Winter is the perfect season to indulge in favourite hot chocolate, those sweet delicacies and much more to keep yourself warm and cozy but along with it also brings cold and flu, so you need to consider taking a few precautions to keep the illness at bay. Following a healthy lifestyle is a perfect way to improve your immune health. Yes, you read that right! You need to proper exercise routine, eat a balanced meal with the right portion of fruits and vegetables, limit sugar and caffeine intake.
Zinc is the essential mineral that needs to be included in your winter diet because zinc mineral contains more than 300 enzymes that helps in repairing wounds, maintaining growth in children and fertility in adults, and protecting against free radicals along with other functions. Read on to know why you need zinc supplement, use of zinc, use of zinc in body, and much more.
How Zinc Helps In Treating Common Cold & Sore Throat
Common cold is caused because of the various viruses that infect breathing passages. Some of the common symptoms of cold are cough, nasal drainage, muscle aches, headache, hoarseness, sore throat, sneezing and fever. Taking the best zinc supplement can interfere with the viruses ability to enter the body cells and may help immune cells to fight cold and can relieve cold symptoms.
Best Food Sources Of Zinc
Try to include the good food sources of zinc in your diet such as eggs, meat, oysters, seafood, tofu, black-eyed peas, and wheat germ to maintain a good level of zinc and prevent zinc deficiency.
Right Dosage Of Zinc
Zinc deficiencies diseases are mostly common in people who are alcoholics, with malabsorption issues, with sickle cell anemia, and chronic kidney disease. Zinc deficiency symptoms are hair loss, delayed sexual maturation, diarrhea, impotence, hypogonadism in males etc. The recommended daily dosage of zinc vitamin tablets to avoid deficiencies is 15mg. To ease cold symptoms you need to have 13 to 25 mg of zinc vitamins or elemental zinc in the form zinc gluconate-glycine, zinc acetate or zinc gluconate are used often but only for a few days.
Precautions To Take
In some people zinc multivitamin tablets can cause gastrointestinal and nausea. Taking too much zinc for a longer period can cause other health issues, like copper deficiency. So, it is always recommended to consult a doctor before starting this supplement, as zinc can interact with specific medications, such as antibiotics and medicines used to treat rheumatoid arthritis.
Zinc as Prevention
Zinc can help in avoiding a common cold in some people as it is not listed explicitly as a prevention measure but the supplement can help in boosting the immune system. Taking zinc for immunity can help in strengthening the immune system, making it possible to keep the common cold at bay when exposed.
When To Consider A Zinc Supplement
As mentioned earlier zinc can be found in a variety of food sources, such as oysters, red meat, poultry, beans, whole grains, and nuts. As all these food sources are animal sources, so people who are vegetarian or vegan diet can consider zinc supplement only after consulting with a doctor.
With the right zinc medicine and dosage you can maintain your health. So, check with your doctor before taking any supplement and mention your medical history also.
