Ever think about zinc?  I know I never thought much about it until I started having white spots appear on my fingernails. When I researched it, I was really surprised at all the important things that zinc does in the body.

It does so much that in 1978, Dr. Carl C. Pfeiffer wrote an entire book, Zinc and Other Micro-Nutrients! The book is very technically oriented and is mainly about zinc although it has valuable information on other micro-nutrients such as selenium.

One thing I discovered is that zinc plays a critical role in male fertility! It also helps that pesky prostate function properly.

Basically, zinc is required for synthesis of DNA, regulates muscle contractions, is essential for the synthesis of protein and helps in the formation of insulin. There are just too many functions of zinc to list in this post. That’s how important it is.

If you have wounds that heal slowly, you are likely low on zinc. White spots on your finger nails? Ditto! Unfortunately, most of the effects of low zinc are internal and can’t be seen but you sure feel them. You have these health issues, such as frequent infections, reduced sense of taste or smell, or mental dullness and difficulty in concentrating but probably don’t know that low zinc is the problem.

One very fascinating effect of low zinc mentioned by Dr. Pfeiffer was that a severe zinc deficiency produced symptoms of schizophrenia in some people! Needless to say, adequate zinc is VERY important.

One other point made by Dr. Pfeiffer: Always take B6 with your zinc. Otherwise, the zinc is not utilized properly.

A hair test is an easy way to see the status of your micro-nutrients.