<p>Zinc plays a critical role in contributing to the normal function of the immune system, healthy cell growth, and a healthy inflammatory response, so you want to make sure a zinc deficiency isn’t affecting your health.</p><p><strong>9 Key Reasons Why You Need the Right Amount of Zinc</strong></p><p>Researchers now recognise that zinc is important for:</p><ul><li>Contributes to the normal function of the immune system</li></ul><p>Even mild to moderate zinc deficiencies can depress your immune function and impair your body’s response to invaders. Without enough zinc, your protective white blood cells can’t function optimally.</p><ul><li>Supporting healthy cell growth and replication, and helping to reduce everyday “wear and tear” on your cells’ DNA</li></ul><p>Your cells’ DNA is the blueprint for healthy cell replication. Research shows that a moderate increase in zinc status can lead to improved repair of DNA strand breaks along with serum protein concentrations involved with DNA repair, and help restore antioxidant and normal immune functions.</p><ul><li>Supporting respiratory health</li></ul><p>Studies show that adequate zinc improves respiratory well-being, even during seasonal challenges to your health.</p><ul><li>Aiding in the absorption of other nutrients and supporting a healthy metabolism</li></ul><p>Zinc plays a delicate dance with other nutrients in your body and helps with the absorption of nutrients, including folate from food. Too little zinc can increase your need for vitamin E. Zinc also acts as a co-factor in carbohydrate and protein metabolism.</p><ul><li>Helping to prevent the accumulation of defective proteins in your brain</li></ul><p>When proteins in your brain lose their correct shape due to damage, they cease working properly and can clump together. Zinc plays a key role in creating and holding proteins in their correct shape, an important factor for healthy cognitive function.</p><ul><li>Promoting protein synthesis and wound healing</li></ul><p>Zinc supports healthy skin and the integrity of your mucosal membranes.</p><ul><li>Supporting healthy bones</li></ul><p>Zinc plays a key role in your bone matrix and regulates the delicate balance between bone building and bone breakdown, especially important as you age.* It also promotes bone mineralisation through its role as a co-factor of alkaline phosphatase, an enzyme found in your bone cells.</p><ul><li>Helping to prevent cellular damage in your retina</li></ul><p>Researchers have found that zinc may help delay age-related vision loss, possibly by protecting against free radical damage to cells in your retina.</p><ul><li>Supporting your sensory organ function, like taste, smell and vision</li></ul><p>A shortage of zinc can lead to a loss of taste, and therefore, appetite. With a deficiency, the cells in your taste and smell organs can actually die faster. For your vision, zinc works together with vitamin A to help your eyes sense light and transmit nerve impulses to your brain.</p><p>This is just a sampling of what zinc does in your body. Zinc is an essential trace mineral with more biological roles than all your other trace elements combined!</p><p>Used in all of your cells, it’s a building block for about 3,000 proteins and required for over 300 enzymatic reactions.</p><p><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/W1bsqvlls6c?&wmode=opaque" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br></p>
