Zinc & CFS

[Guest guest]

From: www.chronicillnet.org/CFS/Ostrom/chp14.html

America's Biggest Cover-Up by Neenyah Ostrom

Chapter Fourteen

Zinc Deficiency Can Contribute To CFS

Zinc is a trace mineral that is very important in maintaining a healthy immune

system. But as many as 85 percent of CFS patients may have a serious zinc

deficiency, which is extremely common among AIDS patients as well.

Zinc is perhaps the most important " growth factor " in the human body; any cells

that are rapidly reproducing -- such as those involved in healing wounds, immune

system cells that are actively fighting infections, and growing fetuses --

require a steady supply of zinc. Zinc deficiency in a pregnant woman can cause

very serious birth defects in her child. The most dramatic birth defect caused

by zinc is an encephaly, in which a child is born with only part of a brain, or

actually no brain at all.

Zinc deficiency can also cause stunted growth (in children), skin lesions, hair

loss, and increased susceptibility to infections because of impaired immunity.

A physical sign of zinc deficiency -- which is, according to some researchers,

found in a large number of CFS patients -- is white spots on the finger nails, a

condition called " leukonychia. " Some CFS researchers have reported that a large

majority of their CFS patients exhibit the white spots on their fingernails that

are indicative of zinc deficiency.

Zinc deficiency may be responsible for another symptom of CFS -- alcohol

intolerance. Many CFS patients are unable to tolerate alcohol. Zinc is

responsible for helping to form the enzyme that breaks down alcohol, called

alcohol dehydrogenase. Too little zinc may lead to insufficient production of

alcohol dehydrogenase and, therefore, to alcohol intolerance.

Zinc deficiency, then, may not only contribute to lowered immunity and birth

defects among CFS patients and their children, but also to the alcohol

intolerance that is often a symptom of the disease.

America's Biggest Cover-Up by Neenyah Ostrom

[NEXT CHAPTER|PREVIOUS CHAPTER|TABLE OF CONTENTS|CFS INDEX|HOME]