ZINC

[Guest guest]

Hi Everyone,

I got this letter from Helen and wanted everyone to take a look.

I seem to be having another minor relapse. But oddly, it's a different set

of symptoms than the last one. When it came right before my period, I was

feeling kind of high, like the engines were just burning too hot and too

fast. Now, I'm shaky, anxious, angry. I had all of these at various times

when I was going through the major hyperT episode.

Why would the symptoms vary like this? What can I do??? I hate this

feeling. I think hyperT wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for this terrible

anxiety that doesn't even have a focus. The only thing I can think of is

Thursday I took all my supplements except the copper (just an accident).

This started Saturday. I know this will probably go away soon, but if you

have any suggestions I'll take it.

Anyways, interesting dream. I have always had a high sex drive. It's

higher between ovulation and menstruation. I can't say if it changed when I

was hypo. Maybe when I'm feeling better I'll be able to remember more

clearly.

I wrote back to Helen.

Hi Helen,

Sorry about your hyper episode, but maybe we can learn something and thereby

avoid a repeat. Could you please tell me what supplements and the quantities

you've been taking recently and if there were any changes in the last week or

so. Also what days of your menstrual cycle this attack came on. Also if you

took anything unusual (like progesterone cream or ??) or ate anything unusual

(foods possibly high in zinc). Maybe we can piece your puzzle together.

Helen wrote back to me:

I am currently taking:

Multivitamin (Centrum)

Iron (50 mg)

Calcium (1333 mg)

Magnesium (1200 mg)

Zinc (65 mg)

Copper (6 mg)

Chromium (1 tab, I'm not sure of the quantity)

Selenium ( " )

B-50 complex

C (500 mg)

trace minerals (Innovative Naturals liquid, 1 tbs, recommended dose)

trace minerals (KAL)

Digestive enzymes (Source Natural, 500 mg)

Hawthorn extract (3-4)

I added chromium and selenium (above what the multi has) about two weeks

ago. This started two days ago, a week after my last period started. I'm

not on any medications, and I've never used any estrogen or progesterone

products.

I haven't eaten anything unusual. Since just before the hyper started, I've

been on low carbs, moderately low fat, and higher protein. My eating habits

had slipped for a couple of weeks into higher carbs, fat, sugar and alcohol

(wine). This was around the time frame when I was afraid I'd have a relapse

because of the point in my menstrual cycle, but didn't. Last Wednesday I

started back with more vegetables and fruits, egg whites for breakfast, and

reduced starches. But then Saturday I was pissed off and ate a bunch of

sugar (ice cream and cookies). That's when I started to notice that I

didn't feel right, but I don't know if I was angry because I was already

feeling hyper, or if the sugar might have set it off. I hate to think that

my " healthy " diet could be worse for me than the junk food.

I know you've been talking about increasing fats in our diets, but I have

never been able to manage a very low fat diet (though I've tried), so I'd be

surprised if that was the problem. I think at best I fall into that

recommended 20% to 30% fat calories.

Here is my response today:

Hi Helen,

I think the problem is too much zinc. I spent a few hours going over my

health diary a couple days ago and I was amazed how my hyper episodes

correlated with taking zinc. Now I'm seeing some interesting things about

zinc that I'd like to share with everyone and which seem to apply to your

situation.

I was taking about 40 mg of zinc daily without copper when I got

hyperthyroidic. After a trip to the doctor (the nutritional expert) and

getting a blood test, I followed his recommendation and increased the zinc to

100 mg per day without copper. I then got really sick with some major hyper

attacks. Then the blood test results, PTU for a few days, and then hyper

control with cal/mag for 6 months until I discovered copper and boron.

Whenever I took zinc, I'd get hyper attacks within a day or so. Sometimes I

was too sick to take anything, then I'd get better. When I felt better, I

would take zinc again. The cycle went on. There is very strong evidence that

zinc was the main culprit.

However when I started taking copper, I could take 100 mg of zinc a day

without problems. The interesting thing is that my hair analysis showed that

11 months of zinc supplementation (usually 100 mg a day) did not increase my

zinc levels one bit. What does that mean? I think it means that my

absorption of zinc was poor. Copper combines with zinc to form many enzymes

and other chemicals in the body. Taking copper prevents excess zinc from

creating hyper symptoms (I think the excess zinc increases progesterone

production which stimulates the thyroid.) So before taking copper the 100 mg

was too much, and with the copper the 100 mg was OK.

Why was my zinc absorption low? I was eating lots of grains which contain

phytates which interfere with zinc absorption. My digestion was probably not

that great. When I started taking digestive enzymes, I started getting hyper

symptoms again. This would mean that I was now absorbing a higher percentage

of the 100 mg of zinc and it was now too much. At my October doctor

appointment, he saw that my zinc was not increasing so he recommended that I

start taking L-Cysteine which is an amino acid which increases B-6 metabolism

which is essential for zinc absorption. Every time I tried taking the L-

Cysteine I got rapid heart beat that night. The increased amount of absorbed

zinc was then too much and caused hyper symptoms. Now I've realized that I've

been on the edge of too much zinc for a long time. The 100 mg of zinc that I

was taking during my recovery would have been way too much except that my

absorption of it was low due to the above reasons. For the last week I've

stopped taking both zinc and copper to see what happens. My last hair

analysis showed normal copper levels and low normal zinc levels so I'm sure

I'm ok with those two minerals.

So to get back to Helen. I don't know how much zinc is in the Centrum, but I

did notice that more hypers reported taking Centrum than any other multiple

(that may be due to the fact that many people take it). But if it has 15 mg

and you're taking another 65 mg, that's 80 mg a day.

Plus, she's taking digestive enzymes which can increase the absorption of

zinc. You said on Wednesday you started eating more fruits and vegetables and

less starches. Maybe you've been eating less phytate foods like grains. That

could increase the zinc absorption. Also, you mentioned that two weeks ago

you started taking chromium and selenium. One of the functions of zinc is to

antagonize and help eliminate toxic metals like lead and cadmium from the

body. (Interesting side note: I recall one woman who was sure that stopping

smoking had caused her hyperT. Cigarette smoke contains substantial amounts

of cadmium - 2-4 mcg per pack. Stopping smoking could free up lots of zinc

that was going to counter the cadmium to now cause her hyperT--another

interesting theory.) Selenium also does this and maybe chromium does too. It

may be that chromium and selenium seem to " spare " zinc, that is they may

perform functions which zinc was doing and thus allow more zinc to go to other

functions (undesireable for hypers). Finally maybe egg whites or some other

protein in your diet is high in L-Cysteine which is suddenly increasing the

absorption of zinc. She said that she's eating more protein. Protein foods,

especially of animal origin, are high in zinc. This could have added a

significant amount of zinc.

If zinc is the main culprit in hyperT, then we have to look at all the

variables that influence zinc absorption and utilization. Copper uses some,

but we don't know how much. Many sources have reported that the ideal

zinc/copper ratio is about 8:1. Keep in mind that this could be wrong: it

could be an average for men and women, with men needing a higher ratio and

women a lower ratio. We just don't know. But it's not likely that 1 mg of

copper combines with 8 mg of zinc, because then there would be no zinc left

over. So maybe 1 mg of copper uses 1-4 mg of zinc. Maybe the copper helps

hypers with the excess zinc problem, but if the zinc is excessive, it can't

handle all of it. Also, phytates from grains, legumes, beans, nuts, soy, etc.

may decrease zinc absorption.

Many things which you may add to your diet may increase zinc absorption:

Digestive enzymes, animal protein, B-6, L-Cysteine, chromium, selenium, trace

elements (?), and who knows what else. Other things may use zinc like: toxic

metals, viruses, skin diseases, injuries, unknown diseases, etc. When those

conditions are corrected, more zinc may become available to drive progesterone

production and rev up your thyroid.

It's a complicated situation and we may only know a few of the factors that

influence zinc absorption and utilization. There is one thing which I feel

strongly about though: If you're experiencing hyper symptoms, decrease your

zinc. That has to be the first step. If that doesn't work, then we need to

know about it and investigate what else could be a thyroid stimulator. But so

far everything points to zinc as the main thyroid accelerator (assuming you

have all the brakes: copper, boron, fat.)

We are supposed to need about 15-20 mg of zinc a day. That should come from

our diets, unless we are vegetarian. Once a zinc deficiency is corrected,

which could take a short or very long time, we shouldn't need a lot of excess

zinc. And maybe we can't tolerate a large excess for a long time without

getting problems like hyperthyroidism. For a long time I've been talking

about hyperthyroidism as a deficiency disease. Maybe that's only a partial

truth. Maybe it's a surficiency disease when it comes to zinc, and a

deficiency disease for other nutrients.

For hypos, it looks like almost the same situation: almost everything points

to zinc. Hypos may be deficient in many things, but once those are supplied,

they need to look at the zinc. If a hypo is taking 100 mg of zinc a day (with

everything else) and still hypo, then the next step is to look at zinc

absorption. Maybe one of the factors listed above is the missing link to

greater zinc absorption and hypo relief.

------------------------------------------------------------------------