When it comes to health and well-being, it is time to think…zinc.  Zinc is an essential antioxidant mineral that’s found in almost every cell.  It helps promote the activity of enzymes which help biochemical reactions in the body.

Zinc helps the body grow and stay healthy. It protects eye tissue, heals the skin, enhances our sense of smell and taste, reduces anxiety, nourishes our adrenal glands, controls the release of stored vitamin A from the liver, interacts with platelets during blood clotting, and regulates insulin activity.

However, zinc is probably most widely known for its role in supporting the body’s immune system, and has been clinically proven to reduce the duration and severity of common cold symptoms.  Studies show that zinc can cut cold symptom duration by close to half (meaning if you take zinc at the onset of cold symptoms, your cold is likely to last just three to four days, versus the typical seven days or more). 

The Zinc Council site is your resource for information about zinc and its health benefits, so read through to see the current science, the surprising things that “zap” zinc from our bodies and more.