Conditional nutrition (I): concerning zinc as a beneficial but variable regulator of inflammation and experimental arthritis

COVID-19 and nutriceutical therapies, especially using zinc to supplement antimicrobials

The nutritional status of a patient can be critical for the efficacy of other pharmaceuticals, especially organic antibiotics, to treat viral pandemics. There may be political and scientific difficulties in achieving a constructive synergy of nutritional and prescribed allopathic remedies. For adequate treatment, timelines may need to extend well beyond eliminating viral proliferation, e.g., with vaccines, to include the goals of (a) reducing post-viral fatigue, (b) promoting earliest recovery, and (c) future resistance in often poorly nourished patients, e.g., obese (!). Many trace minerals (TM) and vitamins may need to be replenished. This review focusses only upon zinc to illustrate some problems in rectifying these TM deficiencies affecting the balance between continued ill-health (‘illth’) or regaining optimal physical and mental wellbeing. Ultimately, this is a matter of behaviour, lifestyle, and informed choice(s). See Hetzel and McMichael 1959.