Key Reasons for a Zinc Deficiency – Decrease in Zinc Absorption | Dr.Berg

so let’s talk about zinc and all the different ways that can inhibit your ability to absorb zincand also things that can increase your absorption zinc is probably one of the most important traceminerals over 2 billion people on this planet are somewhat deficient in zinc so that’s a lotof people and today we’re going to talk about the reason for that why would someone be deficient inzinc well there’s a couple reasons which i’m going to talk about in this section right here

but the big problem with zinc is that we don’t store zinc very well so unless you’re consumingit every day you’re probably going to end up being deficient and zinc can affect your reproductiveorgans low testosterone skin health but also your immune system so here are a couple things that candecrease the absorption of zinc. Number one, way too much calcium. So if you’re taking a calciumsupplement and you’re not aware that certain types of calcium supplements don’t even get absorbed,

like calcium carbonate, and let’s say you’re trying to prevent osteoporosis or osteopenia,and you’re taking this huge bottle of calcium carbonate, which is limestone, it’s very heavy,and you’re taking that and you’re also taking zinc, well, guess what? You’re not going toabsorb the zinc because too much calcium will block the absorption of zinc. The same thing withiron. If you’re taking a multivitamin and it’s really not the best source because either it’s

elemental iron or it’s some type of iron that is not bioavailable, that can inhibit zinc absorption.Also, a lot of people, especially men, have too much iron in their body. Iron is the opposite ofzinc. You have mechanisms to retain iron big time. You hold on to it very tightly. Next one, copper.Now, if you have excessive amounts of copper over a long period of time, that will inhibit zincabsorption too. But you do need some copper, but you need it in the right ratios. And that’s why

if you ever take zinc, it’s a really good idea to take it in a blend of other trace minerals soyou’re not deficient because anytime you take one of a certain nutrient any period of time,it can actually create deficiencies in other minerals. All right, phytates. Okay, what arephytates? Phytates are certain chemicals in whole grains, okay? It’s in the bran, it’s in rice,it’s in grains, it’s also in corn. And phytates block your zinc. So countries that consume a lot

of rice and grains have very high levels of phytate. And that’s probably why we have 2 billionpeople on this planet that are deficient because a lot of people are consuming a lot of grainsbecause they’re not consuming the foods that are high in the bioavailable form of zinc, like redmeat, shellfish, fish. You do get zinc in nuts and seeds and also cheese, but red meat, organ meats,and shellfish and fish have the most zinc. If you’re not consuming those foods, but you’re

doing a lot of grains and rice, you’re going to end up with a zinc deficiency. Cadmium.Now, cadmium is a toxic metal that will inhibit zinc. Also, if you have enough zinc in your bodyand you get exposed to cadmium, there’s less of a toxic effect. So the less zinc you have,the more poisonous cadmium is. And cadmium is used in certain industries to make batteries.And the epicenter of the factories that make these batteries, cadmium batteries,

are in China, which can then cause a leakage into the water supply where they’re growing the rice.And then you have a combination of getting cadmium from the rice. And on top of that,the brand blocks zinc. So it’s a double-edged sword and you have a lot of health problems.casein that’s the protein in milk and this usually occurs if you’re consuming a lot of foods withcasein if you consume some cheese that has whey and other nutrients you’re probably not going to

end up with a zinc deficiency because there’s zinc in that cheese but if you’re taking juststraight casein it could create a moderate deficiency in zinc this will not be as powerfulis depleting zinc as this one right here. And then if you have gut damage, let’s say, for example,you had a lot of antibiotics as a child, or you’ve been eating a lot of gluten that’s destroying yourgut, and now you have scar tissue. It’s called celiac, and you have inflammation. You’re not

going to be able to absorb zinc too well. Also, if you’re consuming a lot of tannins in tea,for example, that could block your zinc. If you’re consuming a lot of sulfites,like wine, for example, and certain dried fruits have sulfates in them or sulfites,that will block zinc. It also blocks vitamin B1. If you have an infection, if you’re sick,usually you’re going to have a zinc deficiency because your immune system is using a lot of that

zinc to fight off the infection. And then if you consume a lot of refined sugars, that will depleteyou’re a zinc. This is why diabetics are usually zinc deficient because they have high sugar andthen high sugar depletes zinc. And as a side note, you need zinc to make insulin. So there’sdefinitely this connection with blood sugars and zinc. And also stress can deplete zinc as well.The hormone cortisol is triggered and elevated when you go through stress. And this is why the

condition called Cushing syndrome, where you have high levels of cortisol, you can be very zincdeficient. Now, how do you increase the absorption of zinc? Make sure that you have strong stomachacid. If you have hypochlorhydria, which is a low amount of stomach acid, you’re not going toabsorb zinc. So you need strong acid in your stomach to absorb zinc. So how does someone knowif they don’t have enough stomach acid? Well, usually they’re going to have indigestion,

heartburn, acid reflux, GERD. That comes from low stomach acid, so that would be a clue.Protein in general will increase the absorption of zinc. So if you are in a very low protein diet,especially low animal protein, you’re not going to absorb as much zinc. We’ve already talked aboutred meat has a lot of zinc, shellfish, especially oysters, nuts and seed have some zinc, cheese hassome zinc. And the amount that someone needs per day is roughly between 8 to 13 milligrams a day.

If you haven’t seen my other videos on zinc, check them out. I put them up right here.