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Zinc Monomethionine
Zinc is widely distributed throughout the body, with the highest concentrations found in the skin, hair, nails, eyes, and prostate gland. Smaller amounts are also found in the liver, bones, and blood. The human body contains about 2.2 grams of zinc, second only to ironI. Oral zinc supplementation has been used to treat (take a deep breath!) anorexia nervosa, improving athletic performance and strength, benign prostatic hyperplasia, Crohn’s disease, diabetes, Down’s syndrome, improving immune function, for male infertility, macular degeneration, night blindness, osteoporosis, peptic ulcers, recurrent ear infections, rheumatoid arthritis, sickle cell anemia, Alzheimer’s disease, Wilson’s disease, acrodermatitis, enteropathica, delayed wound healing, the common cold, acute diarrhea, severe head injuries, and muscle cramps in patients with cirrhosisII. Wow, it sounds as if zinc is a monumentally important mineral! Zinc is also a component of over 80 enzymes in our bodies, and functions in more enzymatic reactions than any other trace mineral. It’s necessary for normal cell division and function, and during the body’s attempts at repairing damaged tissues; zinc deficiencies will retard the synthesis of DNA, RNA, and protein, thus slowing down repair times. And, important to our discussion of joint repair, zinc, along with manganese, copper, iron, and vitamin C, is critical for the repair of damaged collagen with the joint tissuesIII IV. In 1976, a double-blind placebo trial was performed in twenty-four patients who had been diagnosed with chronic, refractory rheumatoid arthritis. This group was randomly divided into two groups. The treated group received zinc sulfate for 12 weeks, while the other group received a placebo. At the end of the 12-week period, the placebo group was allowed to take the zinc supplementation. During the double-blind phase, zinc-treated patients fared better than the untreated group in regard to joint swelling, morning stiffness, walking time, and the patient’s own impression of overall disease activity. After the initial 12-week period these same indices improved in the control group and continued to improve in the initially treated groupV. Zinc is very poorly absorbed in our digestive systems. Some studies have shown that only 10% of our dietary zinc actually ends up in our blood stream. Alcohol consumption, coffee consumption, foods with high levels of phytate, and nutritionally deficient foods can all lead to zinc deficiencies. Phytates (phytic acid) are compounds present in many foods, but especially whole wheat and rye, that bind calcium, iron, phosphorus, and zinc, making them unavailable to the body. In the Middle East, where quick-fermenting pita breads are a staple and diets lack variety, zinc and iron deficiencies are common. The problem is that zinc and iron-rich whole wheat flours are used and the breads are made so fast there isn’t time for the metal phytates to be reduced to a simpler, more assimilable formVI. Researchers have continually found that diets of those diagnosed with arthritis are sorely deficient of specific trace minerals. In one study, reported in the Journal of Rheumatology, diets of patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis were deficient in vitamin B6, zinc, magnesium, copper, and folate. Another interesting point noted was that they also ate too much total fat and not enough polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs)VII. Just last year researchers in Austria analyzed trace mineral levels of 18 elements in joint fluid in patients diagnosed with osteoarthritis of the knee. The results were quite interesting. They found that levels of calcium, copper, magnesium, and zinc were significantly lower in joint fluids when compared to the levels found in their blood serumVIII. One theory as to why zinc, and other metal compounds may be effective in treating arthritic conditions is their role as antioxidants. A powerful antioxidant known as superoxide dismutase (SOD) is made from copper and zinc and is responsible for quenching free radicals known as the activated oxygen species. These activated oxygen species are released from our own immune cells, which have migrated to damaged joint tissues, and actually to further damage to our jointsIX. I Murray, Frank, The Big Family Guide To All The Minerals, Keats Publishing, New Canaan, Connecticut, 1995, p205. II Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, Compiled by the Editors of PharmacistÕs Letter and PrescriberÕs Letter, Therapeutic Research Faculty, Stockton, CA, p1148. III Tinker, D and Rucker, RB, Role of selected nutrients in synthesis, accumulation, and chemical modification of connective tissue proteins, Physiol. Rev., 65(3), 607, 1985. IV Berg, RA and Kerr, JS, Nutritional aspects of collagen metabolism, Annu. Rev. Nutr., 12, 369, 1992. V Simkin, PA, Oral zinc sulfate in rheumatoid arthritis, Lancet, 1, 539, 1976. VI Anderson, J and Deskins, B, The Nutrition Bible, William Morrow and Company, Inc. New York, NY, 1995. VII Kremer JM and Bigaouette J, Nutrient intake of patients with rheumatoid arthritis is deficient in pyridoxine, zinc, copper, and magnesium. J Rheumatol 23(6): 990-994, Jun 1996. VIII Krachler M, Domej W, Irgolic KJ, Concentrations of trace elements in osteoarthritic knee-joint effusions. Biol Trace Elem Res 1 Summer; 75(1-3): 253-263, 2000. IX Aaseth J, Haugen M, Forre O. Rheumatoid arthritis and metal compounds Š perspectives on the role of oxygen radical detoxification. Analyst 1; 123(1): 3-6, Jan 1998. |