<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Thank you to those of you who responded.  It kind of looks like us coeliacs
can benefit from zinc supplentation but not in doses higher than 50mg a day
which could be harmful.  These are the responses I got:

1.      I do.  I do the sublingual tablet about 30 mg. and then also supplement
boron, manganese, and copper.

2.      Yes. We commonly benefit from zinc supplementation.

3.      I take 50 mg zinc gluconate every day made by Puritan’s Pride along with
other supplements. I don’t particularly take it because I am a Celiac (also
type 1 Diabetic) but I had heard a tape several years ago about different
vitamins and supplements and it was recommended. The tape said it helps keep
your hair color. I just turned 60 years old and I am barely gray...still
have a lot of the brown left in my hair, so who knows!

4,      I don't know about all celiacs, but I have been zinc deficient my whole
life, with white spots on my fingernails forever. Once I went
gluten-free they went away, but come back easily with any infraction or
overgrowth of yeas in the gut, so I supplement.

5.      I am taking zinc supplements at my own  initiative;  my doctor did not
mention, but she is slow to suggest dietary supplements. It is too soon for
me to tell if I am getting any benefit. I take Bio-Zinc by Solaray purchased
at a local health food store. I have not had any problems with this brand.

6.      "Zinc Merck manual..
http://www.merck.com/mrkshared/mmanual/section1/chapter4/4e.jsp

The body contains 2 to 3 g of zinc (Zn), found mainly in bones, teeth, hair,
skin, liver, muscle, leukocytes, and testes. One third of the 100 µg/dL
(15.3 µmol/L) of zinc found in plasma is attached loosely to albumin, and
about 2/3 is firmly bound to globulins. There are > 100 zinc metalloenzymes,
including a large number of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH)
dehydrogenases, RNA and DNA polymerases, and DNA transcription factors as
well as alkaline phosphatase, superoxide dismutase, and carbonic anhydrase.
Dietary intake of zinc by healthy adults varies from 6 to 15 mg/day, and
absorption is about 20%. Meat, liver, eggs, and seafood (especially oysters)
are good sources. The RDA is 0.2 mg/kg/day for adults.

Deficiency: The signs and symptoms of zinc deficiency include anorexia,
growth retardation, delayed sexual maturation, hypogonadism and hypospermia,
alopecia, immune disorders, dermatitis, night blindness, impaired taste
(hypogeusia), and impaired wound healing. The first signs of zinc deficiency
in marginally nourished children are suboptimal growth, anorexia, and
impaired taste. The most serious manifestations of zinc deficiency were
reported in Iranian dwarfs. These adolescent boys, who consumed large
amounts of clay, were retarded in growth and sexual development and had
anemia, hypogonadism, hepatosplenomegaly, rough skin, and mental lethargy.
After treatment with a well-balanced diet containing adequate amounts of
zinc for 1 yr, pubic hair appeared, sexual organs increased in size, linear
growth was resumed, and the skin became normal. The anemia responded to iron
supplements. Zinc deficiency develops in some patients with cirrhosis
because the ability to retain zinc is lost.Biochemical signs associated with
zinc deficiency include decreased levels of plasma zinc (< 70 µg/dL [< 10.7
µmol/L]), alkaline phosphatase, alcohol dehydrogenase in the retina (which
accounts for night blindness), and plasma testosterone as well as impaired
T-lymphocyte function, decreased collagen synthesis (resulting in poor wound
healing), and decreased RNA polymerase activity in several tissues.Clinical
assessment of mild zinc deficiency is difficult because many of the signs
and symptoms are nonspecific. Nonetheless, if a malnourished person has a
borderline-low plasma zinc level, is subsisting on a high fiber and phytate
diet containing whole-grain bread (which reduces zinc absorption), and has
reduced taste sensitivity, an impaired lymphocyte response to mitogens, and
reduced gonadal hormone function, then zinc deficiency should be suspected,
and treatment with zinc supplements (15 to 25 mg/day) should be
tried.Maternal zinc deficiency may cause anencephaly in the fetus. Secondary
deficiency occurs in liver disease, in malabsorption states, and during
prolonged parenteral nutrition. Night blindness and mental lethargy may be
features.Acrodermatitis enteropathica--a rare autosomal recessive, once
fatal disorder--results from malabsorption of zinc. The defect involves the
failure to generate a transport protein that enables zinc to be absorbed in
the intestine. Symptoms usually begin after an infant is weaned from breast
milk. This disorder is characterized by psoriasiform dermatitis, hair loss,
paronychia, growth retardation, and diarrhea. Zinc sulfate 30 to 150 mg/day
orally results in complete remission.Toxicity: Ingesting zinc in large
amounts (200 to 800 mg/day), usually by consuming acidic food or drink from
a galvanized container, can cause vomiting and diarrhea. Doses of zinc
ranging from 100 to 150 mg/day interfere with copper metabolism and cause
hypocupremia, RBC microcytosis, and neutropenia. Metal fume fever, also
called brass-founders' ague or zinc shakes, is an industrial hazard caused
by inhaling zinc oxide fumes; it results in neurologic damage."

7.      I was at Mayo Clinic and told my Zinc levels are low and to take Zinc to
help healing.

Regards

Carole

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