Staying Healthy
Trying to stay healthy has taken up a lot of my energy over the past year.
Obviously, I didn’t want to get COVID (Well, duh!), but if I did end up getting it, I wanted it to be a mild case and be over quickly.
My husband, Bill, swears by zinc to boost immunity. He’s been taking it for years. When he was training for his Air Force career, which included lots of foreign travel, a physiologist gave a briefing on ways to stay healthy while working in far-flung places around the world.
The physiologist’s number one tip?
Take a zinc supplement every day.
Bill began taking it, and stayed remarkably healthy no matter where he went. After he retired he kept taking it. I can’t remember the last time he had a cold, a stomach bug, or the flu.
Every time I got sick, Bill told me again that I should be taking zinc. But I already take a lot of supplements, and didn’t want to add another. When COVID hit, Bill finally convinced me. So I joined him in taking a tiny zinc capsule daily, and we’ve both stayed remarkably healthy over the past year.
Why I believe taking zinc helped keep us healthy:
- Zinc fights off viruses, bacteria, and inflammation
- Zinc slows the ability of viruses to make copies of themselves inside your body
While facts are still being gathered as to zinc’s direct affect on the COVID-19 virus, these things are known:
- A study in Spain showed that people with lower blood levels of zinc who were admitted to hospital with Covid-19 fared worse than those with healthier levels
- A 2010 study showed that zinc inhibited the activity and replication of another coronavirus, SARS-CoV which caused an outbreak in 2002
But wait . . . zinc does so much more!
Zinc also:
- Fights Cancer
- Helps Control Diabetes
- Strengthens and Protects the Heart
- Supports Weight Loss
- Improves Brain Health
- Strengthens Bones
- Improves Vision—especially in prevention of macular degeneration
- Promotes Digestive Health
- Contributes to Healthy Pregnancy
- May Relieve Symptoms of PMS
- Improves Men’s Sexual Health
- Fights Chronic Fatigue
- Aids Muscle Growth and Repair
- Enhances Liver and Kidney Function
- May Reduce Tinnitus Symptoms
- Treats Acne
- Improves Hair Growth
That’s quite a job description for a tiny pill.
I had no idea zinc could help support bone and muscle growth—those are really important to me as I strive to preserve my strength (and my height) as I get older.
And the thought of having fewer colds and stomach bugs makes me pretty happy, too.
Zinc has won me over.
Bill was right.
(So glad he’s not an “I told you so” kind of guy!)
Photo by Vasile Stancu via Unsplash
For more information, check out these sources:
https://www.drugs.com/medical-answers/zinc-protect-you-covid-19-boost-immune-system-3535446/
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/best-foods-high-in-zinc#TOC_TITLE_HDR_2
https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements-zinc/art-20366112
https://www.nationalacademies.org/based-on-science/covid-19-zinc
