Benefits of Zinc for African Americans

Zinc and Infections

In this age of deadly infections, it’s particularly important to have an adequate amount of zinc in your system because zinc possesses potent antiviral and antibacterial effects.  African Americans have the highest risk for infections of almost any kind, including sexually transmitted diseases, bacterial vaginitis, HIV, diabetes-related wound infections leading to amputations, and more. In short, zinc helps to fight infections and heal wounds, and African Americans have the highest risk for both.

Multiple studies have shown that we tend to have lower zinc in our bodies starting as children and the low levels continue into old age. 

Zinc in Our Diet

Zinc is found in meat and seafood but also in nuts, seeds, beans, and whole-grain products. With the exception of meat and shrimp, African Americans eat less nuts, seeds, beans and mushrooms. And with our elevated fast food (and processed food ) use, the nutritional value of the shrimp and meat is less.

Zinc and the Flu

Zinc helps the flu and with colds and no one disputes that. There are a lot of cold remedies that contain a significant amount of zinc as the “active ingredient.”   When you think you’re coming down with a cold, zinc will often prevent you from getting the cold or at least shorten the duration of the cold. An article published by US News showed Blacks with the highest rate of hospitalization from the flu. The CDC graph below shows the huge difference. 

More than Helping a Cold

Zinc deficiency has been associated with the rapidly increased spread of HIV, hepatitis C, herpes, coronavirus, and, of course, the common cold.  During the pandemic, you need zinc to help fight those viruses. If people are sneezing and coughing, it is critical to know that zinc has some other benefits.

Zinc and Diabetes

African Americans have the highest incidence of diabetes and have a much higher death rate than whites.  Zinc has been shown in a number of studies to reduce your blood sugar and help prevent diabetes. Your blood glucose is the problem with diabetes, and zinc reduces insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is the specific problem that most Black people people with type 2 diabetes have.  Zinc has been shown to reduce the progression of diabetes for people who have pre-diabetes.

Zinc can help the community that has one of the highest rates of diabetes, African Americans, and it has been shown to be beneficial for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.  

Zinc and Prostate Cancer

Zinc deficiency has also been associated with prostate cancer. African American men over 40 have the HIGHEST risk for prostate cancer as shown by the graph below.

It is suspected that zinc stabilizes the prostate somehow and suppresses the formation of cancer. But don’t take too much because another study showed that a high dose of zinc (over 75 mg daily) actually increases your risk for aggressive prostate cancer!

I developed the formula for GNetX Sequence Multivitamins for African Americans to help address the deficiencies seen in our community, and zinc deficiency is an important one. Go to SequenceMultivitamins.com or Amazon and get your 90-day bottle.