Taking a zinc supplement daily may significantly reduce infections in the elderly and help lower health care costs, say US researchers. They gave 50 healthy subjects either a daily supplement of zinc (45 mg of elemental zinc) or placebo for 12 months. At the outset, researchers reported that the older subjects tended to have significantly lower blood zinc levels and higher levels of oxidative stress than their younger counterparts. "After zinc supplementation, the incidence of infections was significantly lower, plasma zinc was significantly higher, and generation of [inflammatory factors] and oxidative stress markers was significantly lower in the zinc-supplemented than in the placebo group," concluded the researchers.
Source: Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Mar;85(3):837-44
