[Benefits of Zinc] 3 reasons why zinc is essential for immunity

What if there is no zinc? 3 Reasons Zinc is Important for Immunity

This is pharmacist Jinny.

What do you think of when you hear 'immune nutrients'? Probably many people will think of 'zinc'. Zinc is also an ingredient recognized by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety as necessary for normal immune function and cell division.

Today, let's find out why zinc is good for immunity and how it helps immunity.

First, zinc plays a very important role in basic cellular functions such as DNA replication and RNA transcription . 

Therefore, cells that mediate innate and acquired immunity, that is, immune cells, are essential for proper functioning . 

Representatively, macrophages that perform sterilization by consuming bacteria invading our body, NK cells that destroy virus-infected cells or cancer cells cannot function properly when zinc is deficient. 

Second, immunity and antioxidants are closely related because accumulation of oxidative stress damages cells and weakens the immune system. Zinc is also known as an 'antioxidant' .

Zinc plays a role in increasing the synthesis of glutathione , an antioxidant substance that plays an important role in the oxidation-reduction reaction in the body .

Third, it also controls excessive inflammatory responses . Inflammation is part of the immune response, which appears to protect our body from pathogens such as bacteria and viruses. However , if inflammation appears excessive or persists, it can be harmful to our body and must be carefully controlled. 

However, zinc can prevent the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines that cause inflammation by controlling a transcription factor called NF-κB, which acts as a master switch for inflammation.