Zinc Deficiency Associated With Aging Increases Risk Of Health Problems

U.S. scientists have found in a study of older animals that increasing the levels of zinc in the diet can reduce the risk of health problems such as cancer, heart disease, autoimmune disease and diabetes. Zinc deficiency develops with age and can lead to a decline in the immune system and an increase in inflammation. Older animals in the study – whose “zinc transporters were significantly dysregulated” – were given about ten times the dietary requirement for zinc. The biomarkers of inflammation were restored to the levels of young animals, the researchers said.