Zinc supplementation increased Vitamin D levels – RCT Feb 2021

Effectiveness of eight-week zinc supplementation on vitamin D 3 status and leptin levels in a population of postmenopausal women: a double-blind randomized trial

J Trace Elem Med Biol. 2021 Feb 12;65:126730. doi: 10.1016/j.jtemb.2021.126730
Héctor Vázquez-Lorente 1, Jorge Molina-López 2, Lourdes Herrera-Quintana 3, Yenifer Gamarra-Morales 4, Beatriz López-González 5, Elena Planells 6

VitaminDWiki

Too curious. so I purchased the PDF, ( but I cannot post it on the web)
Yes indeed, fewer postmenopausal women were vitamin D deficient after getting Zinc for 8 weeks
   75% ==> 55%
But, strangely, the average Vitamin D levels also went up in the older women in the placebo group.
   17 ng ==> 20 ng, and did not change for the younger women ( 20 ng ==> 20 ng)

It has been well known that increasing Zinc consumption can increase the amount of Vitamin D in the blood which actually gets to the cells (by increasing activation of the Vitamin D Receptor

I am unaware of any other report which also found an increase in blood levels of vitamin D
I found, however, that increasing Zinc treats liver cirrhosis, which might allow the liver to put more vitamin D into the blood


Zinc and Vitamin D category listing has 88 items

and the following highlights
It appears that

  • Low Zinc results in less vitamin D in blood getting to tissues
  • Colds can be stopped by taking Zinc every 2-3 hours
    • COVID-19 risks appear to decrease by taking Zinc frequently
  • Zinc improves the immune system and influences 300 enzymes
  • Zinc deficiency has increased due to lack of Zinc in fertilizers as well as Roundup problems
  • 20% of the people in the world do not get enough Zinc
  • Zinc taste tests kind-of, sort-of work
  • No agreement as to the best Zinc supplement
  • Zinc loading doses appear to be safe
  • Not much daily zinc is needed - 10 mg seems OK for most people,
       20 mg has been proven to cut in half the progression of prediabetes to diabetes
  • FYI: Zinc is the oldest knows pill - used by the Romans WikiPedia

VitaminDWiki categories Virus and Zinc


Background: The menopausal period is characterized by hormonal imbalance related to the alteration of parameters involved in lipid metabolism. In addition, menopause increases the risk of deficiencies of key vitamins and minerals such as vitamin D and zinc in such women. The present study investigates the influence of zinc supplementation on the status of vitamin D3 and other lipid parameters in postmenopausal women.

Methods: Fifty-one healthy postmenopausal women aged 44-76 years from the province of Granada (Spain) were divided into two groups (placebo and zinc) of 25 and 26 women, respectively. The zinc group was supplemented with 50 mg/day of zinc for 8 weeks. Nutrient intake assessment was performed by means of a 24 -h reminder. Zinc was determined by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Vitamin D was analyzed by liquid chromatography - tandem mass spectrometry. Leptin was determined by enzyme immunoassay.

Results: Zinc supplementation improved the initial vitamin D3 status of the postmenopausal population (p = 0.049). Plasma levels of 25-OH-D3 increased significantly after Zn supplementation in women with lower age at menopause (p = 0.045). Both intake and plasma zinc levels were inversely correlated to serum leptin levels (p = 0.044 and p = 0.033, respectively), being significantly lower in lower age at menopause (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: Zinc supplementation improved vitamin D3 status and was associated to low leptin levels in the postmenopausal women of the study

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