Zinc Supplements Can Lower Good (HDL) Cholesterol

[DxHypo]

Yes, do you have any high E2 symptoms? The notion of a fixed E2 number - without taking into consideration your Total T is a bit outdated. The notion that a "good" E2 level is between 20 and 30 is based on a Total T level of 600-700. So if your Total T is, say, 1000 then your E2 should be higher than 30.

I'm off the zinc for now. Last labs showed it had little to no effect on E2 and I believe it affected my libido. Last TT level came in at 678 with E2 sensitive at 36 (8.0 - 35). The more I read about pharmacological doses of zinc the more concern I have about taking too much.

 

[Vince]

I'm off the zinc for now. Last labs showed it had little to no effect on E2 and I believe it affected my libido. Last TT level came in at 678 with E2 sensitive at 36 (8.0 - 35). The more I read about pharmacological doses of zinc the more concern I have about taking too much.

I believe think zinc is a important supplement we need to take, because everything is farmed and geneically modified. We need to supplement our diet. I use jarrow zinc balance, I take two a day and that's all the zinc I use.

 

[CoastWatcher]

I'm off the zinc for now. Last labs showed it had little to no effect on E2 and I believe it affected my libido. Last TT level came in at 678 with E2 sensitive at 36 (8.0 - 35). The more I read about pharmacological doses of zinc the more concern I have about taking too much.

That estradiol value is in line with your testosterone. You don't want to push it too low.

 

[croaker24]

I believe think zinc is a important supplement we need to take, because everything is farmed and geneically modified. We need to supplement our diet. I use jarrow zinc balance, I take two a day and that's all the zinc I use.

"Everything is farmed and genetically modified?" Exactly what is farmed and genetically modified? The top sources for zinc according to examine.com and the NIH are eggs, meat, and beans. Plenty of free-range or organic sources are available. Then there's sources as oysters, crab, and lobster, all of which can be obtained wild-caught.

Examine.com also has this to say about dosage -

Super-loading zinc by taking up to 100mg zinc a day is confirmed to be safe in the short term (2-4 months), but because this dose is higher than the 40mg Tolerable Upper Limit (TUL) of zinc, prolonged super-loading is not advised.

NIH - Office of Supplementary Medicine has this on dosage -

Zinc toxicity can occur in both acute and chronic forms. Acute adverse effects of high zinc intake include nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, and headaches [2]. One case report cited severe nausea and vomiting within 30 minutes of ingesting 4 g of zinc gluconate (570 mg elemental zinc) [81]. Intakes of 150–450 mg of zinc per day have been associated with such chronic effects as low copper status, altered iron function, reduced immune function, and reduced levels of high-density lipoproteins [82]. Reductions in a copper-containing enzyme, a marker of copper status, have been reported with even moderately high zinc intakes of approximately 60 mg/day for up to 10 weeks [2]. The doses of zinc used in the AREDS study (80 mg per day of zinc in the form of zinc oxide for 6.3 years, on average) have been associated with a significant increase in hospitalizations for genitourinary causes, raising the possibility that chronically high intakes of zinc adversely affect some aspects of urinary physiology [83]

I do agree *some* may need to supplement with zinc, and I do, but only at the lowest dosage of 15 mg with 1 mg of copper, and only because I determined I just short of getting the daily RDA of zinc.

 

[Vince]

"Everything is farmed and genetically modified?" Exactly what is farmed and genetically modified? The top sources for zinc according to examine.com and the NIH are eggs, meat, and beans. Plenty of free-range or organic sources are available. Then there's sources as oysters, crab, and lobster, all of which can be obtained wild-caught.

Examine.com also has this to say about dosage -

Super-loading zinc by taking up to 100mg zinc a day is confirmed to be safe in the short term (2-4 months), but because this dose is higher than the 40mg Tolerable Upper Limit (TUL) of zinc, prolonged super-loading is not advised.

NIH - Office of Supplementary Medicine has this on dosage -

Zinc toxicity can occur in both acute and chronic forms. Acute adverse effects of high zinc intake include nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, and headaches [2]. One case report cited severe nausea and vomiting within 30 minutes of ingesting 4 g of zinc gluconate (570 mg elemental zinc) [81]. Intakes of 150–450 mg of zinc per day have been associated with such chronic effects as low copper status, altered iron function, reduced immune function, and reduced levels of high-density lipoproteins [82]. Reductions in a copper-containing enzyme, a marker of copper status, have been reported with even moderately high zinc intakes of approximately 60 mg/day for up to 10 weeks [2]. The doses of zinc used in the AREDS study (80 mg per day of zinc in the form of zinc oxide for 6.3 years, on average) have been associated with a significant increase in hospitalizations for genitourinary causes, raising the possibility that chronically high intakes of zinc adversely affect some aspects of urinary physiology [83]

I do agree *some* may need to supplement with zinc, and I do, but only at the lowest dosage of 15 mg with 1 mg of copper, and only because I determined I just short of getting the daily RDA of zinc.

just wondering can we get our zinc level checked? http://www.diabetesexplained.com/zinc-diagnostic-test.html

 

[Vince]

you would have to eat 21 large eggs to get RDA guidelines for zinc, 11mg a day. I would guess that's not free range.

 

[DxHypo]

I believe think zinc is a important supplement we need to take, because everything is farmed and geneically modified. We need to supplement our diet. I use jarrow zinc balance, I take two a day and that's all the zinc I use.

I agree. My multi-vitamin has approximately the same ratio zinc and copper as Jarrows. I know we probably can't rely on the crap in a cheap multi-vitamin to keep us in line though. I may try the Jarrows just to ensure an adequate intake. Thanks.

 

[DxHypo]

That estradiol value is in line with your testosterone. You don't want to push it too low.

That's what I'm beginning to learn thanks to this forum. Thanks.

 

[croaker24]

you would have to eat 21 large eggs to get RDA guidelines for zinc, 11mg a day. I would guess that's not free range.

You'd want to eat a wide diversity of stuff - not try and get any one nutrient from one source. See for example:

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=115

Scroll down to the bottom for a detailed list of foods - I regularly eat 6 to 7 of those foods daily.

I use sites such as cronometer.com as a sanity check to figure out a rough estimate of my nutrients/vitamins. The question of just how much nutrients we have in our food due to monoculture farming and soil exploitation is fair game. Some smaller farmers do crop rotation or try and compensate for nutrient depletion, but the big problem is the focus on yield by industrial farming at the expense of everything else.

As for my zinc, I use the Jarrow lowest dosage of zinc/copper, which I prefer. *IF* I had to - I could increase it by just doubling the dosage (from 15mg/1mg to 30mg/2mg) for example. I like this type of granularity.

 

[Vince]

“Free-range” evokes a positive image of chickens and turkeys living outdoors with plenty of fresh air, sunshine and open space to roam in.
“Cage-free” conveys a similar impression of hens living “free” as nature intended. What are the realities behind “free-range” and “cage-free” labels?
http://www.upc-online.org/freerange.html

if you want to buy free range, it's best to buy from someone you know

 

[torrential]

Just a small contribution to the chicken and egg dialogue: although none of these egg terms have legal meaning, what you want are Pastured eggs. Those chickens walk around and self select their food. Farmers and farmers markets are good sources and some stores are carrying them. Easy to find: just look for the most expensive eggs on the shelf.

The nutrient value of farm (pastured) eggs vs commercial is like night and day. Or rather, like food vs not food.

ps: chickens are omnivores not vegetarians. Egg boxes promoting chickens raised on a vegetarian diet are fooling you.

 

[Kirk]

We can't selectively isolate one cited paper to draw a concussion.


Effects of Zinc supplementation on serum lipids: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Several human studies have demonstrated that Zinc supplementation reduces total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, in addition to increasing the HDL cholesterol levels [17–20]. However, these results have been contradicted by other studies [21–23]. Even under the most rigorous study design conditions, a single well-planned study rarely provides definitive results [24].

 

[MarcoFL]

I would be very careful supplementing zinc unless you know what your levels are! Mine were 70 on a range of 56-134. I now have a level on 120 and notice I feel very fatigued and traced it back to the zinc. I would suggest caution when you think eliminating a AI thinking you are being healthy and end up overdosing and potentially harming yourself!

 

[Kirk]

Did you supplement with copper alongside with zinc? Have you accessed your non-ceruloplasmin or free copper levels?

Zinc can zap copper fairly quickly if proper copper isn't taken in.

Not to say this is related to an insufficiency/deficiency of copper. By your description, sounds as there *may* be a deficiency of Cu.

 

[MarcoFL]

Did you supplement with copper alongside with zinc? Have you accessed your non-ceruloplasmin or free copper levels?

Zinc can zap copper fairly quickly if proper copper isn't taken in.

Yes I did take a small dose of copper with and tested that also. I would never try to take enough zinc to try to lower my E2! I would stick with my AI or what my doctor advises to manage it with. Just because it is a mineral does not mean it is safe beyond normal limits.

 

[Jman]

I had to stop zinc since it tanked my estradiol. My HDL is OK and I do not remember having seen a change when I stopped zinc.

So zinc tanked your E? How so?

 

[cigpk]

I'm also taking Zinc/Copper 50/3 in hopes to lower my elevated E2 (from TRT) as well. My concern is that my Multi (Vitamin Shoppe Ultimate Man) already has 25mg, that puts me at 75mg per day of Zinc, I'm 56. Any concerns with 75mg per day?

I’m curious about this as well.

I’m taking a bit less (30 mg OptiZinc with copper +11 mg zinc from my multivitamin) but curious about long term effects.

 

[Gianluca]

I had to stop zinc since it tanked my estradiol. My HDL is OK and I do not remember having seen a change when I stopped zinc.

@Nelson Vergel do you recall about how much total supplemental Zinc were you taking? more than 50mg?

 

[Kaus Klinski]

I take 10 mg of zinc with my multi vitamin/mineral (oxide form) and 30 mg as ZMA (Original SNAC version, ON Brand). My HDL was fine a week ago.

regards
Kaus Klinski