Take Zinc or you may sink
- Details
- Created on Tuesday, 30 December 2014 14:07
This is a fascinating new report about the effects of giving supplemental zinc to African women. Read it first, then my comments follow:
|
||
Note that they mentioned that the women were eating low-meat/ high phytate diets. Phytic acid is an acid distributed widely in plants, and it binds minerals, such as zinc, making them unavailable. And it has also been found in Western populations that the high phytic acid in plant-based diets can compromise zinc status. Zinc is involved in taste perception, and it has been found that vegans perform less well on taste perception tastes, suggesting the possibility of zinc deficiency. Besides the phytic acid, also the oxalic acid in fruits and vegetables may bind zinc into a non-useable oxalate form. Then lastly, the high fiber content of plant-based diets may impede zinc absorption to some extent. There is a good side but also a bad side to all that fiber. Note that overall, plant-based diets are very healthy and offer huge benefits. But, it's possible that they are marginal when it comes to maintaining optimal zinc status. Not major, but subtle degrees of zinc deficiency may be occurring widely among unsupplemented vegetarians and vegans. And that's why I prefer, for insurance reasons, to include a zinc supplement in my diet. I would rather be on the safe side. And here is another consideration: As people age, their natural ability to absorb zinc goes down- way down. Dr. Walter Pierapaoli, a prominent Italian physician, believes that a significant amount of the decrepitude of old age results from poor zinc nutriture. There are over 200 enzymes that are zinc-dependent. This is way too important to leave to chance. I recommend including a zinc supplement in your health program- especially if you are eating a vegan or mostly vegan diet. |