

Why use our zinc?

This is explained by the producer as such:

Having decided to supplement with Zinc, the question arises as to which product to use. This is a contentious issue, and one which I have been considering for some time. My experience has been that the sulphate tends to cause nausea. The orotate is well tolerated but is generally not well absorbed. The amino acid chelate is unreliably absorbed; it is my impression that absorption varies not only from brand to brand, but even between different batches from the same manufacturer.

The much vaunted Citrate has been disappointing in my experience, and an allergenic potential has emerged, particularly in those who are allergic to citrus fruit. The Picolinate seems good, but is relatively unavailable, and expensive.

I currently favour the Gluconate, but even here there are pitfalls of which one should be aware. A number of manufacturers encapsulate or tablet Zinc Gluconate - a water soloble substance - with Magesium Stearate and Stearic Acid which are fat soluble. These excipients seem to impair the uptake of Zinc, and I have found absorption to be much better when these excipients are avoided. I have therefore found it necessary to formulate a special Zinc product which consists of ultrapure Zinc Gluconate, (this is the analytical grade, not the commercial grade.) which is filled into capsules without excipients of any kind. The elemental amount in each capsule is 15mg.

Zinc on its own or Zinc + B6?

Vitamin B6 is so common a deficiency, that I have had a 15mg Zinc capsule prepared which additionally contains 15mg of Vitamin B6.

At one time, I simply asked the Zinc-deficient subjects whether they remembered their dreams. If they did, they were given plain Zinc, if they did not, they were given Zinc combined with Vitamin B6. (Vitamin B6 is necessary for dream recall. Bad dreams or no dream recall are considered an indication of Vitamin B6 deficiency.)

Please note: our advice is that unless you are taking a supplment containing Vitamin B6, Zinc + B6 is probably the better choice.

Zinc and Vaginal Thrush

The following study suggests that zinc supplementation could be useful.

Am J Obstet Gynecol 1986 Nov;155(5):1082-5

Zinc status in women with recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis.

Edman J, Sobel JD, Taylor ML

Zinc status has been shown to influence various cell-mediated immunologic mechanisms. These cell-mediated mechanisms are important in preventing mucocutaneous infections caused by Candida albicans. This study evaluated the relationship between zinc status and recurrent vaginal candidiasis by comparing plasma and erythrocyte zinc in 29 patients with recurrent vaginal candidiasis and 20 control subjects matched for age, race, and parity. The results indicated that there was a significantly lower level of plasma zinc in women with recurrent vaginal candidiasis (81 + 11.6 mg/dl) than in the control subjects (91 +/- 14.2 mg/dl) with a significant value of p = 0.015. These differences in plasma zinc levels were even greater when adjusted for dietary zinc and supplemental zinc with the use of analyses of covariance. No differences in erythrocyte zinc measurements were found between the two groups. These results suggest that mild zinc deficiency is associated with recurrent vaginal candidiasis and may play a role in the susceptibility of women to recurrent vaginal candidiasis.