Drink zinc gluconate to improve immunity

Zinc gluconate can help improve immunity, but it is only effective for people with zinc deficiency. Blind supplementation for healthy people is not only useless, but may put a burden on the body.

When I was rotating in the nutrition department of a community hospital for the past two years, the most common consultation I encountered was this: My child always catches colds. Is it helpful to drink zinc gluconate? I work overtime every day. Can drinking this improve my immunity? What particularly impressed me was a 5-year-old boy who always suffered from bronchitis when the seasons changed. He had to cough every time for more than half a month. He was very picky about his meals and did not touch green leafy vegetables or meat. His serum zinc level was only 60% of the normal value. At that time, the pediatrician prescribed zinc gluconate for one month, and asked parents to give it to their children after meals every day, along with eating more lean meat and nuts. During the follow-up visit in the second month, the mother said that the child had not caught a cold recently and was willing to eat two bites of ribs.

To put it bluntly, the principle is actually not complicated: Zinc is an essential trace element for immune cell proliferation and antibody synthesis. The WHO has long had data that the incidence of infectious diseases in zinc-deficient people is about 2 times higher than that of people with sufficient zinc intake, especially in children and the elderly. After zinc deficiency, the activity of immune T cells will directly decrease, and there will be no strength to "fight" when the virus invades. Zinc gluconate is organic zinc, which is much milder than the earliest inorganic zinc such as zinc sulfate. It is less irritating to the gastrointestinal tract. Even if the elderly and children with weak spleen and stomach drink it, they rarely suffer from acid reflux and nausea problems, and the absorption rate can reach more than 30%. It is indeed a worry-free choice for people with zinc deficiency.

Someone will definitely want to refute this. My friend took supplements to no avail and even made him constipated. This is really not the fault of zinc gluconate. It is probably because you supplemented the wrong person. Nowadays, there is a lot of publicity on the Internet touting it as a "magic medicine for immunity". It is very irresponsible to let people drink it regardless of their physical constitution. A while ago, a best friend of mine followed suit and bought three boxes, saying she wanted to prevent the flu. She drank two of them every day before meals. She went to the hospital with stomachache within ten days. When her serum zinc was found to be excessive, she originally ate salmon twice a week and a handful of pistachios a day. Adult women only need 7.5 mg of zinc per day. Her diet was already enough, and the extra supplement could not be absorbed by her body. The excess zinc could not be metabolized, which would affect the absorption of copper and lower immunity. There are also those who stay up until three or four o'clock every day and eat takeaways that are heavy in oil and salt. Even if you drink zinc gluconate as water, your immunity will not be improved. An old man came for consultation before and said that he still got the flu after drinking it every day. When I asked, I found out that he drank cold beer and played cards with his old friend until midnight after dancing in the square every day. What supplement can withstand such a condition?

Now the consensus in the nutritional community on this matter is also very clear: if there is no shortage, there is no need to supplement. If you often catch colds repeatedly and the illness lasts for ten days and a half, you don't like to eat foods with high zinc content such as red meat, seafood, and nuts, or your children are picky and anorexic and suffer from repeated oral ulcers, or the elderly eat a light diet and eat less meat for a long time, you can go to the hospital to check your serum zinc first. If it is really low, it is appropriate to drink zinc gluconate as directed by your doctor. Generally, you need to review it after 1-2 months of supplementation, and you don't need to take it for a long time. If you have a balanced diet, can eat seafood once or twice a week, and have meat and vegetables every day, there is really no need to spend this wasted money.

I will keep one or two boxes at home now. When the seasons change, if I travel a lot recently and eat fast food without much meat, I will drink two boxes occasionally. It is much more reliable than randomly taking those immune supplements with unknown ingredients. But I have never regarded it as a talisman against colds. To put it bluntly, immunity is a comprehensive thing. If you sleep for 7 hours, take time to exercise twice a week, and don’t be too picky about your meals, it will be more effective than any supplement.