Zinc plays a very important role in your body’s production, storage, and use of insulin, the hormone that lowers high blood glucose levels. And, zinc is crucial to your immune system, it enhances your senses of smell and taste, is involved in the metabolism of the macronutrients, promotes tissue growth and cell reproduction, is an antioxidant working to protect cells from damage, and is involved with hundreds of enzymes.
Zinc in pancreatic beta cells binds to several insulin molecules, six to be exact, forming what’s called an insulin hexamer for storage. In fact, long acting insulin formulations for injection — NPH or Lantus, to name two — contain zinc so that the insulin is bound in hexamers that convert to the active insulin monomer (a single insulin molecule) slowly.
Several studies have shown that high blood glucose levels increase the excretion of zinc in urine, and zinc deficiency seems to promote insulin resistance. A study in Finland found that heart disease fatalities and heart attacks in a study group of people with diabetes were more likely in the subjects with lower blood zinc levels.
Recent research shows that zinc manages the behavior of amylin, a protein also secreted by pancreatic beta cells to help slow carbohydrate absorption. Unmanaged amylin, according to research published in the Journal of Molecular Biology, can form clumps that interfere with insulin secretion in type 2 diabetes (where insulin is still produced by the pancreas).
Det er ikke tilstrekkelig bevis for å antyde at å få mer enn det anbefalte kosttilskuddet av sink gir ytterligere fordeler for blodsukkerstyringen, og overflødig sink kan forårsake ubalanse med kobber og andre mikronæringsstoffer.
Det virker imidlertid fornuftig å inkludere mat eller et multivitamin som tilfører tilstrekkelig sink i kostholdet ditt. Gjeldende RDA er 8 mg/d for voksne kvinner og 11 mg/d for voksne menn - RDA varierer for barn, ungdom og gravide eller ammende kvinner.
Matvarer som inneholder sink inkluderer østers (den rikeste kilden), krabbe, biff, bønner, yoghurt, ost, havregryn og mandler. Absorpsjonen av sink fra mange plantekilder hemmes av fylater, som også finnes i kornet, så biotilgjengeligheten kan være mindre enn sink fra animalske kilder.