Zinc, found in beans, nuts, whole grains, some shellfish, dairy and fortified cereals, is a handy mineral to have in your wellness arsenal. It is well established that zinc helps to boost your immune system and fight against sepsis, a potentially fatal infection, but up until now scientists have not known why. However, thanks to a new study, published in the journal Cell Reports, they do.
When bacteria or viruses attack your body, zinc is on the front line of defence. The essential mineral stops your immune system from responding in a way that can lead to dangerous widespread inflammation and death. The researchers found that zinc does this by blocking an inflammatory protein, making it ‘explicit’ for fighting infection, they said.
In a press release, Daren Knoell, senior author of the study and a professor of pharmacy and internal medicine at Ohio State, said, ‘We do believe that to some extent, these findings are going to be applicable to other important areas of disease beyond sepsis.’ However, the impact that this discovery can have on sepsis is very important, as the disease can lead to multi-organ failure and death, due to a widespread infection of the bloodstream.
Knoell added, ‘Without zinc on board to begin with, it could increase vulnerability to infection. But our work is focused on what happens once you get an infection – if you are deficient in zinc you are at a disadvantage because your defence system is amplified, and inappropriately so.’ He explained that only a proportion of those in the ICU would benefit from zinc, and that those who are deficient in the mineral are also likely to lack other essential nutrients.
The researchers found that zinc activates the NF-κB pathway, a highly active protein that is important for immunity, and then binds to another protein in the pathway to prevent inflammation and cellular damage. According to Knoell, ‘The immune system has to work under very strict balance, and this is a classic example of where more is not always better. ‘We want a robust inflammatory response, which is part of our natural programming to defend us against a bug. But if that is unchecked, and there is too much inflammation, then it not only attacks the pathogen but can also cause much more collateral damage.’
Comments are closed.