Living Alchemy - Zinc Alive

Product Notes:

Zinc Deficiency Risk Groups and Symptoms

Zinc has many well-recognized roles in keeping us healthy, including helping us metabolize energy and nutrients, forming and healing various types of tissue (skin, hair, nails, bones); and carrying out immune functions. But we can't produce it or even keep store extra amounts of it in our bodies for future needs: it's something we need to keep ingesting regularly, as we use it. And even though it's present in many foods, it's not always that easy to 'liberate' the mineral from those foods when we digest them - especially if your main source is from plants like rice, cereals, soy and corn which may contain phytates that inhibit its absorption.

In addition to vegetarians, some other risk groups for being deficient in zinc include seniors (our ability to absorb it decreases as we age), people who drink a lot of alcohol, and people with malabsorption issues such as gluten sensitivity or IBD.

You might be deficient in zinc if you seem to catch colds more easily or often than most people; or it's taking longer for wounds to heal; or if you have white spots/dots on your nails; or have a decreased sense of smell or taste; or often have diarrhea; or are experiencing significant hair loss; or a low sex drive.

Sourced from Plants and Koji Fermentation

Although there are several different forms of zinc supplements available with slightly different characteristics, collectively, they can have adverse side effects some people may be subject to, including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach pain. Not this type, which is derived entirely from non-GMO plants, with the help of a fungus used in Japanese cuisine to enhance their nutritional profile and bioavailability.

Zinc Alive uses a Koji fermentation process, wherein an edible fungus called Aspergillus oryzae is deliberately cultivated on a starchy bed of cooked rice, which generates several types of enzymes which cannot only release or even produce more nutrients in that rice, but also go on to transform the textures, flavours, nutrients and digestibility of other foods when that koji rice is combined with them in a secondary fermentation. This really brings out the organic cofactors like vitamins which act as “helper molecules” to assist in the biochemical transformations involved in enzymatic and metabolic reactions.

Here, that beneficial fungus has been applied to enhance the characteristics of two types of food with complementary supporting roles for the immune system; Acerola (aka West Indian or Barbados cherry), which is very high in another important antioxidant, Vitamin C, and also contains copper (which we tend to need more of when supplementing with zinc, since they compete for absorption); and Coriander (aka Cilantro or Chinese Parsley) leaves, which are rich in the antioxidants Vitamin C and Vitamin E, which can help make white blood cells work effectively and improve the immune system gradually.

This whole food, Koji-fermented dynamic duo increases our ability to absorb the zinc at a slower, more natural pace, making it not only gentler on the stomach but longer lasting, than if it were taken in isolation.