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A CRONie wrote on Jun 18, 2006:

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I'd like to share my recent experience with zinc deficiency,
and suggest a plan for
zinc monitoring.

I get 100% plus RDA values of all nutrients, except calcium,
through food.
I have supplemented with OrthoCore as well as targeted
minerals (esp calcium
and zinc). All my biomarkers have responded as expected and
I have
experienced all the typical changes reported by pioneering CRON
practitioners.

But I realize now that I've probably been deficient in zinc
for at least the
last 2 years. Looking back, I've experienced these symptoms in
chronological order (which have now been reversed after 3
wks of greater
zinc supplementation):

My zinc deficiency symptoms, in order of occurence:
- greater tolerance of and preference for spicy/bitter foods
- decreased ability to taste and smell (happened gradually -
very difficult
to self assess)
- yellow or jaundiced appearance (without excessive
B-carotene intake)
- leg hair loss
- decreased appetite
- lower energy / harder to exercise
- slow healing / 1st flu
- metallic taste in mouth (extreme sign)

[other symptoms which have improved but not totally reversed
with zinc
supplementation: temperature sensitivity, moodiness, low sex
drive]

The metallic taste in my mouth drove me to my doctor, who
gave me a zinc
tally test, a taste and swallow zinc solution, which
confirmed zinc
deficiency. He recommended 50-60 mg of zinc, but after
reviewing my
supplementation I found I was already taking nearly 50 mg
zinc with a good
zinc/copper ratio of 11 including diet and supplements.
Over the past 3
weeks I have taken 150 mg of zinc a day with dramatic
improvements to the
symptoms above. (150 mg is a very large amount and I plan
on reducing this
gradually until I reach a safe long term level of
supplementation)

Without speculating whether the cause of my issue is intake
or absorption, I
make this recommendation: If you experience the symptoms
above see a doctor
and have a zinc test (mine cost $4). If the test results
show you are
deficient consider self-testing to monitor your zinc levels
periodically
until you have found the right level of supplementation.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

For the side effects of zinc deficiency,
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/minerals/zinc/index.html#deficiency

may inform. Also, we may be required to consider copper
deficiency when we
supplement with zinc. See
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/minerals/copper/ for
example, which
states,

"Zinc High supplemental zinc intakes of 50 mg/day or
more for extended
periods of time may result in copper deficiency. High
dietary zinc increases
the synthesis of an intestinal cell protein called
metallothionein, which
binds certain metals and prevents their absorption by
trapping them in
intestinal cells. Metallothionein has a stronger affinity
for copper than
zinc, so high levels of metallothionein induced by excess
zinc cause a
decrease in intestinal copper absorption. High copper
intakes have not been
found to affect zinc nutritional status (2,5)."

Also see
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/minerals/zinc/ for
another
example, which states,

"Taking large quantities of zinc (50 mg/day or more) over a
period of weeks
can interfere with copper bioavailability. High intake of
zinc induces the
intestinal synthesis of a copper-binding protein called
metallothionein.
Metallothionein traps copper within intestinal cells and
prevents its
systemic absorption (see Copper). More typical intakes of
zinc do not affect
copper absorption and high copper intakes do not affect zinc
absorption
(5)."

Also, see
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/minerals/copper/index.html#deficiency

for:

"Clinically evident or frank copper deficiency is relatively
uncommon. Serum
copper levels and ceruloplasmin levels may fall to 30% of
normal in cases of
severe copper deficiency. One of the most common clinical
signs of copper
deficiency is an anemia that is unresponsive to iron therapy
but corrected
by copper supplementation. The anemia is thought to result
from defective
iron mobilization due to decreased ceruloplasmin activity.
Copper deficiency
may also result in abnormally low numbers of white blood
cells known as
neutrophils (neutropenia), a condition that may be
accompanied by increased
susceptibility to infection. Osteoporosis and other
abnormalities of bone
development related to copper deficiency are most common in
copper-deficient
low-birth weight infants and young children. Less common
features of copper
deficiency may include loss of pigmentation, neurological
symptoms, and
impaired growth (2,3)." [3 =
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/reprint/67/5/952S for
the free full text paper.]

Shinde P, Dass RS, Garg AK, Chaturvedi VK, Kumar R.
Effect of Zinc Supplementation from Different Sources on
Growth, Nutrient
Digestibility, Blood Metabolic Profile, and Immune Response
of Male Guinea
Pigs.
Biol Trace Elem Res. 2006 Sep;112(3):247-262.
PMID: 17057264

Forty weaned male guinea pigs of 208.20 +/- 6.62 g mean body
weight were
divided into 4 groups of 10 animals in a randomized block
design. All of the
guinea pigs were fed a basal diet [25% ground maize hay, 30%
ground maize
grain, 22% ground chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), 9.5%
deoiled rice bran, 6%
soybean meal, 6% fish meal, 1.45% mineral supplement
(without Zn) and 0.05%
ascorbic acid] and available green fodder. Group I served as
the control (no
Zn supplementation), whereas 20 ppm Zn was added in the diet
in groups II,
III, and IV either as zinc sulfate (ZnSO4), zinc amino acid
complex (ZAAC),
and ZnSO4 + ZAAC in equal parts, respectively. Experimental
feeding lasted
for 70 d, including a 3-d digestibility trial. Blood was
collected through
cardiac puncture from four animals in each group at d 0 and
subsequently at
the end of experimental feeding. After 40 d of experimental
feeding, four
animals from each group were injected with 0.4 mL of
Brucella abortus cotton
strain-19 vaccine to assess the humoral immune response of
the animals.
After 10 wk of study, four animals from each group were
sacrificed to study
the concentration of Zn, Cu, Co, Fe, and Mn in the liver,
pancreas and
spleen. Results revealed no significant difference in the
feed intake, body
weight gain, and digestibility of the nutrients, except for
crude protein
(CP) digestibility, which was significantly (p < 0.05) lower
in group IV.
Although concentrations of serum glucose, Ca, and P and the
albumin:globulin
(A:G) ratio were similar in the different groups, the total
protein,
albumin, and serum alkaline phosphatase activity were higher
in all of the
Zn-supplemented groups on d 70. The serum Zn levels at the
end of
experimental feeding were significantly higher in groups II
and III, whereas
serum Mn levels were found to be significantly (p < 0.05)
higher in groups
III and IV. The organ weights (as percentage of body
weights) did not show
any differences among the treatment groups. Although the Mn
concentration
was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in the pancreas, the Cu
concentration
was significantly (p < 0.05) reduced in the spleen in all of
the
Zn-supplemented groups. The humoral immune response
(antibody titer values)
on d 14 of vaccination was significantly (p < 0.05) higher
in all of the
Zn-supplemented groups. It was concluded that the 20-ppm
level of Zn in the
diet might be adequate for growth and nutrient utilization
in guinea pigs,
but supplementation of 20-ppm zinc significantly improved
the immune
response and impact was more prominent with the ZAAC
(organic source)
compared to ZnSO4 (inorganic source).