Zinc, selenium, and other micronutrients we rediscovered during coronavirus

Scientists from different countries have conducted studies on the effects of certain micronutrients on the health of patients with coronavirus. And they came to almost identical conclusions. For example, a study conducted in Spain (at Hospital Del Mar in Barcelona) showed that zinc and selenium helped reduce the severity of coronavirus infections.

 

In regions of China with selenium deficiency, the death rate from coronavirus infection was highest.

 

The role of these microelements was also studied in Russia at the Sechenov Medical University. In several hundred patients who were treated for coronavirus in the university clinic, checked the concentration of different trace elements in blood serum. According to Professor Andrei Svistunov, first vice-rector of the university, it turned out: patients with low levels of zinc and selenium disease was severe, and those whose body is not deficient in these trace elements, often endured it easily.

 

Commenting on these results, scientists noted important features of selenium and zinc, which had not received much attention before the coronavirus.

 

 

 

Selenium was considered most often as an antioxidant for the prevention of malignancies and zinc as a micronutrient that promoted tissue regeneration and improved reproductive function.

 

Now, studies conducted by scientists from different countries have emphasized the important role of both micronutrients in strengthening the immune system and supporting the body in the fight against coronavirus.

 

For example, selenium helps to protect the lungs and weaken the inflammatory response, including its most severe manifestation, the cytokine storm. And zinc has shown the ability to inhibit the reproduction of the virus in the cell. According to recent data, zinc, when taken regularly, helps to reduce the duration of cold symptoms, the incidence of severe pneumonia and mortality from them.

 

To make up for a deficiency of zinc and selenium in the body with maximum effect, you must pay attention not only to their dosage, but also to the form on which the digestibility of the micronutrient.

 

For example, many people have heard of the chelated form of macro- and micronutrients - in this form they are absorbed more completely and easily. This is a significant plus for any age, especially for young children and the elderly, who with age may have a decrease in gastric acid, which affects the absorption of minerals. Importantly, in the chelated form, the mineral is absorbed almost completely without causing gastrointestinal side effects - heartburn, irritation, and diarrhea. Many trace elements, including zinc, can be found in the chelated form.

 

The absorption of selenium was still a challenge, so scientists experimented a lot, working on the optimal form of selenium-containing preparations. Different forms of selenium are absorbed and assimilated differently. Organic forms are better absorbed and work better in the body.

 

 

 

In a "health cocktail" that helps resist viruses, health professionals recommend adding vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids to zinc and selenium.

 

Vitamin D has been a real discovery for most of us in recent years, because many problems, up to and including chronic fatigue, have been associated with its deficiency. And now this vitamin is prescribed for the prevention and comprehensive treatment of COVID-19 infection at its very beginning in many official recommendations.

 

This was done after a systematic review of studies found vitamin D deficiency in patients with the most severe course of coronavirus.

 

And think back to what more recently omega-3 fatty acids were most commonly associated with? Beauty, health, longevity. That's right! Omega-3 play an important role in the physiological processes of the body. They are part of the cell membranes, are involved in the delivery of oxygen to the tissues, without them it is impossible the normal functioning of the nervous, cardiovascular systems.

 

Doctors do not advise for nothing to include them in the daily diet to counteract the coronavirus! The fact that omega-3 also support the immune system, which is important while you are not yet sick, and also contribute to the regression of the inflammatory process, helping people already during the disease.

 

And there's a lot of research work being done on this as well.

 

A pilot study of 100 coronavirus patients at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles showed that the lower their blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids, the more likely they were to die.

 

And recently, one of the largest studies has been announced by a university hospital in Oslo. At least 70 thousand people will take part in it. The object of the study is the mechanism of action of fish oil (as a natural source of Omega-3 and vitamin D) from Arctic cod liver on the risk of infection, metabolism and cardiovascular health in patients with COVID-19.