The Harms of Zinc Deficiency: Oral Ulcers, Acne, Hair Loss, and Even Tumors Are All Linked to It

For a long time, under the influence of traditional Chinese ideas, we have believed that symptoms like oral ulcers and nosebleeds are caused by "shanghuo" (internal heat); the standard countermeasures are drinking herbal tea and eating cooling foods, and Chinese patent medicines mostly use fire-purging and bowel-loosening drugs. Some patients do get relief, but for those with recurrent episodes, over time they become immune to these medicines, and no amount helps. Moreover, some fire-purging drugs, such as Niuhuang Jiedu Wan, taken in excess cause chronic digestive-tract disease and liver and kidney damage.

In fact, for many patients prone to "heat," the real cause is deficiency of the trace element zinc, and a zinc-deficient constitution even runs in families. If these patients take long-term zinc supplementation, oral ulcers, nosebleeds, and similar symptoms can be well prevented. During acute outbreaks of recurrent oral ulcers or habitual nosebleeds, treatment with the patent drug Gancaoxin (licorzinc) brings rapid recovery; licorzinc granules work especially well, better than licorzinc capsules.

Trace-element zinc deficiency is quite common. Epidemiological surveys show that about 67.5% of people in the Beijing area are zinc-deficient. Zinc mainly has the following effects: (1) promoting growth and development; (2) maintaining normal appetite; (3) enhancing immunity; (4) maintaining normal male reproductive function; (5) promoting wound healing. According to Practical Internal Medicine, zinc deficiency may also contribute to cancer.

This article introduces zinc, a trace element very important to the body; it draws on Practical Internal Medicine and literature published by the Chinese Nutrition Society.

Physiological functions of zinc

Zinc acts on the body mainly in three ways. First, it participates in the structure of over one hundred zinc-containing enzymes in the body, such as RNA polymerase and DNA polymerase (which promote cellular RNA and DNA synthesis) and thymidine kinase. Zinc is widely present in body tissues—bone, blood, and organs all contain it. Second, it acts on every phase of the cell cycle and plays an indispensable role in cell proliferation and differentiation (cancer cells are precisely cells that mutate during proliferation and differentiation). Third, it acts on cell membranes, protecting membrane receptors and their transport functions, promoting exchange of materials and transmission of information between inside and outside the cell, and strengthening the membrane's resistance to oxygen free radicals, so that cells carry out normal metabolism and function.

The physiological functions of zinc are mainly as follows:

• Zinc promotes growth and development. Zinc-containing enzymes promote the proliferation and differentiation of tissue cells throughout the body and regulate their metabolism and function, so that organs and tissues continually grow and mature. Children and adolescents in vigorous growth especially need zinc; zinc deficiency causes growth retardation and short stature. One important reason Asians are generally shorter than Westerners is that our diet contains less zinc; over sixty percent of Asians are zinc-deficient.
• It promotes cell repair and regeneration and speeds wound healing. Zinc-deficient patients heal wounds markedly more slowly than normal people; after trauma or surgery their recovery is slow. It is worth noting that zinc supplementation is needed during postoperative recovery. Healing of trauma, fistulae, ulcers, and burns all require the trace element zinc.
• It promotes development of the reproductive organs and gonads. Zinc-deficient males have underdeveloped reproductive systems, impaired spermatogenesis, and reduced sexual function.
• It maintains normal appetite and taste. Gustin, the polypeptide by which people taste, contains two zinc atoms. Zinc-deficient people have poor appetite, anorexia, picky eating, even pica; in zinc-deficient children one often finds eating earth, paper, wall plaster, and other strange substances, which improve after zinc supplementation.
• It strengthens immune function. The growth and development of immune organs such as the thymus, spleen, and lymphoid tissue require zinc; zinc enhances the immune function of T cells, B cells, and immune shadow cells. Zinc-deficient animals show stunted growth of immune organs, even atrophy, and greatly reduced lymphocyte immunity, making them prone to various infections. When total body zinc falls, immune function declines and the mesenteric lymph nodes, spleen, and other immune-related organs lose 20%–40% of their weight. Zinc-deficient children are prone to infections such as diarrhea and pneumonia. Experiments show that zinc deficiency impairs children's immune function, and zinc supplementation improves the immune parameters.
• It promotes vitamin A metabolism and scotopic vision. Zinc participates in activating vitamin A reductase in the liver and retina, is closely related to the allosteric synthesis of retinaldehyde, and participates in synthesizing retinaldehyde-binding protein, affecting the transport of vitamin A from the intestine to the liver, eyes, and whole body. Zinc deficiency causes vitamin A metabolic disorders, leading to abnormal vision and dark adaptation, and night blindness.

What, then, are the consequences of zinc deficiency?

First, adverse effects on the digestive system: poor appetite, anorexia, picky and aberrant eating (a craving for wall plaster, earth, etc.), recurrent oral ulcers, chronic diarrhea, and pale complexion. Severe cases cause gastric and duodenal ulcers; long-standing gastric and duodenal ulcers can lead to gastric cancer, intestinal cancer, and other digestive-tract tumors.

Second, adverse effects on hair and skin: hair loses its luster, thins, and falls out, and recurrent, hard-to-heal dermatitis is common. With hereditary intestinal zinc-malabsorption, acrodermatitis enteropathica occurs and is long-lasting. It shows regional characteristics: it is relatively common in the Middle East, and epidemiological surveys show low serum zinc levels there.

Third, effects on growth and development. Zinc deficiency in pregnancy can impede fetal growth, causing miscarriage, preterm birth, or fetal growth retardation, and can lead to fetal malformation. After birth the infant's intelligence is affected; adolescents whose diet lacks zinc may be short-statured and developmentally delayed, and in severe cases even dwarfism.

Fourth, adverse effects on development of the sexual organs and gonads. This affects men more: stunted development of the male genitalia, prostate disease, low sperm count, and poor sperm quality are all related to zinc deficiency. Chronic prostatitis patients improve markedly after zinc supplementation.

: To be continued