For Better Overall Oral Health, Make Sure to Get Enough Zinc!

Everyone has heard about “superfoods,” such as kale or quinoa, that pack a ton of nutritional punch in literally every bite. There are also what I like to call “super minerals,” such as magnesium, that offer a variety of benefits. One of these “super minerals” that it is important to know about, and to make sure you are getting enough of, is zinc. In addition to supporting a variety of bodily processes, it is perhaps one of the best nutrients for supporting your overall oral health. Given that it helps protect your teeth, gums and inside of your mouth from a variety of diseases, as well as promote healing, it truly deserves the moniker of “super mineral.” Some may even call it the superhero of oral health!

Do You Smell That? If Not, You May Be Zinc Deficient Or Have COVID-19

Some medical professionals believe that the coronavirus “...is using the olfactory nerve to transfer across the skull into the brain,” according to one report. The olfactory nerve is essentially the “smell nerve.” It is also possible that COVID-19 attacks sensory cells in the nose and causes inflammation of nasal tissues, which affects sense of smell.

Your Ability to Smell May Say A Lot About Your Health

We have five basic senses: sight, taste, touch, hear and smell. If you are fortunate enough to never have experienced the loss of one of these senses, it’s likely that you often take them for granted or neglect the fact that we need to be proactive about maintaining their health. For example, many Americans fail to get their ears examined in order to prevent hearing loss.

Have a UTI? You May Want to Consider Zinc!

If you’ve never had a urinary tract infection (UTI), consider yourself very lucky. In most cases, UTIs are nothing serious. They are just extremely uncomfortable, to say the least. A urinary tract infection occurs when certain bacteria enter the bladder (which is part of the urinary tract). This is why UTIs are also called bladder infections.

Be Aware and Be Proactive for Autism Awareness Month

April is Autism Awareness Month, and April 2 is World Autism Awareness Day. Autism is a developmental disorder that usually becomes apparent in children between the ages of 2 and 3 (sometimes as early as 18 months) It is also referred to as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in order to reflect the differences or variation in challenges and strengths possessed by each person with autism. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, (NIH), “[s]ome people are mildly impaired by their symptoms, while others are severely disabled.” This disorder may continue throughout the whole life of the person affected.

Ask your doctor: 'Are supplements safe to take with my Rx?'

Many of you can probably recall that questionnaire you received at your doctor’s office inquiring whether you take any dietary supplements. If you are like most people, you do not include all the supplements or vitamins you take, and might jot down a few easy ones like vitamin C even if you take others.

Why you should care about your zinc levels

Recently, a close relative told me he did some bloodwork and his zinc levels “came back low.” Since I knew very little about zinc except that zinc was somehow involved in the immune system, I did some research to figure out whether he had cause for concern. As a health care attorney, research comes naturally to me, but more importantly, as a health care consumer, I believe it is important for me to be well-informed about nutrition and health issues. So, here is some of the information I found out about zinc.