by KYW's medical editor Dr. Brian McDonough
Zinc is an essential micronutrient, one which helps regulate gene expression and helps in hundreds of chemical reactions in the body. But zinc can fall to dangerously low levels in certain conditions like alcoholism, and illnesses that affect absorption.
When you have zinc deficiency there are all sorts of problems including hair loss, diarrhea and problems with immunity. Zinc can be found naturally in beef, poultry and seafood. Of course zinc gets a great deal of attention these days with claims that it can help with wound healing and respiratory infections but the only conclusive evidence from studies is that zinc can help fight age related macular degeneration.
Clearly there is a role for zinc supplement in people with zinc deficiency but for people with normal zinc levels there is no clear support for this.
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