How Zinc Deficiency Can Harm Your Health

According to the informative article below, it's crucial to consider the importance of zinc in our diets. What happens if you don't have enough of this mineral in your body? One reason children need zinc is so that they can reach their full height potential. If you're a couple who wants to have children, the husband needs enough zinc in his body or he might not be able to become a father.

Women also need zinc for female reproduction. Low blood sugar can result from not having enough zinc in your body. Lack of of this mineral can contribute to impaired growth of bones.

If you're trying to lower high cholesterol, it's important to have enough zinc in your body.

Your cholesterol may rise to a higher level without enough zinc in your body. zinc is needed for the body to be able to grow properly, so be sure your children get enough zinc as well. Apparently if there is zinc deficiency in the body, one part of the body may become depleted of its zinc supply to help another part of the body. It's not a good idea for the brain not to have enough of this mineral. That could lead to learning problems while children are growing up. Zinc deficiency also seems to be linked to high blood pressure, so don't leave out this valuable mineral from your diet.

The Effects of Zinc Deficiency on Human Health

by Stewart Hare

There is a range of effects that signal zinc deficiency such as retardation of growth in children, male reproduction, low blood sugar, poor bone growth, brain disorders, high blood cholesterol, poor circulation, eating disorders, problems with female reproduction, poor skin, nails and hair conditions and poor sense of taste and smell.

Zinc is vital for healthy growth; dwarfism, stunted growth and being underweight for their age may occur in children if there diet is deficient in zinc.

Zinc is essential for sexual reproduction and development. Sperm needs zinc to function properly; any deficiency in zinc will affect fertility. Deficiency in zinc interferes with the cell division in sperm. Young boys going through puberty need higher levels of zinc to develop healthy reproductive organs. Any deficiency of zinc and the body will draw it from other areas such as the brain which could then lend to learning problems through puberty.

The prostate gland has the highest concentration of zinc in the body. The lack of zinc in older men has been linked to inflammation of the prostate gland known as prostatitis.

Zinc helps in the way the body regulates the high and lows of blood sugar level and it has been linked to help people who have hypoglycaemia. The deficiency of zinc has an effect on circulation; it has been linked to cold hands and feet and high blood pressure. Cholesterol in the blood has a tendency to rise if there is a deficiency of zinc in the body.

Painful hip and knee joints have been linked to zinc deficiency, this is because the bones contain a large amount of zinc and any deficiency will cause them to become thicker and shorter causing pain and other symptoms. Also the body's ability to heal would be compromised if there is a zinc deficiency.

Zinc deficiency in children can cause all types of brain disorders such as mild to severe retardation, dyslexia and other problems with mental development. This is because the area of the brain that controls emotions need to contain high levels of zinc. Depression and mental lethargy can also result from zinc deficiency. Mental diseases such as epilepsy and schizophrenia have been associated with the lack of zinc. The lack of zinc can also have a marked effect on emotional and addictive behaviour such as alcoholism and obsessions. In the case of alcoholism, alcohol depletes zinc from the body when it is consumed which then intern starts a downward cycle of craving for more alcohol which then results in more depletion of zinc and so on. Zinc deficiency has also been linked with antisocial behaviour such as delinquency and criminality.

Click here to continue reading this article.