With Zinc being a cofactor for over 300 enzymatic reactions in the body, Thorne Research recognised Zinc’s importance by binding this mineral to Picolinic Acid to enhance its absorption (hence the Picolinate), in their top-selling product Thorne Zinc Picolinate.
Picolinic Acid is very abundant in cerebrospinal fluid and acts similarly to albumin in the blood responsible for transporting minerals around.
Firstly, Zinc is very well known for its ability to increase testosterone in the body and the mechanism of action behind this is due to zinc’s ability to limit aromatize activity (the conversion from testosterone to estrogen) and additionally androgen receptors which is where testosterone binds to, to exhibit its downstream effects is also zinc dependent.
Furthermore Zinc also has the ability to pair up with Pyridoxal 5 Phosphate (Vitamin B6) in the brain to synthesise our neurotransmitters. Zinc is also is responsible (along with Vitamin E & Vitamin B2) for the synthesis of Hydrochloric Acid in the stomach.
The conundrum to that is Hydrochloric Acid is responsible for absorbing and extracting Zinc from the foods we eat, so it is important our HCL levels are up to par so we can actually absorb Zinc in the first place. Lastly Zinc along with Methylated Vitamin B9, B12, B2 & Trimethylglycine play a crucial role in our ability to convert homocysteine back into methionine which is essentially our methylation cycle and vital for our cardiovascular health.
One thing to note when supplementing with Zinc is, because it shares the same binding protein called Metallothionein with Copper & Iron it is very important to make sure your Copper and Iron intake is up to par and at least in a nice ratio to the amount of zinc you are consuming so you don’t leave these 2 minerals vulnerable to becoming deficient as Zinc, Iron & Copper ultimately all compete for the exact same binding protein for absorption and utilisation.
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