The Importance of Zinc and Quercetin During Pandemic

Are you missing something vital for flu and covid-19 protection?   If you have been reading my weekly columns, you should know about the importance of vitamin D3 and K for immune system health.  You should know that vitamin C is anti-viral and anti-bacterial and if taken in multiple dosages daily when ill can really help the body out. You should also know that elderberry concentrate has extremely high levels of anti-viral properties and is very good support for respiratory illnesses. 

So what is missing from this viral protection plan?  Zinc.  Zinc is vital for immune system function.  Zinc controls immune system messaging within the cells and is also an anti-oxidant (prevents cell damage) and is anti-inflammatory.  In cellular lab cultures, zinc has been shown to stop viral reproducing in minutes.  One study showed that zinc inhibited SARS coronavirus in test tubes. For zinc to work effectively in the body to boost immune system function, zinc has to be pushed into the cells which would require an ionophore.

An ionophore is a substance that transports particles across the cell wall barrier into the center of the cell.  The center of the cell is where zinc needs to be to have the immune system effect. Viruses reproduce in the center of the cells. Zinc needs to be in the center of the cell to stop viral reproduction. An all-natural zinc ionophore is quercetin. Quercetin is a plant pigment found in red wine, onions, apples, berries and green tea.  Quercetin is one of the most abundant anti-oxidants found in our diet and itself has strong anti-viral properties.  The major benefit of taking quercetin with zinc is that the quercetin will push the zinc into the center of the cell where the zinc can stop the virus from reproducing.

Based on this information, zinc and quercetin are absolutely needed in your anti-viral war chest and should be taken daily all winter long and or immediately at the first sign of illness.

Pregnancy News:  A new study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that pregnant women who test positive for Covid-19 and their babies are at low risk for developing severe symptoms.  Most women’s babies will be completely unaffected by the virus.  The study was performed to see how Covid-19 would effect pregnancy outcomes.  The best thing for pregnancy is to do your best not to get sick, whether it’s a cold or worse, flu.  That’s why pregnancy nutrition is extremely important and taking supplements like zinc and quercetin would be a pregnancy immune system benefit.

Author

Dr J. Zimmerman, Chiropractor Dr. Zimmerman is a practicing chiropractor from Galloway, NJ with 30 years of chiropractic practice.