HORMONES & NUTRIENTS: ZINC

I'm sure you haven't been able to surpass all the hallabalooza about the issues on hormones and why it damages our health. How the food industry pump our poor cows, chickens and pigs full of hormones and antibiotic just to make extra profit. This later finds its way to our plates, or glass of milk, and into our bodies to disrupt the fine mechanism we already have inside of us. Due to changes in farming methods and the sad state of our soil, even our whole foods is not nearly as nutritious as it once was. Beside making sure that we eat proper food (as we say: if it had a mother or came from the ground, it's ok.), we can also make sure to eat foods that help our bodies to stay balanced, although it gets rocked by our environment. And whenever you can, go organic.

I do believe in supplementation, especially if you're on a diet and working out as much as I do, but I also believe you should do your best to help your body cope with all the outside toxicity that finds itself into our cells. My first nutrient I like to keep tabs on is:

ZINC
Zinc is one of the most important minerals used by the body for various functions such as maintaining a sense of smell, keeping a healthy immune system, building proteins, triggering enzymes, and creating DNA. Zinc also helps the cells in your body communicate by functioning as a neurotransmitter. A deficiency in zinc can lead to stunted growth in children, depression, impotence, hair loss, eye and skin lesions, impaired appetite, and lower immunity defense. Zinc levels tend to be lower in older people, anorexics, alcoholics, people on diets, children with ADHD and diabetics. Zinc levels are related to leptin, the hormone that helps us feel satisfied. Studies also suggest that restoring deficiencies of zinc, helps people increase lean body mass while maintaining or losing weight.

Recommended daily dose is 15 mg. You can find high levels of zinc in oysters, lobsters, crab, wheat germ, liver, dark meats, cocoa powder, baked beans, peanuts, pumpkin and squash seeds.