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Zinc Bolsters Immunity

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Zinc Bolsters Immunity

Zinc, an essential element, exists in nearly every cell of the body

and is critical to proper immune function. The importance of its role

in providing immune support is not yet fully understood, though a new

observational study sheds more light on its significance, especially

in the elderly.

The recent study assessed the relationship of zinc to health in 578

residents, mean age 84, across 33 nursing homes in Boston. Compared

with residents who had low zinc levels, people with normal levels had

fewer cases of pneumonia, required fewer antibiotic prescriptions for

it, and when they did get pneumonia, they had it for fewer days.

Additionally, patients with normal zinc levels had a 39% lower

all-cause mortality rate than those with low zinc levels.

You might think an obvious solution would be to give zinc supplements

to everyone with low serum zinc levels. But it's not really so simple,

explains Simin N. Meydani, DVM, PhD, of the Mayer USDA Human

Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston, one

of the study authors. Key questions need to be answered first, Dr.

Meydani told me. First, she says, there is the need to explore what's

an appropriate level of zinc for the elderly. Excess zinc disrupts the

balance of other minerals including copper and iron and, ironically,

it also may have an adverse reaction -- weakening the immune response

in some people. As with almost all natural and synthetic compounds,

there are optimal individual doses. Dr. Meydani says that Tufts

researchers are now planning a study of nursing home residents to

investigate what serum levels of zinc are most beneficial.

In the meantime, though, there is enough evidence from this and

previous studies to underscore the importance of maintaining adequate

zinc levels. You can obtain zinc from dietary sources, in particular

oysters, as well as red meat, poultry, beans and dairy. However, some

medications such as antacids interfere with zinc metabolism, as do

certain infections or chronic inflammation so, as always, consult your

physician.

Source(s):

Simin N. Meydani, DVM, PhD, of the Mayer USDA Human Nutrition

Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Boston.

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