Published April 20, 2001 in the North Island Weekender

Two weeks ago Campbell River celebrated its first Naturopathic Medicine Week during which people could get free tests in my office. We tested the urine, the blood sugar and zinc status. We found many people with blood in their urine and slight infection with no symptoms. We found many people with blood sugar well over the normal of 4.8 to 5.2 and we found 80% of our zinc tests showing deficiency in zinc. The zinc findings were a surprise to me so I am writing this article to all of you who are probably zinc deficient and need to know the implications of this.

Zinc is important for over 90 enzymes in the body having wide reaching effects such as heart health and cancer prevention.

After surgery your requirements for zinc soar and even if you have supplemented yourself all along, every day of healing afterwards gobbles up the zinc at an alarming rate so your intake should be increased dramatically during this period.

Zinc is required for repair of tissues, stabilizes cell membranes for accelerated healing and inhibits abnormal clotting, all of which are important for healing of the damaged heart after a heart attack.

There is something called the p53 gene which regulates the immune system to find cancer cells and instructs them to commit suicide or what we call in medicine apoptosis. But when environmental chemicals mutate this gene it becomes a fertilizer for cancer to decrease apoptosis. The importance of zinc is that there must be a zinc molecule in the p53 gene protein or it becomes mutated and instead of protecting us from cancer, causes it.

Vitamin B6 deficiency is a common cause of fatigue, depression, numbness, and tingling, PMS, arteriosclerosis, headaches and much more. However for B6 to be absorbed, it must be converted to its active form which requires a zinc-containing enzyme, pyridoxal enzyme. The same thing is true for Vitamin A , which is important for many functions of the body including mucous membrane health and turning cancer cells back into normal cells.

The thymus gland is a crucial gland in maintaining a health immune system and as we age it shrinks down to nothing. The thymic shrinking has been reversed with zinc supplementation.

We are constantly breaking down old genetic material and replacing it with new genetic material. This process is continual and requires huge amounts of an enzyme called DNA polymerase, which makes sure that the genetic material is assembled in proper sequence. If there are minute changes to this genetic programming a new disease and possibly cancer may result. What can interfere with this delicate process are the hundreds of chemicals in our environment that bombard us daily. DNA polymerase is another zinc dependent enzyme and thus will be helpful in treating chemical sensitivity and chronic fatigue.

Zinc is also crucial for diabetes, slowing aging, vision, liver function, and detoxification of alcohol.

Common symptoms of zinc deficiency include lack of taste for food, poor immune system, poor skin health, white horizontal lines on fingernails and a splotchy map looking tongue.

Calcium lowers zinc levels so make sure your calcium supplement contains zinc and some copper as zinc also lowers copper. Check out your zinc status with our easy zinc taste test next time you are in the office and supplement with a capsule form for easy absorption.

Please consult your naturopathic physician before self-treatment as too much zinc can suppress the immune system as well!

Dr. Pincott has been practicing naturopathic medicine since 1985 and is currently practicing in Campbell River. She can be reached at (250) 286-3655 or www.DrPincott.com

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