William:
...
> I took 30mg zinc/day for years. It completely stopped migraines.
> I didn't know to also take copper (ratio about 7 zinc to 1 copper),
> which
> may have caused apparently permanent crippling illness.
What was that illness, if you don't mind my asking, and how many years had
you taken the zinc? Did you notice any of the zinc overdose symptoms (such
as anemia and nausea) before contracting the illness?
> IIRC the standard recommended dose was 15mg per day.
Yes, that is the standard recommended for the average male, though different
sources list varying amounts between about 11-18mg. 15mg is around the RDA
for the average adult man. Now that I think about it, it might be better for
Melissa to start out with 1/2 a tablet (10 mg) since the zinc RDA for women
is less than for men.
> There seems to be enough bio-available zinc in raw meat.
There is supposed to be more than enough zinc in mostly-cooked Paleo too and
any diet that's high in zinc food sources like cooked or raw meat, liver,
shellfish, shrimp, herring, free range eggs, Brazil nuts, almonds, pumpkin
seeds, sesame seeds, spinach, etc. But such dietary advice assumes that the
person is not deficient in zinc and does not have malabsorption or any of
the conditions in the list below that may require higher levels of zinc.
Given that 20mg/day zinc was given to pregnant and nonpregnant women in a
study for 21 days, I would have thought that that would be a very safe
level, at least in the short term
(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_u
ids=7069509&dopt=Abstract).
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Zinc
http://whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=115#drugnutrientinteracti
ons
How do other nutrients interact with zinc?
A Tolerable Upper Limit (UL) for zinc of 40 milligrams per day was set by
the National Academy of Sciences in 2000 for all adults 19 years and older.
The establishment of this limit was largely related to the ability of zinc -
particularly supplemental zinc - to impair the status of other nutrients.
The most important of these nutrients are copper and calcium. Even at
moderate doses of 18-20 milligrams that can easily be obtained from food,
zinc can compromise the body's supply of copper unless foods rich in copper
are also included in the diet. When few foods high in calcium are included
in the diet, high levels of zinc intake (usually obtained from supplements)
can also decrease absorption of calcium from the intestine into the body.
Although zinc is associated with these potential detrimental effects on
copper and calcium, it is also supportive of other nutrients. The best
studied of these nutrients in vitamin A. Without zinc, vitamin A cannot be
effectively transported around the body, and cannot efficiently be mobilized
when it is needed.
Health Conditions
What health conditions require special emphasis on zinc?
Zinc may play a role in the prevention and/or treatment of the following
health conditions:
Acne
Alcoholism
Alopecia
Alzheimer's disease
Anorexia nervosa
Atopic dermatitis
Benign prostatic hypertrophy
Cervical dysplasia
Common cold
Crohn's disease
Diabetes
Epilepsy
Graves' disease
Herpes simplex
HIV/AIDS
Infertility (male)
Inflammatory bowel diseases
Influenza
Macular degeneration
Osteoarthritis
PMS
Psoriasis
Rheumatoid arthritis
Seborrheic dermatitis
Senile cataracts
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