Thursday, April 9, 2015

Zinc for optimal immune function

I often talk about scientists re-inventing the wheel, but this latest research into the role of zinc in immunity is unbelievably frustrating. Have the researchers been living under a rock? I’ve been trumpeting the benefits of zinc for more than 30 years. When I wrote my first book, which will be 20 years old next year, there were already several thousand published papers on zinc and its multiple roles. The research around the effects of zinc deficiency was also very well-established, and even back then zinc deficiency was touted as the most widespread in the Western world!

Compromised zinc status has been linked to a multitude of issues, including both depression and poor taste sensation. Compromised zinc status can affect every aspect of reproduction from how fertile you are to how easily your baby will settle. It’s involved in brain formation and function and of course in immune formation and function. Zinc deficiency is linked to a multitude of chronic degenerative conditions. We’ve known these facts and much more about zinc for a long time! 

If you think you might be zinc deficient (about 2 billion individuals worldwide at recent estimates) there’s a very simple, inexpensive test for zinc status - and you'll find all the details about natural food sources (oysters are fabulous, the placenta is even better) and appropriate supplementation (if placenta stew isn't on your menu) in Healthy Parents, Healthy Baby.  Of course there's more to having a healthy baby than optimal zinc status - find out what else you need to do in the Better Babies FREE INTRODUCTORY WEBINAR


Thursday, April 2, 2015

Endocrine disruption anyone?

Talk about closing the door after the horse has bolted! Recent news item advises us that the European Commission will consider 700 chemicals for endocrine disrupting status. 

The irony is, endocrine disruptors are already out there in agriculture, in the food and water supply, in multiple products from multiple manufacturers, they’re especially prevalent in skincare products, they’re also in our systems - bigtime! Their ubiquitous presence has huge potential impact on unborn generations. 

While the move by the European Commission could be applauded as a positive (albeit belated) one ... the only way to avoid the effects of these chemicals (effects which are often synergistic), is to be super-diligent about eating and using organic, chemical-free everything and by taking natural hormone-balancing products, whatever your age or life-stage!