What is Zinc? What is its claimed benefits?
Zinc is a trace mineral that necessary for our bodies. In an article posted by Harvard University’s School of Public Health, research states that zinc is known to “heal damaged tissue, create DNA, grow cells, build protein and support the immune system”. And that is not all. In an journal article entitled “Zinc in Wound Healing Modulation” by Lin, Sermersheim, Li, Lee, Steinberg, and Ma from 2017 and published online by the National Library of Medicine, states that there are positive results in studies of zinc’s involvement in helping wounds heal. Their findings state that “Zinc plays a major role in regulating every phase of the wound healing process; ranging from membrane repair, oxidative stress, coagulation, inflammation and immune defence, tissue re-epithelialization, angiogenesis, to fibrosis/scar formation.” The zinc salt form of gluconic acid is studied for health benefits in nutrition as well as medicinal benefits in OTC products. These powerful attributes lead to a plethora of research on what else zinc may help, its close relationship with copper, and how to best ingest zinc.
What industries utilize zinc in their products?
Consumers are commonly seeing in zinc as an ingredient in a range of markets including skincare, functional foods and beverages, oral care and nutraceuticals. We are seeing Zinc Gluconate show up in a variety of products with purported health benefits, including lozenges and mouthwash. These formats can potentially lead to lingering bitter, metallic taste, says a medically reviewed, evidence-based Healthline article from 2022.
What doe zinc taste like?
While these products are beneficial to many functions of our bodies, the taste of zinc can present with negative attributes that are hard to balance. The bitter, metallic taste is often masked in these products, allowing more sensitive palettes to reap the health benefits. Using a bitter blocker for zinc can allow for a better tasting product without additives.
