8 Factors Which Determine If You Can Absorb Zinc or NOT? – Dr.Berg

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so I wanted to touch on zinc and the eight factors which determine if you can absorb zinc or not because on one hand let’s say for example you have enough in your diet but what about if you cannot absorb zinc zinc is one of the most important trace minerals and nutrients that you could have it’s involved in so many different chemical reactions with your metabolism with your immune system and your protein metabolism enzymes neuron function and the list goes on and on and on so if you’re deficient in zinc you’ll have problems with your nails hair loss skin problems GI problems like diarrhea a testosterone deficiency problem with your immune system so number one low stomach acids okay if you don’t have enough stomach acid you will not be able to absorb zinc now how do you know if you don’t have enough stomach acid well if you have heartburn if you’re on anti acids if you have GERD sometimes if you have indigestion chances are you don’t have enough acid in the top of the valve on your stomach doesn’t close properly so the acid just kind of goes right through as you age you lose stomach acid and you also lose the ability to absorb minerals so this would be number one number two you’re consuming foods with phytate okay or phytic acid this is a compound especially in whole grains and definitely in brown rice and this is probably one of the most common reasons why people have such a zinc deficiency in fact two billion people on this planet have a zinc deficiency and there’s a lot of people consuming grains and brown rice load with phytates which can create a zinc deficiency then we have number three cadmium okay this is a heavy metal the tobacco plant for example will absorb cadmium from the soil and when you smoke goes right into your lungs also seafood has cadmium mercury and heavy metals I’m gonna do a separate video just on this though so if you’re a smoker okay you might want to take a little more zinc number four low protein diets zinc absorption is enhanced with amino acids if you’re not having enough protein you’re let’s say for example you start a vegan diet and you’re not doing it correctly you don’t have enough complete protein to diet and also you’re doing whole grains brown rice getting loads of phytate you’re gonna be low in zinc and a couple more points about low protein if you don’t have enough stomach acid that could be the reason why you’re not breaking down the protein and absorbing the protein and small intestine if you have damage within the small intestine itself you’ll have a hard time absorbing protein because the small intestine actually releases enzymes to help break down this protein it’s originally broke down by the stomach from hydrochloric acid into smaller the cold peptide chains and but then the small intestine releases its enzymes to take it down to the basic amino acid building blocks so they can be absorbed and then utilized by the body all right number five you have a digestive issue whether it’s inflammation in the colon as inflammatory bowel syndrome or Crohn’s which is another inflammatory gut problem or celiac which is an autoimmune problem with the gut if you have a problem with the gut you’re gonna have a hard time absorbing zinc next one hi sugar if you’re a pre-diabetic or a diabetic or you have insulin resistance or you’re just consuming a lot of carbohydrates those carbohydrates can deplete your zinc if your insulin resistant you’re gonna have a hard time absorbing zinc number seven bariatric surgery why would that prevent your absorption of zinc well because they’re bypassing some of your small intestine and your stomach so you’ve decreased the surface area of absorption as well as decrease the ability to make stomach acid and you could potentially end up with a zinc deficiency this is one reason why people that had a gastric bypass should be taking trace minerals very important all right number eight high amounts of iron or calcium both of these minerals can block your absorption of zinc there’s quite a few people that have too much iron from a genetic problem and even if they don’t it’s very difficult to iron especially men because men don’t menstruate like women of course women after menopause could have higher amounts of iron but think about iron is it’s very dangerous at high levels and it’s very dangerous at low levels you just need certain amounts but the bottom line is the body has a hard time getting rid of iron so if someone’s taking an iron from a supplement for example especially if it’s the wrong type it’s not a food based supplement they can build up a lot of iron create a lot of problems and also deplete the zinc same thing goes with calcium if you have too much calcium you’re gonna have a problem with the absorption of zinc now where do you get zinc from oysters have the most but realize that ores also have some heavy metals however oysters also have selenium which can help to offset that toxic effect I’m gonna do a separate video on seafood very shortly so you can check out that video also meats liver will have zinc nuts and seafood has it as well alright guys there you have it the 8 reasons why you might not be able to absorb zinc if you’re liking this content please subscribe now and I will actually keep you updated on future videos